Jan 15, 2012

 

The Proposal is Done!

(I think)

 

I've gone through our latest version of the proposal, tweaked it a bit, added images and turned it into a .pdf for easy sharing. You can download and view here: Multi-School-Minecraft-Project-Proposal.pdf

 

It will need on last copy edit with fresh eyes before it's submitted. Aside from fixing any stubborn typos, I feel it's good to go!

 

Liam

 

 

######

Older Versions of Proposal

 

This is where we will craft our Multi-School Minecraft Server proposal document. I know we had a google doc set up for this but it seemed redundant to have a wiki, which we can all edit, linking to a google doc, which we can also edit. I've dumped the latest version (Dec 14, 2011) of the google doc here. How about we just update it in here? Let me know if you totally hate this idea.

Di sez: good idea 

###

 

Liam sez: Here's what I hope is the final draft! Please read for any errors/typos (I'm tired!) If you all think it's good, I'll bring this version into Word, finalize formatting (bold, spacing etc) and turn it into a pdf. Then we can submit it.

 

Multi School Minecraft Server Proposal

Draft 3 - Final ?

Jan 11, 2012

 

 

Overview

 

It’s barely 9:15 in the morning and already two students have fallen down a mine shaft, one burst into flames when he swam through lava and another just killed his best friend with a pork chop. It’s going to be a messy morning but one packed with learning. This is learning with Minecraft.

 

Minecraft, the “Lego style” building block game, has taken the video game world by storm, inspiring millions of players, young and old, to build, create and share. It has also inspired educators world wide who see the game's open-ended sandbox style as packed with opportunities for strategic planning, critical thinking and experimentation.

 

Already, schools from USA to Australia have created “Minecraft Clubs” where students learn science, math and literacy skills while playing.

 

The TDSB Multi-School Minecraft Server project aims to link several Minecraft Clubs, established in TDSB schools, in a single virtual game world, providing students with a shared, safe, supervised, online space to play and learn together.

 

The Toronto District School Board is known for its innovative, research-based programs that engage students, reflect their lived experiences and ensure high achievement for all. The Multi School Minecraft Server Project will continue this tradition of innovation while breaking new ground in the realm of Games Based Education and 21st Century learning.

 

This proposal document outlines where we are in that process and what supports the TDSB can offer teachers and students to make this innovative project a reality.

 

Minecraft Club Format and Membership

 

In January 2012, Agnes Macphail P.S. and Highland Heights Jr. P.S (and a possible third TDSB school) will each start their own Minecraft clubs for students in grades 4 – 8. These after-school computer clubs will focus on building the skills of students under-performing in literacy, numeracy and social development.

 

The clubs will meet regularly to play Minecraft and engage in learning activities around the game. Examples of learning activities are: journal writing, mathematical investigations, online research and other student led inquiry-based activities.

 

Each Minecraft Club will use a wide variety of TDSB approved computer programs and resources, including: word processing programs, recording resources (screen capture, video) and more in connection to the game play. Students will co-author materials and document their activities through a shared wiki or moodle.

 

While each club will run independently, the students and their characters, or avatars, will share a single virtual world, where they can meet, chat and work together to build their shared world.

 

Project Goals

 

 

 

The goals of the Multi-School Minecraft Server Project are twofold:

 

Build on the literacy, numeracy and social development skills of students in Grades 4 – 8 through the open-ended, inquiry-based play involved in the Minecraft video game. This work will take the form of writing projects (journal entries, planning documents, stories, video documentation, etc.), inquiry-based research projects, mathematical challenges and anything else the students can dream up.

 

Connect and co-operate with students in other TDSB schools to build teamwork and strategic thinking skills through online group projects and building challenges where students from different schools meet in game and work together to complete a challenge given to them by their teachers or each other.

 

Game Based Learning Research

 

In recent years, there's been a dramatic increase in research around the role of video games in Games Based Learning, including research from the Ontario Ministry of Education.

 

“If learning is enjoyable and challenging, learners will do it enthusiastically. Think of a video game that players are keen to concentrate on for hours. They do it because it’s “hard fun”. Turning hard work into hard fun requires helping students relate their work to their own lives and the culture in which they live.”

