Today's MIEE Spotlight is shining brightly on James Protheroe, Assistant Head Teacher at Microsoft Showcase School, Darran Park Primary School in Wales. James is passionate about, and excels at using, Minecraft Education Edition in the classroom.

James was involved in an exciting Minecraft project based on the Rhondda Heritage Park. This was the largest scale Minecraft project ever attempted in the world, with over 500 children from 16 different schools, building a working coal mine. As a result of this, James was asked to present at Microsoft's Global Teacher Exchange in Budapest in 2016, sharing this incredible practice with the most innovative educators from all over the globe! James has also been asked to present at various other Edu-Tech events such as BETT and Scotland's Minecraft launch in Edinburgh.

James has also used Minecraft Education Edition with pupils to develop their reading and writing skills. Last year was the 100th anniversary of author Roald Dahl and to celebrate this, James developed 'The Wonderful World of Roald Dahl', a three week literacy unit combining Dahl's most famous books and Minecraft! During this global project, pupils from 95 schools developed their reading skills by focusing on Roald Dahl's most iconic settings and characters by building their own Roald Dahl themed maps!

As well as Minecraft Education Edition, James regularly uses many Office 365 tools such as Sway and OneNote Class Notebook to enhance the teaching and learning in his school and collaborate with other schools across Wales. James' opens the doors to his school via Redefining Learning Conferences, for other educators in Wales to learn from his experience and expertise. His Digital Leaders also go out into the community to visit other schools across the UK to share their passion and enthusiasm for embracing technology in the classroom. Truly inspiring.

You can follow James on Twitter @DpDarran and read his blog to keep up to date with the innovative work he is doing in his school.

Watch the video below to hear more about James' development and classroom practice in his own words.

Q1 How can we use #Minecraftedu to develop mathematical thinking? pic.twitter.com/heYpyPrCPa

— James Protheroe (@DpDarran) July 4, 2017

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