This week we were visited by a Teacher and her students from Colquitz Middle School who have been using Minecraft in their classroom. The most interesting part of their experience for me is the collaborative nature of their learning. The teacher has been able to weave teachable concepts into the game play for her students, her example was using grid coordinates in game to teach the concept of x,y,z, axes grids. In turn the students help teacher her how to navigate certain parts of the game that they are more familiar with or by listening to their interactions while playing she has learned “better” ways to teach the game.
I love the idea of incorporating Minecraft in my classroom. As a future English teacher I think the potential for applications are really exciting. For example I have seen recreations of Ancient Rome or Westeros and having students be able to literally explore these settings could really help them grasp concepts or themes by seeing instead of just reading. If you are able to create interactive experiences in the game you could send students on scavenger hunts by speaking to characters from a given novel in their environment would be a great way to explore a novel or story.
There could be drawbacks however. As the teacher said sometimes student buy-in is not high and so you need to provide “opt-out” options for them. Also I think it could be easy for students to goof-off in the game instead of keeping focused on the task at hand.
Rome:
Westeros:
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