 

Together For Learning: School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons, Ontario School Library Association, 2010 (p. 33)

 

"If children (and adults) are playing video games in such a way as to learn actively and critically, then they are:

 

1. Learning to experience (see and act on) the world in a new way

 

2. Gaining the potential to join and collaborate with a new affinity group

 

3. Developing resources for future learning and problem solving in the semiotic domains to which the game is related

 

4. Learning how to think about semiotic domains as design spaces that engage and manipulate people in certain ways and, in turn, help create certain relationship in society among people and groups of people, some of which have important implications for social justice."

 

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, Dr. James Paul Gee. (2003) Palgrave McMillan (pp 37-38)

 

“Most students already have some experience with personal computers and electronic games before they reach the junior grades. Those who do not have access to current technologies outside the school are at a significant disadvantage. The school plays an important role in providing equitable access to the tools, information, and new forms of learning on which all students will increasingly rely as they advance through the grades and plan for their future beyond school.”

 

Literacy for Learning: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy in Grades 4 to 6 in Ontario.

 

TDSB Support

 

The Multi-School Minecraft Server Project is ready to launch, and only requires the support from the TDSB IT department. The server will be created and maintained by the project's Technical Lead, Liam O'Donnell, but assistance from the TDSB will be needed for initial connection with the hosted server and support with any technical issues that might arise. Ideally, this support could come in the form of a single contact within the IT department, so that any technical difficulties can be minimized and resolved quickly.

 

Partnerships

The TDSB Multi-School Minecraft Server project is fortunate to already have several stakeholders ready to assist and make this project happen. They include:

 

• Edge Lab / Ryerson University - This post-secondary institution has offered to host the server and provide bandwidth for the TDSB Minecraft Club, at no cost to the TDSB.

• TDSB teachers - The three teachers listed below have been purchasing Minecraft student accounts (out of their own funds, not TDSB money), exploring Minecraft themselves, documenting the experience on a wiki dedicated to this professional learning community, and running Minecraft Clubs at their respective schools.

 

Game Based Learning Precedents

 

While the Multi-School Minecraft Server Project will be the first of its kind in Canada, its pedagogical value is firmly rooted in research and precedents:

 

MinecraftEdu (http://minecraftedu.com/) Minecraft's official educational platform. Tools here are specifically designed for teachers to use Minecraft in their classroom.

 

Minecraft in Schools (http://minecraftinschool.pbworks.com), an online hub for many after school Minecraft clubs, with the goals of supporting students struggling with literacy and numeracy. There are lesson plans, tech support and much more.

 

Morrowcraft, (http://morrowcraft.wikispaces.com/), a single-school multiplayer Minecraft server for students of the Elisabeth Morrow School in the USA. Grade 7 students work together to build, create and investigate in Minecraft.

 

Massively Minecraft (http://socialmediaclassroom.com/host/MassivelyMinecraft/), an online community for educators using Minecraft with their students

 

Biographies

 

Diana Maliszewski is the teacher-librarian at Agnes Macphail P.S. in Toronto, ON. She is the editor of The Teaching Librarian, the official magazine of the Ontario School Library Association. Diana’s writing credits also include articles in The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research and School Libraries in Canada. She maintains an education-themed blog, “Monday Molly Musings”, http://mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com as well as a blog focused on the benefits of gaming at home, http://familygamingxp.blogspot.com In 2010, she completed her Masters of Education degree from the University of Alberta in the Teacher-Librarianship via Distance Learning program. Diana has presented at conferences and workshops all over North America on topics such as gaming in education, graphic novels, popular culture, professional learning communities and children’s literature. In 2008, Diana Maliszewski was awarded the Follett International Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award from the Canadian Association of School Libraries for her contributions to the field of school librarianship.

 

Denise Colby is a teacher with the Toronto District School Board.  She has been a teacher-librarian at Highland Height Jr. P.S. for 8 years and is currently the Literacy Coach for SE6 Family of Schools. She is a member of TACIT (Technology and Curricular Integration Team) and had been the co-facilitator for teacher-librarians in the NE3 Family of Schools for 6 years. Denise has presented at the OLA Super Conference on Kindergarten programing in the library, and promoting the library within the school.

