Friday, July 17, 2015

Taking Notes on Conference Slides

I am having an awesome summer! Usually I'm in Paradise this time of year, but I just attended my third workshop/conference/convening in 3 weeks, and I'm so excited about everything I'm learning, and the incredible connections I've been making! Yay! #nerdy

So I've been trying my best to tweet during sessions, and typically, I take a picture of the presenter' s slide and tweet it out. This week (maybe last week too), I had a little revelation. I must say that I am LOVING, and SO appreciate, presenters that outright share their slides. #nomorehandouts

What I did:

Google Slides- Presenter shares view only version of Slides. Make a copy. Take notes on those slides. Tweet the URL of the slide that you normally would have taken a picture of. Remember to change the share settings of your copy of the slides.

Make a Copy

REMEMBER TO SHARE! That lock, not shared.

Powerpoint- Upload Powerpoint to Google Drive. Open with Google Slides. Take notes in Slides. Tweet the URL of the slide that you normally would have taken a picture of. Remember to change the share settings of your copy of the slides.

Open with Google Slides

#GoMe! #ibloggedtoday

Sunday, July 12, 2015

My Adventures in Minecraft- Day 3

More than 48 hours has passed without any game play, but a decent amount of thinking, mainly, "Where is this iron that I need to get my next achievement, and more importantly, get me to the DIAMONDS!".

I tried to ask @leilaboo215, but she plays in creative mode, so resources are always available. I also wanted to play on my iPhone, but learned it is a local game for iPhone.
The Minecraft wiki says that iron can be found in bedrock slightly above sea level (layers 1-63).1 Is this how you would make a superscript? Do I need to cite this?

Today my goal was to find iron ore. Before starting, I figured out what I needed- an iron pickaxe, if it was mined with anything else (like the wood pickaxe), nothing will drop. When I started the game, I noticed there was already 1 block of iron ore in my inventory- How did that get there? I spent a LONG time looking for that last week! Within minutes, I was attacked by a creeper, and respawned with nothing. :(


So I had to start over. I was not pleased with this, and spent a lot of time thinking about whether there was a cheat to respawn back to... a minute before getting attacked. I couldn't help but think, "I don't have time to start from the BEGINNING!" But start from the beginning I did. I actually learned and accomplished a lot today (in Minecraft, not in real life).

-I had to re-mine all my resources. I learned that things that you store in chests will stay put, as long as you remember where you put them.
-I cooked and ate a steak today (raw meat+heat source in the furnace= steak). Hold right click with the steak selected to eat it (1 steak refuels four hunger).
-You cannot attack a monster with a steak, but the scroll wheel makes it easy to select a sword (two stone+stick, vertically aligned- position is everything)
-When you're frustrated, all the blocks look the same.
-I was able to tell the difference between an acacia tree and an oak tree (different bark and height)
-The desert is vast and boring
-Grateful that I tried to mine something in a sand structure on my way to the desert. It was a useful landmark on my way back.
-I found my way back to my "camp" in the savannah!
-Crafted some signs (learned this at #ISTE2015 in the Minecraft and STEM session hosted by Microsoft)
-Signs are posted based on the angle you are facing. My OCD kicked in and I had to adjust the signs that I placed.
-I stored stuff I didn't know what to do with in the chests. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should have stored some things that I've already crafted, so if I do have to respawn, I don't have to recraft all my tools.
-I crafted a REALLY tall beacon (not fancy) at the top of my area (?), base camp (?), to help me find my things. I'll find out what it's really called
-Built arrows with cobblestone in case I got lost. Thanks to @STORI3D_PAST for the suggestion. They got better with iteration.
-A stone pickaxe is far more effective for attacking cows (and I imagine pigs- but they're nowhere to be found). 3 wipes=raw meat and experience points.
-A sword does wonders defending against monsters- even the ones that light themselves on fire!
-FINALLY found iron ore at level 55- meaning y-axis 55. Thanks to @PBJellyGames for the F3 tip!
-Smelted iron ore to make ingots!
-Crafted an iron pickaxe! Diamond ore is next! That's pretty low though. Lots of scary sounds in the mountain. I've been keeping an eye out for monsters, but haven't seen any. Switching between the pickaxe and my sword a lot.
-Save, save, SAVE!

Thank you to everyone that helped today! Especially @mr_isaacs for loving the live tweets!

Saturday, July 4, 2015

My Adventures in Minecraft- Day 2

Too sleepy to play past 11:00 pm last night, but brought my laptop to bed in case I caught a second wind. 

Participated in my first #satchathack, read a few blog posts, and now I'm back!

-Monsters come out at night- /time set day keeps it daylight (safe). Hiding in a deep or wide cave, or just around the corner, helps you survive the night.
-Getting killed, by monsters or self-inflicted (drowning, touching the cactus) makes you lose your inventory
-Placement on your crafting table is EVERYTHING
-Search on Minecraft Wiki for recipes (though sometimes there's too much there)
-Read the book
-Resources you harvest appear in your inventory even if they're not in your 9 hotspots
-Spaces need to be two blocks high in order to move through/out of them
-Placement on your crafting table is EVERYTHING
-Save before nightfall, save to keep your stuff
-Stone needs to be harvested with a pickaxe for it to drop
-The deeper the hole, the harder it is to get out
+Shane Asselstine's suggestion, "don't dig straight down!"
Things to figure out:
-Is it better to make lots of crafting tables to use and leave, or reuse one?
+Steven Isaacs says to leave one in your house, and take another with you


Friday, July 3, 2015

My Adventures in Minecraft- Day 1

Inspired by all the talks at ISTE2015, I am going to try Minecraft "for real life" (as leilaboo215 used to say). Things I've learned so far...

-Playing on the iPhone is tough

-The pigs are fast
-There is no swimming, just sinking (I don't know if that was quicksand or water)
-Hitting a pig 8 times yields pork chops and seeds
-Playing with a track pad is tough
-  button guides you on what to do next
-Do not try to make dinner while playing Minecraft. You will get slain by zombies.
-Be sure to pick up the coin (?) to gain experience points
-Hold the mouse down (instead of clicking one million times) to cut down a tree