We often ‘ummm and arrrrrr’ about video games and if there is any actual relevance or educational link between the two. Minecraft took the young children population by storm and is now being used in classrooms all over the world for educational purposes. If you are unaware of Minecraft and how it works, there are over 100 million uses across the world, adults included, so this tells us that it is not only fun, but can be played by a range of age groups. There are pigs, creepers, spiders and even dragons and at its core, Minecraft is about placing and mining blocks to create your own world (Drzewiecki, 2014). The game consists of 3D cubes which represent a variety of things such as dirt, trees, stones, water and ‘bad guys’ such as zombies and skeletons. The players need to gather as many blocks as they can so they can start building shelters to live in at night to stop them from being attacked by monsters that emerge only at nighttime. A day in the world of Minecraft lasts 20 minutes and the aim of the game is to stock up on vitals such as water and food as well as weapons and spells to protect themselves from the evil characters that are found lurking around. A scene from Minecraft - taken from Flikr. Creative Commons Copyright So what exactly are the ‘benefits’ and how can it be used in the classroom? If you are debating whether of not to use Minecraft in the classroom, I can say from experience that my students have loved it and learnt a lot. I did send out a note to parents at the beginning of term to notify them that we will be using Minecraft and a detailed explanation of the benefits and how it will help them learn the content we are teaching. Freedom and Imagination In order to play Minecraft you need to use your imagination to its maximum capacity. Yes you are given the tools to play with, but you start with an empty world and it is up to the player to create everything by themselves and it allows them to do things in that they wouldn’t be able to do in the real world. Literacy - Visualisation The great thing about Minecraft is that you can ask students to create a scene from a play or the setting from their favourite book and even recreate plot events (Edutopia, 2012). They can predict what is going to happen next in the story and create it in Minecraft with a partner. A great aspect of Minecraft is you can play in single mode or multiplayer which therefore, allows students who work better alone or in group work that opportunity for differentiation. Real life connections A fantastic aspect of Minecraft is that they have real life building implanted into the game. For example you can import the Roman Coliseum or the Globe Theatre and let the students explore these buildings and because they are 3D replicas, you can literally wander through these buildings and get students to identify aspects of a theatre or use it as a tool for presentations. They also need to use real- life connections such as ensuring you have enough food to last through the night, or enough water to make sure the trees will survive. Photo of the Globe Theatre in Minecraft. Taken from Flikr. Creative Commons Copyright Maths This is quite a common subject that teachers use Minecraft for. Due to the building aspect, students are given the opportunity to create scale models, therefore emphasising and teaching hands on measurement and proportions. It is one thing to talk to students and try and teach measurement verbally, but it is far more practical and effective to physically get students to create their own buildings and make sure their dimensions, proportions and measurements are exact. Survival mode When students are playing in Survival Mode, they need to make sure they take into account resources, hunger, tools and more as they build and expand their world. There are areas where they even have to process what they find, for example smelting ore to create metal. Minecraft in this aspect, gives students a basic understanding of survival and settlement. Not violent Even though there are aspects where you have to fend off Zombies and Skeletons in between building houses and otherwise altering the landscape, the game is not violent, especially compared to some of the other games young children might stumble across online (Wecker, 2014). Many parents have even made the comment that it is like ‘an online lego with a lot more options’ and ‘she mostly builds outlandish houses and walks around taming cats – I think Minecraft is incredibly educational for my daughter as her interaction with Minecraft is not at all passive. She certainly has learned a lot about types of building materials and the concept of mining’ (Owre, 2012). All in all, there are many benefits in using Minecraft in the classroom. I know it sounds scary, but once you play on it yourself and explore the wold of Minecraft Edu, you will be hooked! It all comes down to making sure you are bringing the interests of children in today’s society in the classroom and utlising them as much as possible. With a clear outline and indication as to where the lessons and outcomes with Minecraft will go, it can open the world to many educational opportunities. …. Go on … give it a go! ReferencesDrzewiecki, J. (2014). Why Educators should use Minecraft in the classroom.
Edutopia. (2012). Ideas for using Minecraft in the classroom. Owre, M. (2012). Could Minecraft helps kids get smarter? Wrecker, M. (2014). Could Minecraft help kids get smarter?
1 Comment
|
Miss Megan Elizabeth
Australian living in Johannesburg, Primary School Teacher, IT Teacher, World traveller Header Image Used with permission from Flickr. Creative Commons. Quick Links Home About Me Blog Roll Digital Curation Feedback Reflection Blogs Dystopian Literature Banning Books Pokemon iPads Shakespeare Minecraft |