A breakaway initiative of video game Minecraft is offering students and teachers across Western Australia a new way to learn.
Minecraft: Education Edition is an open-world digital environment where educators can motivate and inspire students to problem solve, achieve, and genuinely engage their students in their learning.
It includes game-based lesson plans and class resources for a range of age groups and subjects, including English, Art, Economics and Maths.
Students can, for example, design and create a model of the human body, explore Medieval Britain or Tang Dynasty China, or create a functioning three-branch government within their class.
In addition to this, teachers in Australia are able to connect with others around the world to participate in community discussions and contribute their own content and lesson plans.
The initiative has been supported by a number of educators working through CEWA, including Director of Innovation and Research at Servite College, Trevor Galbraith, who said he had seen it benefit students in the classroom.
“I’ve seen some great results and a lot of enthusiasm for Minecraft in the classroom,” he said.
“For kids, they know Minecraft as a game, but when you put it in an education environment, you’re giving them a familiar, fun world where they can be engaged while learning and working productively.”
Minecraft Education Edition can be downloaded for Windows or macOS, and more information – including lesson plans and resources – is available at their website: https://education.minecraft.net.