 

Liam O'Donnell is an award winning children's author, TDSB teacher and gamer. In 2011, he used Minecraft to engage grade 4-6 students working to build their literacy, numeracy and social development skills. Since 2003, he has written about the educational potential of alternative literacies like video games in the International Reading Association's Reading Today journal, Today's Parent magazine and on his blog “Feeding Change” (http://liamodonnell.com/feedingchange) others. He is the creator of the Graphic Guide Adventure and Max Finder Mystery graphic novel series for middle grade readers and used in schools across North America. He is also the two time recipient of the Educational Publishers Association's Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Educational Publishing.

 

The Experiential Design and Gaming Environments (EDGE) Lab is a trans-disciplinary research lab devoted to researching learning, play and social innovation with an emphasis on autonomy and user-initiated design in the context of lived experience. As a unique facility in Canada, comparable to a select few labs world-wide, EDGE lab leverages the insights of local, national and international researchers from social science, humanities, engineering, and digital technology for applied projects with institutional, community and industry partners.

 

 

 

 

**** ******* ******* ***** 

Multi School Minecraft Server Project

Proposal (Draft 2) Fri Jan 6, 2012

(The formating and writing is still a bit wonky - but we're nearly there!)

Overview

It’s barely 9:15 in the morning and already two students have fallen down a mine shaft, one burst into flames when he swam through lava and another just killed his best friend with a pork chop. It’s going to be a messy morning but one packed with learning. This is learning with Minecraft.

 

Minecraft, the “Lego style” building block game, has taken the video game world by storm, inspiring millions of players, young and old, to build, create and share. It has also inspired educators world wide who see the game's open-ended sandbox style as packed with opportunities for strategic planning, critical thinking and experimentation.

Already, schools from USA to Australia have created “Minecraft Clubs” where students learn science, math and literacy skills while playing.

 

The TDSB Multi-School Minecraft Server project aims to link several Minecraft Clubs, established in TDSB schools, in a single virtual game world, providing students with a shared, safe, supervised, online space to play and learn together.

 

The Toronto District School Board is known for its innovative, research-based programs that engage students, reflect their lived experiences and ensure high achievement for all. The Multi School Minecraft Server Project will continue this tradition of innovation while breaking new ground in the realm of Games Based Education and 21^st Century learning.

 

This proposal document outlines where we are in that process and what supports the TDSB can offer teachers and students to make this innovative project a reality.

 

Minecraft Club Format and Membership

 

In January 2012, Agnes Macphail P.S. and Highland Heights Jr. P.S (and a possible third TDSB school) will each start their own Minecraft clubs for students in grades 4 – 8. These after-school computer clubs will focus on building the skills of students under-performing in literacy, numeracy and social development.

 

The clubs will meet regularly to play Minecraft and engage in learning activities around the game. Examples of learning activities are: journal writing, mathematical investigations, online research and other student led inquiry-based activities.

 

Each Minecraft Club will use a wide variety of TDSB approved computer programs and resources, including: word processing programs, recording resources (screen capture, video) and more in connection to the game play. Students will co-author materials and document their activities through a shared wiki or moodle.

 

While each club will run independently, the students and their characters, or avatars, will share a single virtual world, where they can meet, chat and work together to build their shared world.

 

Project Goals

 

The goals of the Multi-School Minecraft Server Project are twofold:

 

1. Build on the literacy, numeracy and social development skills of students in Grades 4 – 8 through the open-ended, inquiry-based play involved in the Minecraft video game. This work will take the form of writing projects (journal entries, planning documents, stories, video documentation, etc.), inquiry-based research projects, mathematical challenges and anything else the students can dream up.

2. Connect and co-operate with students in other TDSB schools to build teamwork and strategic thinking skills through online group projects and building challenges where students from different schools meet in game and work together to complete a challenge given to them by their teachers or each other.

 

 

Game Based Learning Precedents

 

While the Multi-School Minecraft Server project will be the first of its kind in Canada, its pedagogical value is firmly rooted in research and precedents:

MinecraftEdu (http://minecraftedu.com/) Minecraft's official educational platform. Tools here are specifically designed for teachers to use Minecraft in their classroom.

Minecraft in Schools (http://minecraftinschool.pbworks.com), an online hub for many after school Minecraft clubs, with the goals of supporting students struggling with literacy and numeracy. There are lesson plans, tech support and much more.

