This week we were fortunate enough to be visited by 5 members of Spectrum Middle School. They came to UVic to tell us about their experiences in using Minecraft in education.  They helped guide us through a closed server they had created as a tutorial, which was really interesting.

I started playing Minecraft almost a decade ago, and it’s amazing to see what the game has been used for. In-game players can build gigantic musical machines, even going as far as being able to play a 2-D version of Minecraft from within a chest in the game. Check this link if you want to dive deeper into that.

Minecraft has wide application for educational as well. Apart from generally fostering spatial awareness, problem solving, and resource use, there have been a diversity of modifications and worlds made for specific content. There are worlds focusing on land use, extinction, and historical events.

I see Minecraft as having wide applicability to education, given that the learners are motivated to use the program, and that the educator is using the game in a meaningful way. I look forwards to trying to integrate Minecraft or similar technologies into my teaching habits.