In
the world we live in today, it is hard to find online video games that would
help students engage in learning rather than being a distraction for their academics.
Being a video gamer, I have engaged myself in many types of video games, some
educational and some that taught me how terrifying zombies could be. I began to
wonder if there could ever be a video game to motivate students to do better in
school while also begin the medium in which they could achieve their goals. One
video game that I found and that stood out the most was a video game called
Minecraft. Minecraft is described as a ‘sand-box
game’, meaning that it is a virtual world where players can create their
own worlds and experiences, using building blocks, resources found in the game.
It has also become a medium for engaging
students in learning at Monroe Middle School in Eugene, Oregon, USA.
“Build
Engagement and Knowledge One Block at a Time with Minecraft” is an article written
by Peter Tromba, the current principal of Monroe Middle School in Eugene,
Oregon. Before his implementation of Minecraft in a pilot class, Tromba noticed
that some students in his school were not interested in their academics. The
students saw school as irrelevant, poor paced, and out of touch cleaved to the
world of video games. Often these students were talented but not necessarily
identified as such (Tromba, 2013, p. 1). However when he stepped into the world
of Minecraft himself, he saw the potential the game could have on students in
regards to academics. Tromba and his colleague then proceeded to start a
Minecraft class, which he would teach. Over the years and with an enrollment of
more than 25 students, his Minecraft class was exploding with positive
feedback.
To
get this class started, Tromba established goals for the students. These goals
included things from the Oregon content standards, the national curriculum, and
the Common Core State Standards. They were also tasked to answer the questions of
whether Minecraft could be valuable tool to enhance education and why it should
be a regular at Monroe (Tromba, 2013, p. 2). Then they proceeded to work with
structures like the pyramids and castle to both “walk around” to get the
feeling of being around the pyramids and castle and also to gain inspiration
for their own creative ways. I found this to be great because with these goals,
the students touch up on both their creative and critical thinking skills and
there is an aspect of teamwork too.
After
reading this article, I found it to be very inspiring that Peter Tromba was as
open to Minecraft as a medium of learning as he was, even though it is a video
game. The levels of inspiration increased when I read the segment that a
student wrote. Sam Reposa wrote a letter, with the help of his classmates, to
defend Minecraft and what it is to them. Reposa and his classmates wrote how
Minecraft can be appealing to teachers because the game include aspects from
science, architecture, spatial mathematics, geography, art, and circuitry. He
also give assurance to parents that they should not worry if Minecraft would be
inappropriate for their children or not. What I found interesting was that Sam
mentioned very detail aspects of Minecraft that could be applied to the real
world and how like the science of it all can be applied. Like how when you
throw items into the water in the game, the imitation of the ‘slow fall’ that
happens is there. Or how certain types of architectural structures like the
pyramids or the cities we have today, can spark an interest in architecture or
geography (Tromba, 2013, p. 3). And what I love about Sam and his friends’
letter is that it is very articulate. A parent also had some things to say
about Minecraft. He/she was afraid that Minecraft would lead spending on game
systems or having to worry about their academics, but as he/she became more
informed, their view changed from a negative to a positive one.
If
I were to place an opinion on whether or not I would apply this to my own
classroom, I would say yes with all my heart! Because I feel that creativity should be just as important as core subjects in a classroom. With Minecraft in
place, the students will be able to have a medium in which their creativity can
flourish. Minecraft also meets some of the ISTE standards for students. Because
Minecraft requires group members to work together to create replications of
buildings or the structures that they are learning about, the ISTE for
Creativity and Innovation and Communication and Collaboration is met. The Critical
Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making standard was also met because Tromba
had the students answer the question, ”how can we use Minecraft to help our
educators teach ancient and medieval architecture in a more immersive way?”
(Tromba, 2013, p. 4). So if I were to be asked if I ever found a game that
would be the criteria of being both fun and educational for students, I would
say I have found it. Minecraft is a game where students can have fun and also
learn things from subjects like science, architecture, geography, math, and
many more subjects. I would recommend this to any teacher who is looking for a
new medium to increase the level of enjoyment a student can have with school.
Work-Cited
Tromba,
P. (2013). Build Engagement and Knowledge
One Block at a Time with Minecraft. Learning
& Leading With Technology, 40(8), 20-23. Retrieved
from ERIC database. (EJ1015174)
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