Morrowcraft, (http://morrowcraft.wikispaces.com/), a single-school multiplayer Minecraft server for students of the Elisabeth Morrow School in the USA. Grade 7 students work together to build, create and investigate in Minecraft.

Massively Minecraft (http://socialmediaclassroom.com/host/MassivelyMinecraft/), an online community for educators using Minecraft with their students

 

Game Based Learning Research

 

In recent years, there's been a dramatic increase in research around the role of video games in Games Based Learning, including research from the Ontario Ministry of Education.

 

“If learning is enjoyable and challenging, learners will do it enthusiastically. Think of a video game that players are keen to concentrate on for hours. They do it because it’s “hard fun”. Turning hard work into hard fun requires helping students relate their work to their own lives and the culture in which they live.”

 

Together For Learning: School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons, Ontario School Library Association, 2010 (p. 33)

 

"If children (and adults) are playing video games in such a way as to learn actively and critically, then they are:

1. Learning to experience (see and act on) the world in a new way

2. Gaming the potential to join and collaborate with a new affinity group

3. Developing resources for future learning and problem solving in the semiotic domains to which the game is related

4. Learning how to think about semiotic domains as design spaces that engage and manipulate people in certain ways and, in turn, help create certain relationship in society among people and groups of people, some of which have important implications for social justice."

 

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, Dr. James Paul Gee. (2003) Palgrave McMillan (pp 37-38)

 

“Most students already have some experience with personal computers and electronic games before they reach the junior grades. Those who do not have access to current technologies outside the school are at a significant disadvantage. The school plays an important role in providing equitable access to the tools, information, and new forms of learning on which all students will increasingly rely as they advance through the grades and plan for their future beyond school.”

 

Literacy for Learning: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy in Grades 4 to 6 in Ontario.

 

Partnerships and Support

 

The TDSB Multi-School Minecraft Server project is fortunate to already have several stakeholders ready to assist and make this project happen.  They include

 

Edge Lab / Ryerson University - This post-secondary institution has offered to host the server and provide bandwidth for the TDSB Minecraft Club, at no cost to the TDSB.

 

TDSB teachers - The three teachers listed below have been purchasing Minecraft student accounts (out of their own funds, not TDSB money), exploring Minecraft themselves, documenting the experience on a wiki dedicated to this professional learning community, and running Minecraft Clubs at their respective schools.

 

How can the TDSB help? By providing dedicated support from the TDSB IT department for possible network issues and solutions, ideally through a single contact, any technical difficulties can be minimized.

 

Bios

 

Diana Maliszewski is the teacher-librarian at Agnes Macphail P.S. in Toronto, ON. She is the editor of The Teaching Librarian, the official magazine of the Ontario School Library Association. Diana’s writing credits also include articles in The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research and School Libraries in Canada. She maintains an education-themed blog, “Monday Molly Musings”, http://mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com as well as a blog focused on the benefits of gaming at home, http://familygamingxp.blogspot.com In 2010, she completed her Masters of Education degree from the University of Alberta in the Teacher-Librarianship via Distance Learning program. Diana has presented at conferences and workshops all over North America on topics such as gaming in education, graphic novels, popular culture, professional learning communities and children’s literature. In 2008, Diana Maliszewski was awarded the Follett International Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award from the Canadian Association of School Libraries for her contributions to the field of school librarianship.

 

Denise Colby is a teacher with the Toronto District School Board. She has been a teacher-librarian at Highland Height Jr. P.S. for 8 years and is currently the Literacy Coach for SE6 Family of Schools. She is a member of TACIT (Technology and Curricular Integration Team) and has been the co-facilitator for teacher-librarians in the NE3 Family of Schools for 6 years. Denise has presented at the OLA Super Conference on Kindergarten programing in the library, and promoting the library within the school.

 

Liam O'Donnell – WILL ADD MY BIO

 

EDGE Lab – will include a description.

 

 

 

 

 

#####################################################

 

ANYTHING BELOW THIS TEXT IS AN OLD VERSION. DO NOT REVISE. DON'T EVEN LOOK AT IT. I SAID DON'T!!

