Most parents out there will have heard of Minecraft. This game has been incredibly popular since it was released in 2011 and the main demographic is children, although it’s enjoyed by people of all ages. You may have ever come across conversations before this about whether Minecraft can be educational.
For those not in the know, Minecraft is a game where players can design and create whatever they want and explore a blocky world freely. It has been described as ‘virtual Lego’. Using Minecraft, some people have created some truly impressive things, including recreations of entire fictional worlds and environments.
Recently, educators and researchers have been looking into the possible use of Minecraft in education, and whether this popular video game can help teach children.
Can Minecraft be educational?
A lot of research has been conducted in the benefits of Minecraft for education, and it’s been found that Minecraft is actually surprisingly good for learning and developing certain skills in children and adults.
Like Lego, or block building, Minecraft encourages creativity in children, allowing them to build whatever they like in a virtual environment. Minecraft also teaches problem solving techniques and resource management, as the child needs to navigate various different challenges as they explore the sometimes dangerous world.
Minecraft can be educational by encouraging a child to engage and collaborate with others to achieve a common goal, such as designing and building a castle or even a city as it is often played with other people.
In fact, the benefits of Minecraft for education are so profound that many schools are using the game to help teach students.
How Minecraft is used in schools?
Microsoft, the company behind Minecraft, has developed a special version of the game called Minecraft: Education Edition, which takes the benefits of Minecraft for education and focuses on this aspect of the game.
The Minecraft: Education Edition usually retails at $5 per user per year, although this can vary. This version of Minecraft is available to schools and educators and can either be used in the classroom as a lesson, or in ‘Minecraft Clubs’.
These ‘Minecraft Clubs’ can be great for students who struggle socially, as it allows them to build relationships with other children through a shared interest. Collaborating in teams to finish a project and build something can help all the students feel valued and included.
Using Minecraft allows the focus to switch from the teacher-centred approach, to allowing the students lead some lessons and projects. This encourages the students to work together and to demonstrate responsibility and leadership in a controlled environment.
This tool is usually used with key stage 1 children, where it’s found that it’s particularly effective. Also, because it’s a fun way to learn, the students are much more engaged in the lesson plans because it doesn’t feel difficult.
What Can Minecraft Specifically Teach?
One of the skills that Minecraft is fantastic for teaching is that of coding. This is taught in a fun and natural way, as the student must use and develop these skills in-game to pass obstacles and progress in the game.
Alternatively, the student can look into the game code itself, and learn how to modify the code to change the game however they like. This kind of experimentation is the best way for students to learn these skills themselves.
This proves to be excellent training for the workplace, where the increased reliability on coding means that this would be an essential skill.
Minecraft can be used to teach even more than it seems at first glance, as it’s even a brilliant tool for teaching history as historical sites and cities can be recreated in the minecraft world and explored directly. If the student has the ability, one great project would be to them to research and recreate these sites themselves.
This tool has proven to be fairly balanced in the development of both ‘softer skills’, such as communication and teamwork, and of STEM skills and computational thinking.
Minecraft At Home
Of course, although Minecraft can be educational, it shouldn’t replace normal education for children. That said, it’s a fantastic way to teach children in an engaging way that doesn’t even feel like work.
It’s recommended to find the best pc for playing minecraft, so that the benefits of Minecraft for education can shine through without the distractions of an inadequate computer. A better computer can also be better at some of the more technical activities that Minecraft allows, such as modifying the game code itself and further training your child in this important life-skill.
As with everything, balance is ideal in your child’s education. However, Minecraft, especially when the parental controls have been set and in a supervised setting, can help your children develop the skills needed to prepare for the workplace even when relaxing.
All of us, children and adults, have the natural inclination to learn and to achieve goals. Minecraft can be educational when used well, and help facilitate and guide this tendency in a fun and useful way.
