Assignment Q&A

Creating Innovative Uses of Technology

An Individual Unit Plan

Title: "Blockchain, NFTs, and the Future of Digital Media"

By: Levent Erdogan

Submitted to Dr. Zhang

Rationale

The rationale behind me choosing this assignment is twofold. First, I'm very passionate in blockchain technologies and I firmly believe in it's future in the landscape of digital media. Second, I have taught bits of this unit at random times, and have never connected it into a full unit and always wanted to. This project provided the opportunity for me to think about an ideal way to scaffold learning, and teach students extensive information about this technology, but also allow students an ability to create a multitude of digital artifacts through project based learning.

Lesson Plan 1 - Metaverse 3D Game Asset Creation (Part 3 from full 5-part unit on previous page)

1. Brief Description:

In this unit, students will begin to learn how to design 3D assets for The Sandbox Metaverse. They will learn how to model the assets, then learn how to bring the assets they've created into a metaverse game world that they will be creating in the next part of this unit.

2. Tech and Resources Involved:

The technologies involved for this unit are:

• a personal computer - either mac or PC is fine

• a mouse - this is a requirement for 3D design; using trackpads is not effective for 3D design

• a download of the VoxEdit app found here

• a reliable internet connection; the app doesn't work properly without an internet connection

3. What Skills, Knowledge and Pedagogy are Required?

To be able to teach this unit EFFECTIVELY, an extensive background in Blockchain technologies, NFTs, 3D design, cryptocurrency, metaverse technologies, and specifically The Sandbox Metaverse, is needed. However, if a teacher wanted to approach this unit as a simple 3D Art unit, using the VoxEdit app to produce Voxel Art designs, that would be possible, though, the teacher would need a general understanding of 3D modelling and design to competently teach this unit in that manner. Though, the purpose of this software is to use it to actually build metaverse game assets and NFTs, and this modification to this unit would ruin that intention.

4. What prior Skills and Knowledge are Required of Students?

All skills that I cover in Part 1 (the research phase) of this unit are required. In Part 2 of my unit, an understanding of Generative Art, is not specifically needed to be successful in this part of the unit. As I have laid out in Part 1, students research and learn more about the underlying technology, then build an understanding of the context in which they are creating. If a teacher were to teach this unit as a simple Voxel Art unit, then no previous understanding would be needed.

5. What are Students Asked to Do Exactly (produce or process)?

In this unit, students are ask to build 3D models of a variety object types, that can later be used (in the next part of the unit) as game assets. Examples of what might be built are avatars, swords, shields, monsters, birds, plants, etc. Students are also asked to make contextual connections of what they are building to the greater creator ecosystem for the metaverse, and demonstrate they're understanding of NFT digital ownership and utility of these assets in The Sandbox Metaverse.

6. What are the Procedures of the Project (steps to teach the technology skills)

Following successfully learning content in the previous parts of this unit, students will be prompted to

• begin exploring The Sandbox marketplace for reference material and inspiration.

• download the VoxEdit app

• Open the app and find the "Templates" tab.

• Choose a template (I always suggest starting with a sword template)

• Learn how to navigate 3D space in the app

• Learn how to modify colours on their design

• Learn how to modify shapes on their design

• Learn how to add animations to their 3D designs

• Learn how to upload their designs to the metaverse so they may be used in their game in the next part of this unit

• Develop 6 assets in total, 2 swords, 2 shields, 2 avatars.

• Demonstrate growth between first and second sword design

• Demonstrate growth between first and second shield design

• Demonstrate growth between first and second avatar design

• Submit 6 designs for review and feedback from their instructor.

7. What Are The Advantages of The Project?

The advantages are that students are exposed to a creator economy, that has a market value of over 5 billion dollars. As they learn the concept of digital ownership through NFTs in The Sandbox Metaverse, students are able to build an understanding of the difference between the current state of digital integration of online goods, where companies like Activision/Blizzard, or other large companies claim to be selling you digital items, but they are merely "renting" them to you, as these companies still own the Intellectual Property of these items, nor can they be resold once purchased, meaning there is no true digital ownership in these cases. In the future of digital ownership, (a primary tenet of this unit), students learn the power of true digital ownership through Blockchain, NFT, the Metaverse, and cryptography/cryptocurrency technologies, and therefore learn about these emerging technologies and how they will impact our world as they become more prominent.

