If there’s any video game that has successfully made its way into the classroom, it’s Minecraft. There’s a small subset of teachers using all kinds of digital games in interesting ways, but the blockbuster hit Minecraft and its educational counterpart MinecraftEDU have reached much wider audiences. But getting started with MinecraftEDU can be intimidating for teachers who don’t consider themselves “gamers” and aren’t sure how to harness the engagement and excitement of Minecraft. Luckily, there’s a robust and global Minecraft teacher community to supply tips, support and even lesson plans.
Teachers who already use Minecraft in the classroom love it because of the flexibility it offers — almost any subject can be taught with a little creativity. And like other powerful learning games, well-structured Minecraft lessons give students opportunities to fail and try again, improve their skills, and participate in an immersive environment that aids retention because students can attach the academic concepts to their personal experiences within the game.
“When you are in a game, all that information in the immersive world is tied to your heart and your emotions and that becomes a very powerful retention tool,” said Garrett Zimmer, president of MineGage, a company that makes Minecraft lessons with extra programming to track progress. Zimmer became famous among Minecraft players for videos of his own play and has since turned his coding abilities and Minecraft prowess towards creating pre-made worlds and lessons for teachers to use.
Zimmer and other experienced Minecraft teachers say it’s important to manage expectations when using Minecraft in the classroom. Many students already have experience playing the game for fun, so the teacher needs to explicitly set the goals and expectations for conduct within the game at the outset. Zimmer says most kids will be so excited to be playing the game in school that they won’t mind the extra rules.
by MindMake via MindMake Blog
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