James Protheroe, senior leader at Darran Park primary school and Microsoft expert educator, was asked by Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority to lead Black Gold 2015 – the largest Minecraft project in the UK. The project, which involved 16 Rhondda schools, both English and Welsh, was centred around using 21st century skills to work collaboratively to build a virtual Minecraft model of the Rhondda Heritage Park.
The Rhondda Heritage Park is a museum dedicated to the history of coal mining in South Wales, built on the site of a former colliery. Students were asked to construct virtual landscapes and print them using 3D printing, thus creating a virtual and physical model of the park. The project was designed to raise standards in ICT and digital competency in schools across Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT).
Speaking to James about the project
‘‘We have to redesign our existing lessons and learning activities so pupils have the opportunity to develop core 21st century skills. The project encouraged school-to-school working, with pupils and staff from each school collaborating closely throughout the project.
‘‘Pupil digital leaders of Darran Park primary school exemplified 21st leadership when they took the Minecraft server to each school as part of the Minecraft Roadshow, training more than 300 pupils. To stay connected and to continue their support they used Hwb+, the All-Wales virtual learning environment (Office 365).’’
In addition to Minecraft, pupils used a range of ICT to capture their journey, including Office Mix – check out one pupil’s work here.
Speaking about the legacy of the project, James said that the work would be shared with other schools throughout RCT and Wales Central South Consortium Joint Education Service. “It is very important to continue looking for innovative ways to use ICT to inspire pupils and make the curriculum come alive,” he said.
The resources developed throughout the project will be used to create an education pack to be used in conjunction with the Rhondda Heritage Park. Next term pupils aim to expand the Minecraft world to create other features of coal society in South Wales, including the Blaencwm to Blaengwyfi tunnel, an important railway that connected the Rhondda and Swansea Valleys that is soon to be reopened.
View the completed Minecraft world here.
Black Gold 2015: Hearts, Souls and Mines, was the latest venture of the highly successful partnership between RCT council and Microsoft Academy. Under the initiative, which is part-funded by the Welsh Government, every pupil and school in Rhondda Cynon Taff can access IT Academy, which has seen 380 teachers trained as ICT educators and thousands of children develop new skills.
The school is also currently leading a second world war project with 12 schools across the consortium, where pupils will develop digital competency by using a range of technologies. Much of this training has been led by the school’s talented digital leaders, who have been delivering a number of different workshops within and beyond the school.
As a result of the school’s commitment to using ICT in an innovative and engaging way, Darran Park primary has recently been awarded the Microsoft Showcase School status (the first primary school in Wales). The school is also celebrating because in addition to James Protheroe, the school has three new Microsoft Expert Educator’s: Sophie Mills, Jan Smith and Christine Protheroe.