If this were only approached as a Voxel Art Unit, this would be a fun design unit that allows students to create 3D objects easily, and may support future endeavours of 3D design in other apps like Blender, Maya, Unreal Engine, or Cinema4D, since many concepts of 3D design are similar across the board, and students could learn transferrable skills.

8. What are the Disadvantages of the Project?

People are still suspicious about NFTs. There is a lack of understanding of this emerging technology and many students are hesitant, and only believe what they hear from headlines and disreputable sources; therefore, buy-in is challenging to get with students. If a teacher were to try to teach this without an incredibly solid foundation of knowledge of the landscape of this technology, or, if they didn't believe in the technology themselves before attempting to teach it, they would fail at teaching students this unit, as there needs to be both a strong belief and understanding of the technology to be able to teach it, since there are so many issues revolving around it.

From the perspective of this unit simply being a Voxel Art unit, (for those that don't understand the true context of the unit), voxel art, as a genre, isn't that popular and widely known, and there are apps that are better for authentic voxel art creation, like MagicaVoxel. Making this unit a poor voxel art unit, in general.

9. What types of Effective Instructional Strategies are Included?

Many students are motivated simply by using tech and are eager to learn, but some may be the complete opposite. So you may have students that are completely independent in this unit while designing their activities, and you may have students that need a lot of support.

It would be wise to teach different elements of the VoxEdit app and the design process with this app in small bouts, and give a lot of time for students to play and explore. Especially since throwing too much at students all at once will not get absorbed. I would suggest having mini lessons on specific design techniques in this app, then time to "play" then continue to go back and forth between mini lessons on topics such as "how to use the animate function" or "how to reshape your object' and give lots of time for students to explore the app on their own and create 3D models from their own ideas.

In addition, this app can lend itself to collaborative learning, as students can discuss how to work on assets in the app together while each working on their own computers, but it also supports students who are unwilling or unable to communicate or be social with others in class, as there is an extensive library of included tutorial videos to support learning.

This app allows for students to bring their own creative ideas to life, where students can start a new design from scratch, or they can begin building from a template if they are more hesitant to create completely from their own imagination. It would also be helpful to encourage students to find reference imagery of what they are trying to build, to support their design process. For example, if they want to build a cactus from scratch, they should find images of cactuses to help them think through the steps of shaping their 3D model in the VoxEdit app. This would improve students' research skills and independence as well.

Additionally, if you are in an environment where students have their own computers, students can continue learning at home on their own, with their own computers, as this app is free and accessible to all. However, iPads are not appropriate for this unit, as this software is only available on Mac or PC.

10. What are the Possibilities this innovation can be Transferred to Other Teachers or School Settings?

I think it would be very unlikely this innovation would be easily transferrable to other teachers and school settings. I have extensive knowledge of blockchain technologies, as well as industry experience working in film and design, prior to becoming a teacher. The type of teacher to take on this unit would have to have a passion for digital design, as well as a very strong background and foundation of knowledge in these technologies, and as mentioned above, they must believe in the sustainability of the future of this technology for them to effectively teach it to students. If not, this unit will merely be a 3D art unit, and nothing more.

Lesson Plan 2 - Metaverse Game Building (Part 4 of 5 Part Unit)

1. Brief Description

In this unit, students get to take the 3D game assets they were building in the previous unit and develop an understanding of how they work in the game world. Additionally, students use the design process to plan, build, and test out a metaverse game experience that they build in The Sandbox Metaverse. In short, they get to create their own game, and use 3D models that they made in the previous unit in the 3D world they are building.

2. Tech and Resources Involved

For this unit, students need computers, a mouse, and the Game Maker App, provided by The Sandbox for free. They also need access to the app from the previous unit to continue to build custom assets for their game, when needed. Built into the Game Maker app, there are a multitude of tutorials that can also be used for learning resources.

3. What Skills, Knowledge and Pedagogy are Required?

Much like the previous unit, teachers who are interested in EFFECTIVELY teaching this unit would need an extensive background in Blockchain technologies, NFTs, the metaverse, and cryptography and cryptocurrency technologies. Also, like I mentioned before, a belief in the technology and the future landscape of how the technology will positively impact the world is a necessity to be effective in this unit, since so many people don't believe in it and are uneducated and think it's all a scam.

