Minecraft Education (Blog #9)
Virtual and augmented reality is one of the areas I have the least knowledge of when it comes to instructional technology. When I hear VR, my brain conjures images of science fiction novels like Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One. Therefore, I was interested to see what was out there!
I loved exploring the different resources in the ISTE blog “23 Resources for Bringing AR and VR to the Classroom” (Snelling, 2022). The one that piqued my interest the most was Minecraft Education Edition. As an elementary teacher, many of my kids loved Minecraft, so I was interested to see what it had to offer in the instructional space.
Minecraft Education (https://education.minecraft.net/en-us) is game-based learning. It fosters creativity and collaboration. Students can work on basic coding, complete challenges, and participate in lessons and activities for a variety of subjects. You can also personalize the user experience and employ accessibility features. There is an annual commitment of $5.04 per user for the year through direct purchase. That would probably be the best option if only a class or two was using it. However, it appears that there may be licenses already available through Microsoft 365, as well as volume discounts, so that would be worth looking into if you want to purchase at the school (or district) level. A great benefit of this program is that it can be used through a variety of platforms, so additional devices should not have to be purchased.
The website itself has a slew of resources to help educators. There’s an entire training program of learning modules you can go through to become certified, as well as a quick start guide and short video tutorials to explain different aspects of the program. One section of the site is dedicated to hundreds of premade lessons in various subject areas to help teachers get started immediately!
Most of what you need is already on the Minecraft Education website. However, I did find some other resources that can enhance the experience, especially for us beginners!
- Video- Complete Guide to Getting Started This video goes through everything step by step, from the initial download, to game settings, to creating worlds.
- Ideas for Using Minecraft in the Classroom- article from Edutopia
- 10 Tips to Start Teaching with Minecraft- article from EdSurge
- Classroom Management Tips from Minecraft Mentors- compiled by Minecraft Education
The possibilities really are endless when it comes to using Minecraft as an instructional tool, but a couple of ideas jumped out at me when it comes to library use. Miller (2016) emphasized the program can be used to focus on digital citizenship. Much of the work is collaborative, but also competitive, so students must work together to solve problems. That can be difficult for some kids. This provides a real-time way to teach and discuss the types of behavior that are acceptable and effective for online communication.
When we were learning about makerspaces, one of the concepts we explored was makerspaces for action. Seymour’s The Compassionate Maker (https://hslibguides.islipufsd.org/compassionatemaker) encourages her students to think about others and ways they can make life better. I really liked that thinking and doing that in the library space. Along those lines, Minecraft has some sections that could be used for increasing empathy and awareness among students, possibly spurring them to action in real life.
One is the BuildAbility world. Students learn about different accessibility barriers and what those look like in community spaces. Then they are tasked with rebuilding certain areas to make them more accessible. This can lead to discussions about accessibility in their real school. What are things they can do to make their surroundings more inclusive?
After hearing about Minecraft for so many years, I’m glad I finally got the chance to explore the game, as well as its educational uses. Have any of you used it in your classroom or library? I’d love to hear about your experience!
References
Miller, J. (2019, January 22). 10 tips to start teaching with Minecraft. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-01-22-10-tips-to-start-teaching-with-minecraft
Snelling, J. (2022, October 6). 23 resources for bringing AR and VR to the classroom. ISTE. https://www.iste.org/explore/classroom/23-resources-bringing-ar-and-vr-classroom
Hi Tiffany! This game is such a favorite among kids I love that there is a way to incorporate this into the classroom! My favorite part of this is that these resources are cross curricular, not just for computer class. I like your idea of using it for collaborative problem solving. Almost all kids at least know what minecraft is, even if they don't play it. Some kids that might not be excelling at traditional academics might be rockstars at problem solving in this modality. It might just be the buy in that gets them on board for school. I also really appreciate the tutorials that you shared. I would like to incorporate this at some point but the last gaming system I played was Nintendo Wii LOL. Thanks again for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLauren Jordan
LOL Lauren! That's the last gaming system I played too.
DeleteI'm learning as I go. Because the kids are so into this, I would hope that maybe I could have some mentor students to help others... and me!
I really enjoyed reading your post! I have heard of Minecraft (that it's super popular with lots of kiddos), but I have no experience with it. I love how Minecraft fuses together games students love, and educational content, in the hopes students will love learning. I doubly love the pre-made lesson plans for teachers! We are super busy folks, so anytime we can shave some time off of our prep is awesome. I wouldn't have thought about the social aspects of the Minecraft education tool at first, but I can certainly see how those skills are also being developed! This seems like an incredibly well-rounded learning tool for the classroom / library. I will definitely be checking it out should I be in an elementary school in particular. I just need to get ready for the budget bargaining ;)
ReplyDeleteHey Rae!
DeleteI love the fusion of popular gaming and content too! Kind of makes we wonder if some other games couldn't get on board and start to do something similar.
I am totally with you on the premade lessons. It's always nice to have a template of what's possible. Then later you could modify it or make your own when you feel more comfortable!
I worked with elementary-age kids and I have to agree that they loved all things Minecraft! The idea that there is a game with so many content areas! It is so accessible and there are lessons already created. It seems easy enough to integrate into a classroom without much difficulty. Thanks for sharing such a great tool!
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly!
DeleteI love things that are easy to implement but also valuable. The most bang for your buck!
This is definitely a tool I could see kids loving and being engaged with; so many of my students are obsessed with Minecraft. I really love when popular games create educational aspects that can help kids get engaged. It seems like it could get a little pricey, so I wonder how feasible it would be to do a trial run before actually purchasing licenses. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Rachel!
DeleteA trial run would definitely be cool. I was thinking about pricing too. I wonder if it would be possible to do some kind of program/club with a few students to see more of the ins and outs. If it goes well, perhaps it could be something to bring to the district so that it could be a district wide license!
When I was in the classroom, Minecraft was so big. This whole blog post was so engaging and I wish I would have had this in the classroom. The more you get to know the students needs and what they like the more engaging you can have in classroom and library. Thanks so much for sharing. I can’t wait to share some of the resources with my teachers .
ReplyDelete