Clone retirement or Congress in Minecraft as a school exercise: “Complete traditional education”
The Congress of Deputies, the Retirement or the Park of the Capricho will have their double virtual in Minecraft. Students from 28 centers in the Community of Madrid are immersed in A competition to recreate the main monuments of the region. The project, which debuts this course, seeks to awaken the curiosity of the students by the architectural symbols of their environment and that acquire competencies during the design process. Thus, each group must do an investigation and documentation prior to digital design. “It is a more traditional complement to education,” says the General Director of Digital Strategy of the Regional Government, Ignacio Azorín. The Intermunicipal League will conclude on May 22.
“We start from scratch, we have to choose the map, select the materials, such as tinted crystals, so that not between too much light,” explains Daniel, one of the students of 6th grade of the Severo Ochoa school, in the district of Vicálvaro, who participate in this competition. Block to block, Daniel’s group has proposed to recreate the Congress of Deputies in this digital universe. To do this, they have previously had to Document on the history of the building, consulting files in the library, visiting the place in person or conducting interviews.
In total, 2,323 schoolchildren have participated in this league Minemad, which has the presence of nine municipalities in the region, such as Alcalá de Henares, Aranjuez, Boadilla del Monte, Colmenar Viejo, Getafe, Madrid, Móstoles, Rivas-Vaciamadrid and San Sebastián de los Reyes. Among all schoolchildren, 98 teams of 25 members have been created. Each group is guided by a teacher who accompanies them to overcome the three challenges that composes the competition.
For some of the schoolchildren it has been their first experience in games like Minecraft. This is the case of Ainhoa, who confesses that “you have to get used a little, but it is easy and entertaining.” “When we come here We have a lot of fun because we can build things and make many jokes “, Sofia comments, another of the members of the Severo Ochoa school team. All participants must face three challenges that will be scored by a jury to pass from the phase, where the 10 finalist teams will face a final challenge where to use their creativity and digital competitions.
The first of these consisted of writing a letter of presentation, exposing the motivations to participate in the contest, which meant seven maximum qualification points. In the second, they had to select the monument of the historical heritage of the municipality where their school was. This is where they had to take research work, without using the Internet, where the number of information sources consulted, the monument, the organization and the final exhibition was valued. The last step of this process is to replicate in Minecraft The monument and a world that revolves around it.
Through gamification, apply game dynamics in educational contexts, students learn and acquire knowledge. In addition, collaboration and teamwork are encouraged. “Before putting in front of the computer they have had to discuss, discuss, choose, investigate and pass those planes that have in two dimensions on paper that three -dimensional reality within the computer,” explains the general director of bilingualism and quality of teaching, David Cervera. The person in charge of the pedagogical part of the Collaborating company Cegos, Elena Fernández, adds that throughout this process it has been encouraged that students can investigate through the experiences of their families: “We have tried That their grandparents and parents tell them, for example, the story of the Congress or that of retirement “.
In this educational experience, students have not been the only ones to learn about historical elements, teachers have also discovered new ways of teaching beyond traditional methods. “Teachers have needed a previous training to transmit in the classroom that they are not only playing, which really yes, but at the same time they are learning,” explains Cervera. Together with the most pedagogical part, the project also serves to “Bringing girls closer to technology at an early age When this gap occurs “compared to children, as Azorín points out.
After delivering the replicas, the jury will assess which team has reaped the highest score, although in this assessment the similarity between the clone and the original will not be the most weighted element. “We are not looking to be architects and build the Congress to real size,” Concrete Fernández. It also clarifies that in the competition the teamwork will have more weight, the allocation of roles: “It is not so much to assess the final result, but the process, which is the important thing.”
