A student at Blanche Dodd submitted a Student Enrichment Grant application to KEF to help grow the Minecraft Writing Club he founded at his campus. Originally, the students would just get together to write and discuss their love of the game, but they wanted to go further by writing and creating their own stories. KEF funded this grant to purchase a specific software through the Minecraft Store for Education that would enable them to code animation and create their own version of Minecraft style stories.
KEF Board members Bret and Stacy McDaniel recently visited the after school club to see how their work was coming along. Students work in groups, pairs, or alone on their story. They begin by writing the narrative. Once complete, they search the internet for inspiration of their characters. They then sketch designs or use various software programs to create storyboards of their narrative. Finally, students use the Minecraft Education software to code an animation and bring their story to life.
In addition to software, the grant requested some additional supplies, like pencils and sketchbooks for creating their narratives and storyboards, and a trip to the National Video Game Museum. This museum is located very close to our little town in Frisco, TX. The museum features a wide variety of video games from decades past, like the Nintendo Atari and original Pac Man. Students have formed and foster friendships that will last a lifetime through their mutual love of video games and adventures such as these.
What began as sharing a love of Minecraft has grown to a club that is putting students on the right track to enter a world in STEM careers of science or computer engineering. With the help of donors and creative young minds, KEF is helping to pave the road for students to follow their dreams