In thinking about my upcoming semester in the Saturday Arts Lab, I've been researching new ways to engage students utilizing their modern day interests. I noticed that during my time at Duzine Elementary in the New Paltz Central School District, most of the students in the Kindergarten class that I was observing were into minecraft. They often made reference to the Minecraft world during their choice time activities... they would play with play dough and create drawings based around the Minecraft world. Some students even referenced Minecraft in their writing assignments; they would often talk about how much they would create environments with their parents.
This intrigued me, and I began searching for ways Minecraft can be used in education. This is where I stumbled upon Minecraftedu.com. It's a website that gives educators a big avenue to dive into the world of Game-Based Education. It provides resources into creating lesson plans based around the world of Minecraft, giving educators a special tool kit that can be used in conjunction with the game to explore architecture, science, and engineering in conjunction with art. It helps bridge the gap between academic learning and creative inquiry. It also helps educators by providing resources that helps them work within the boundaries to hit all of the core aspects of the National Standards in education. I believe this is a great way to engage the students interest in science and art in a creative environment that they can relate to.
To learn more about Minecraftedu.com, click here.
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