This post first appeared on ISTE Connect.

It was October. My Introduction to Computer Science class had been meeting for two months, and we were deep into a discussion about game design. One of my students gestured casually at the student across the room. “That’s right! I agree with what… what’s-his-name said over there.”

I was shocked. After the first week of classes, I knew all my students’ names. But our high school is so big that many students had few opportunities to interact. In my classroom, I ask kids to help each other find solutions to the problems they come across. That’s difficult when they don’t know each other very well. I decided to set up a classroom server and assign students to play Minecraft together. I wanted to see if playing the game would provide some scaffolding for team building…

>> Read the full article on ISTE Connect

Douglas will be speaking more about Minecraft, learning communities, and the Classroom of the Future in his iPad Summit San Diego keynote. If you can’t wait until February, space is still available for the November 13-14 iPad Summit in Boston!