Notes and Thoughts

 

This document will be a storehouse and living document for our Multi School Minecraft Server proposal.  Please add, edit or whatever you want to this document. We’re aiming to have a finished proposal ready to present before the holiday break (Dec 23)

 

Dec 18 - Rethinking delivery date of proposal. How about we submit this after the holiday break. It'll give us more time to prepare it and it won't get lost in the pre-holiday madness. I'm thinking that most people are already on holiday now and submitting it just before the break means it won't get looked at until in the new year. Let's aim to have it ready to submit before the break, but actually deliver it after the break.Thoughts? (Liam sez)

 

Sections (add/remove as you see fit)

Overview

 

Quotes

 

 

I like this one from James Gee:

"Lots of young people pay lots of money to engage in an activity that is hard, long and complex. As an educator, I realized that this was just the problem our schools face: How do you get someone to learn something long, hard, and complex and yet enjoy it."

James Paul Gee. (2003) What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. Palgrave McMillan << I just read this one & loved it.

 

"Like all forms of technology, video games are cultural artifacts -albeit complex ones - that invite all sorts of study, discussion, and analysis in school. Some of this discussion is appropriately reserved for teh notable downsides of some video games but there are also lots of pedagogical lessons to be learned in addressing the potential of video games to entertain, inspire, and teach."

David Hutchison. (2007) Playing to Learn: Video Games in the Classroom. Teacher Ideas Press

 

###

Overview (very rough)Server Info

 

It’s barely 9:15 in the morning and already two students have fallen down a mine shaft, one burst into flames when he swam through lava and another just killed his best friend with a pork chop. It’s going to be a messy morning but one packed with learning. This is learning with Minecraft.

 

Just over a year old, Minecraft is the independent “Lego style” building block game took the video game world by storm. Among the millions of players of Minecraft, were teachers from across the globe.

 

In addition to being engaging to play, Minecraft's open-ended sandbox style means it is packed with opportunities for strategic planning, critical thinking and experimentation. Already, educators from USA to Australia are using Minecraft to teach science, math and literacy skills to students ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 12.The TDSB Multi-School Minecraft Server project will create a single virtual game world, accessible to participating Minecraft Clubs across the TDSB, providing them a single, shared, safe, supervised, online space to play and learn together.

 

(Di sez - the section above doesn't mesh with the section below - you can tell two different people wrote it - any way to mesh it better?)

 

The mission of the Toronto District School Board is to enable all students to reach high levels of achievement and to acquire the knowledge, skills, and values they need to become responsible members of a democratic society. This school board has not shied away from using innovative programming and research-based best practices to achieve these goals. This proposal is a plan to engage our most reluctant students in a way that honours 21st century learning and the digital competencies students of today possess - we want to use video games, specifically Minecraft, to help our neediest students improve their literacy, numeracy, and social skills.

 

(Di sez - maybe we should put the research stuff in here?)

 

Project Timeline and Format

 

In January 2012, two TDSB schools (Agnes Macphail P.S. and Highland Heights Jr. P.S.[with a possible third school tbd) will develop their own Minecraft clubs, with a focus on building the skills of students underperforming in literacy, numeracy and social development. The clubs will meet regularly to play Minecraft and enage in learning activities, such as journal writing, mathematical investigations, online research and more.

 

While each club will run independently, the students and their characters, or avatars, will share a single virtual world, where they can meet, chat and work together to build their shared world.

 

Den asks: Do we want to mention 'types' of students we plan to target as possible members of the clubs i.e. boys, marker students, HSP, students with who struggle with social skills  and girls?  I don't think we all have to have the same club design just maybe state how we are going to fill each of our club.  For example, since I will probably be starting this club in a school with no connection to anyone I will probably start by inviting Marker students, then HSP (whether male or female).

 

###

 

 

Using video games for educational goals is relatively new but not without precedent (cite Minecraft in Schools, WoW in Schools, different research) ...

 

Possible ideas: talk about value of video games in learning, goals of this project, etc. Significance - first of its kind in Canada, leading the way in educational innovation, etc.

Research
Quick overview of current research into video games and education (Gee, etc) << Di sez - needs condensing, maybe put above with original mention of TDSB research stuff

Judy Willis, a neurologist, explained in an article quoted by Edutopia (http://www.edutopia.org/blog/video-games-learning-student-engagement-judy-willis) that video games help build skills and adaptive responses. Like good teaching and learning practices, feedback on progress is ongoing and intrinsic rewards encourage students and the “hard fun” engages students. Challenges are individualized and achievable.

