Our Minecraft Curriculum Featured at Annual NAIS Conference

by Aaron Cooper
Head of School

Last week, a contingent from The Elisabeth Morrow School traveled to Philadelphia for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference; a gathering of more than 5,000 educators from around the country. 

EMS Technology teacher Marianne Malmstrom and I were honored to be invited, along with seventeen other schools, to present specific educational innovations in a session called Speed Innovating.  Ms. Malmstrom and I offered a session titled Targeting the "Six C's" for the 21st Century Through the New Frontier of Minecraft, which detailed the "gaming" curriculum of our technology department. 

Some within our community are familiar with our Tech department's work with Minecraft.  If you are not, or are interested in taking a closer look, please consult the following links:

NAIS President Pat Bassett referred to the session in his general remarks to the entire conference by saying that, "if [attendees] did not have the chance to see the Speed Innovation session, [they] need to do so next year, as it featured details of what education can and should be."  Mr. Bassett also had the chance to listen directly to our presentation and was quite impressed with the work going on at Elisabeth Morrow.  This is certainly high praise coming from an individual so knowledgeable about the independent school world. 

Ms. Malmstrom and the technology team have developed this program over the past five years and have worked tirelessly to tweak the curriculum and support the students’ work.  It is this sort of dedication and drive that we all appreciate and is a hallmark of our entire Elisabeth Morrow faculty.  

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