Minecraft in Education

http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Minecraft_in_education

WHY GAMES?

Kids These Days!

Kids these days are playing a lot of video games. Popular videogames are not just for fun,

many academics are growing enthusiastic about the potential and early results of using

games for learning

Games

can also be vibrant, ‘lean forward’, media that allows the player far more interactivity than passive media. Games can be tools of creativity and production.

How Teachers Learn To Use Minecraft In Their Classrooms

Mine craft for Learning

Minecraft is both a game and a tool for creation with your friends. Surrounding the game are a number of user-created modifications, forums, and communities that share, critique, and build new challenges for themselves. Minecraft is more than a game, it is a hobby and a community.

It is also getting used increasingly in classroom settings.Like a blank sheet of paper and a box of crayons can be used for learning, Minecraft is begging creators to make any 3D object, building, or idea they can think of. It is a creationmediathat is, and has been, quickly adopted and used in learning settings all over the world.

Minecraft can serve teachers in the same way that a sheet of paper, a canvas, or a pile of building blocks can facilitate learner representations of understanding across topics, age levels, and learner ability. Interestingly, some early adopting teachers have been doing exactly that. They are using Minecraft for learning.

Minecraft Goes to School

Why is the hit video game being played in so many classrooms?

Minecraftisn’t like most video games. The goal of the game isn’t to rack up points or finish a quest. Instead, it’s mainly about creating your own digital world. Players collect materials like stone, wood, and clay and use them to construct buildings and other objects.

The game has more than 100 million players worldwide—and a growing number of them are playing in classrooms. About6,500 schools in more than 40 countries are using the game to teach everything from science and history to teamwork.

Minecraftwas introduced in 2009 and quickly became a hit. The ability to build anything you imagine appealed to gamers of all ages. Soon, teachers started finding ways to use Minecraftin their lessons. 

In 2011, a version called MinecraftEduwas developed just for schools. Today, kids from kindergarten through high school use the game in a variety of ways. In math, for example, students use Minecraftto calculate the area and perimeter of the buildings they create. In science, kids build virtual rainforests after learning about that habitat. And many social studies classes use the game to re-create important places in history. Teachers who use Minecraftsay that it helps students learn important skills. For example, kids often work on Minecraft projects in groups, so they practice teamwork. They encounter challenges as they play—so they build problem-solving skills. Teachers also say that the game gets students excited to learn.

Minecraft Basics

Minecraftis like a virtual LEGO® set with an endless number of building blocks. The game lets you use your imagination to create just about anything you want.

One exciting part of Minecraftis all the creatures you encounter. They’re called

mobs. They include villagers and animals like chickens, pigs, and even squid. Some

mobs are hostile. Creepers are the ones you really have to watch out for. They explode when they get close to you!

• The Ministry of Education Research and Technology-Kenya should use the advent of DigiSchool (http://www.icta.go.ke/digital-learning-programme-execution-plan-unveiled/),to instal the game in the devices to be used by the learners.
•  
•  Request MicrosoftEdu to help subside costs for the game in Kenya under the spirit of public-private partnership.

Source(s):

 http://tabletsforschools.org.uk/teachers-learn-how-to-use-minecraft-as-an-educational-game/

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/02/microsoft-teachers-minecraft-classroom-education

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_in_education/archive/2015/06/29/learning-from-educators-to-help-create-dynamic-classroom-experiences-announcements-from-iste-conference.aspx

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/minecraft-teachers