The vision document Together For Learning: School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons specifically mentions video games. This publication, supported financial by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat for Ontario’s Ministry of Education, states
    If learning is enjoyable and challenging, learners will do it enthusiastically.
    Think of a video game that players are keen to concentrate on for hours.
    They do it because it’s “hard fun”. Turning hard work into hard fun requires
    helping students relate their work to their own lives and the culture in which
    they live. (page 33)

Another Ministry of Education document that supports the use of video games is Me Read? No Way! …

Research on the inclusion of video games in educational situations continues to be a popular topic of investigation. Leo Cao’s study, “Serious Play: An exploratory multiple-case study on the emerging practice of appropriating digital games for academic learning” ...

 

Den says: just thowing this out there

LITERACY FOR LEARNING: THE REPORT OF THE EXPERT PANEL ON LITERACY IN GRADES 4 TO 6 IN ONTARIO

The Expert Panel on Literacy in grades 4 to 6 in Ontario address the need for access to technology in supporting learners.  Athough it does not specifically reference computer games in its list of example computer applications that support literacy, it does make reference to compter gaming in the sections' introduction.   

     Through frequent use of appropriate technologies, students build confidence in their skills and

     gain access to the growing wealth of information and productivity tools on which literate

     learners rely. Most students already have some experience with personal computers and

     electronic games before they reach the junior grades. Those who do not have access to

     current technologies outside the school are at a significant disadvantage. The school

     plays an important role in providing equitable access to the tools, information, and

     new forms of learning on which all students will increasingly rely as they advance through

     the grades and plan for their future beyond school. (page 24)

In our gaming club we will be making use of many of the programs and resources that are listed including: the internet, word processing programs, recording recources (screen capture, video) etc in connection to the game play.  It is also our hope that, through this club, students have opportunities to co-author a working document together (wiki). 

Goals ,, Di sez didn't we do this already near the overview
List our goals for this project - engage underperforming students with a form of media they love: video games. Use this engagement to build success in areas of need (math, literacy, social skills, etc)
Multi school meet ups/challenges - kids meet to work together or compete in a challenge

Project Details << Di sez already done
Explanation of the club - each school has a minecraft club that plays and works independently, but uses one shared space, virtual world, where they can work with members from other schools

Timeline << Di sez already done

 

Just as the research on effective school library programs states that ...

When etc, : start in January and run until June?
After school: 1 day, 2 days a week? 3:30 - 4:30/ 5pm (what do you all think?)

 

Current Status and Needs << Di sez this needs to be highlighted, especially the part where TDSB does not have to invest any money in this as "EDGE lab and the teachers involved see the value of this sort of work so much that they are willing to contribute their own time and money to make this possible."
Secured server and bandwidth at no cost from EDGE Lab at Ryerson University
Need - dedicated support from TDSB IT for possible network issues and solutions, possibly a single “go to “ person we can contact to help us with this
Support from Principals, colleagues, students and Parents/Guardians << Di sez in terms of ??? Already has admin support at two host schools, students very supportive, letters going home will explain & get parents on board ... support in sharing results?

 

<<Den sez I just spoke to the guy reimaging the computers at Highland Heights and he said we should contact Jack Conroy at End User Computing tdsb.>>

Bios
Quick teaching bios of the three of us to show how awesome we are.
EDGE Lab - quick bio of EDGE, goals etc.

 

Diana Maliszewski is the teacher-librarian at Agnes Macphail P.S. in Toronto, ON. She is the editor of The Teaching Librarian, the official magazine of the Ontario School Library Association. Diana’s writing credits also include articles in The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice and Research and School Libraries in Canada. She maintains an education-themed blog, “Monday Molly Musings”,  http://mondaymollymusings.blogspot.com as well as a blog focused on the benefits of gaming at home, http://familygamingxp.blogspot.com In 2010, she completed her Masters of Education degree from the University of Alberta in the Teacher-Librarianship via Distance Learning program. Diana has presented at conferences and workshops all over North America on topics such as gaming in education, graphic novels, popular culture, professional learning communities and children’s literature. In 2008, Diana Maliszewski was awarded the Follett International Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award from the Canadian Association of School Libraries for her contributions to the field of school librarianship.