In addition to the same items from the previous answers above, an understanding of game design, quest development, visual storytelling through elements of a game world, computational thinking, as well as the design process would all be needed to be successful in this unit. Not to mention, how to support students to move through project based learning and teach them in a way to keep them engaged for longer, multi-step group projects. Since building a game world has a multitude of steps, that each require extensive planning and engagement from students, being able to support students along their journey with multiple check-in points for feedback is absolutely crucial.

4. What prior Skills and Knowledge are Required of Students?

Students will need to understand all knowledge learned in parts 1 and 3 outlined in this 5 part unit. Meaning, they will need to understand the basics of the technology on which they are building (learned in part 1), as well as a firm understanding of what was learned in part 3, so that students can create assets in the VoxEdit app to use in the game they are creating.

5. What are Students Asked to Do Exactly (produce or process)?

In this unit, students are asked to culminate all knowledge from steps 1, and 3, to produce a metaverse game experience in The Sandbox Metaverse. In addition, they are asked to learn and demonstrate an understanding of the design process throughout their time building their game. And they are also expected to demonstrate collaboration and communication skills as they engage with their team to complete their projects.

6. What are the Procedures of the Project (steps to teach the technology skills)

The steps include:

• Review/re-learn how to create game assets in VoxEdit (from previous part of unit)

• Thinking up a game idea with a group

• Think of and write a simple story for their game

• Converting their story into broken down chunks, which then need to be turned into quests for the game

• Think about game mechanics that would be needed for their game

• Submit planning documentation with their story, quest lines, and game mechanics for review

• Create a 2D sketch of their 3D world (like a blueprint) as part of their planning for building (using a whiteboard is ideal)

• Learn how to create quests and basic game mechanics in the Game Maker, using the provided tutorials in the Game Maker

• Apply their sketches to what they are building for their 3D world and begin to build

• Complete their world and design how the character would interact with the space

• Finish the quest-lines that support the story they are telling with their game

• Play-test their game

• Make revisions based on play-tests

• Submit their finished game for review

7. What Are The Advantages of The Project?

The advantages of the project are innumerable. They include:

• learning how to work collaboratively and communicate effectively

• learning about the future of digital media, blockchain technologies, NFTs and the Metaverse

• learning about the future of creator economies

• learning about the design process; how to formulate an idea, plan, develop, test, make revisions, etc.

• finally making connections between the 3D assets they were building in the previous unit to this one and how what they built can actually be used

• making connections to what was learned in the first unit to this one and developing a deep contextual understanding of what they are building

• develop skills and build an understanding of tools that can potentially be supportive of future career choices for some students

• etc.

8. What are the Disadvantages of the Project?

Since the games are built in teams, it's challenging to see who is doing what, and there is always the chance of someone to not pull their weight in the group and others to do more than they should; looking for ways to assess group work, because of this, will be difficult. A possible solution to this is to allow them to work in groups in the beginning, and use that as formative assessments where students have the opportunity to grow and learn while receiving feedback from their teacher, then if there is time, have a summative assessment where you challenge students to build a full game on their own from scratch, using all the design principles previously learned with their group. This could then be assessed, as this would only be from one student and all students would submit their own work.

Also, as mentioned previously, this project requires a deep understanding on the part of the teacher, and is not for teachers who don't understand the technology, nor believe in the technology and the future landscape of digital ownership with NFTs and blockchain technologies. And in addition to all that, the teacher must have an understanding of gamification and game building, as well as design theory to be successful in this unit.

9. What types of Effective Instructional Strategies are Included?

One of the biggest challenges will be keeping students engaged, since this will be a long term, project based learning experience, where it's easy for students to fall off at many stages along the way. Regular check-ins with feedback points will be crucial. Creating milestones and part-way deadlines for them to show a certain amount of work completed along the way will be important to keep students on track; assigning the work in the beginning and saying something like "ok it's due in 6 weeks, see you then" will not be acceptable. Being hands-on at all time with students will ensure their success.

The nature of this project allows for students to be independent, be creative and use their own ideas, as well as requires them to be effective communicators for them to be successful. Being hands on, but also encouraging their independence and creativity will be important strategies as well.

10. What are the Possibilities that innovation can be Transferred to Other Teachers or School Settings?

I feel it's very unlikely that this would be easily transferred to other teachers and school settings. As mentioned multiple times, a significant amount of skill and understanding is required to be successful in this unit as an educator. This project is very much a "me" project, as I have extensive experience in both digital media (in teaching and professional experience before teaching) as well as blockchain technologies.