Ideas for Using Minecraft in the Classroom

As is the nature of sandbox games, players can roam free, choosing objectives as they go. Because Minecraft has such open possibilities and potential, the teacher can choose how he or she wants to use it. Just as the student has the ability to be creative, the teacher has the same. That can be overwhelming, but luckily, there is a tool for using Minecraft created by teachers for teachers. MinecraftEdu provides a custom mod, basically a customized modification of the game, that helps facilitate organization and focus for teachers to use Minecraft effectively. For those noobs out there that need a push in the right direction, here are some introductory project or lesson ideas. 1) Explore Real Life Buildings There are many already-created structures that you can import into the game and have students explore. 2) Practice Ratio and Proportion 3) Learn About Survival 4) Visualization and Reading Comprehension Related: Minecraft

MinecraftEDU - STEM Curriculum Resources by Dr. Wesley Fryer MinecraftEDU Redstone Engineering Challenge (our culminating semester project) 2015 MinecraftEDU Screenshots: April 6 - April 8 2014 MinecraftEDU Screenshots: Aug 22 - Aug 25 - Sep 5-8 - Sep 22-24 - October Geometry Challenge Geometry Building Challenge (Fall 2014) MinecraftEDU Building Challenge ‎(Oct 2014)‎ MinecraftEDU Building Challenge ‎(Oct 2014)‎ Build a house including a living room with an exact AREA of 50 Minecraft blocks.Build an animal corral or area outside the house with an exact PERIMETER of 24 blocks.Creatively integrate a HEXAGON and OCTAGON into your build. Orienteering Challenge (Spring 2014) An end-of-year (spring 2014) activity for my 4th and 5th grade STEM students, challenging them to learn about navigation using coordinates in the world of Minecraft. Perimeter / Area Building Challenge (Spring 2014) Introduction to MinecraftEDU MinecraftEDU Introduction MinecraftEDU Introduction Other Lesson Ideas

MinecraftEdu SOLVED! -- Hosting an internet Edu server Hi Eric, hi Minecraft Teachers RE: Hosting a remote server > here is my problem that no one has been able to help me with so far: I have paid to rent a Minecraft server from a site called Mooshroom.net - but they can't figure out how to set up their server with MinecraftEdu instead of just Minecraft. After spending some time online with my hosts (the awesome Clinton at AllGamer) and a couple of conversations with EduElfie and Kulttuuri we've finally cracked this one. The quick answer is an extra command line option : -Djava.ext.dirs=.. Below is a full walkthrough showing you how you'd do it yourself. Right now I'm running MinecraftEdu 0.98 on a remote server and administering it all via SSH. So far, I've not missed any server functionality (you can control everything but the map in game I believe) -- but all the options are in text files if you do need them. Here is what I did… I'll also add this info to the wiki. The Solution 4) That'll give you a command line/terminal for the server. m.

Using Minecraft in the Classroom - Center for Educational Improvement by Victoria Zelvin. Not too long ago, I briefly touched on some video games that are already making a difference in classrooms. Included in that list was the very popular game Minecraft, which is being used as a teaching tool already. The very popular game is being extensively described as a creativity engine, or video game Legos, but what does it really offer? How does Minecraft work? In Survival mode, I smelt clay into bricks, which I then make into blocks for my house. Minecraft thrives on exploration and creativity, but most of all it is a game that thrives on projects. What does all this mean for teachers and educators? MinecraftEdu offers many resources to the skeptical or perhaps overwhelmed to help them get started. “What happens when we give students an alternate reality in which to play, experiment, create, collaborate — and yes — sometimes make a hot mess of failure?” Below, there is a video detailing some practical applications of creating your own worlds in Minecraft.

PowToon, free business presentation software animated video maker and PowerPoint alternative MINECRAFT IN A HUMANITIES CLASSROOM Global Religions Course Each religion was taught over a one month period and included the following: Early History, Geography, Spread of religion, Branches, Key People, Key Events, Branches and Modern History, Core Beliefs, Symbols, Rituals, Holidays, and Festivals. Students selected one Eastern and one Western religion to compare and worked in collaborative groups to research a sacred site. Students wrote essays on the topics listed above, as well as on their sacred site. Students replicated their sacred sites in MInecraft Edu and designed a game in which their two religions were taught and compared and in which the players' knowledge and learning was tested. Students presented their work to younger peers first, took feedback and made changes. Students presented their final work in an evening event to their families.

Teachers Guide: Five ways Minecraft (and other video games) can boost student writing skills With the recent surge of interest in using video games in schools, I’ve been asked a lot about what gaming looks like in my class. I thought I’d share five ways I’ve used video games, like Minecraft, to help boost student success with their writing skills. Before we get started, I want to make clear that there is much learning happening while people play video games. I posted about that back in 2007, when I started teaching and was thinking about the literacy value in real time strategy building video games. Tons of learning happens while students are playing games: strategic thinking, trial and error experimentation, scientific reasoning, and more. But that’s not going to help you come report card time. So, how can educators use video games in an inquiry-based, student-led way that will help support their literacy skills? Graphic organizers, like webs, are great to kickstart post-game writing activities. 1. 2. Students create diagrams of their planned shelter in Minecraft 3. 4. 5. Liam

The Minecraft Teacher Back to school. Long time no post. So one day I had this idea to use Minecraft in my class. It worked really, really well. It was transformative for both my students and myself. And I couldn’t figure out why no one else was doing the same thing. But one thing led to another and I ended up leaving a perfectly respectable teaching career to play a lot more Minecraft. I got to interact with amazingly talented people from all over the world. All that plus getting to work with some wonderfully Finnish geniuses who I now consider family. But I am leaving TeacherGaming and sailing away from Minecraft’s blocky shores for a while. I am going back to the classroom. It’s been an absolute honor to work with Minecraft. I feel quite lucky to have been involved during this unbelievably cool time period in Minecraft’s development. There are SOOOOOOO many amazing people doing inspiring work with Minecraft, both in and out of schools. I think I will be playing Minecraft forever. Peace out, kids. ~JoelP.S.

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