Aira Soon's Blog: Why Minecraft in Schools is the Modern Marvel: 5 Epic Ideas

Every Classroom Matters Episode #180

History, literature, and math teachers are desperate for easy ideas to engage kids. We want kids to be excited about our subject, and we want to use technology. But we don’t want anything really hard. What can we do? Well, today’s guest Lucas Gillispie has something you can do that might be much easier than you think. He runs on of the largest implementations of Minecraft of any school in the world. He should know.

Important Takeaways

Easy ideas for every subject area using Minecraft
How hard is Minecraft anyway?
Ideas for convincing parents and administration of the value of Minecraft in schools.

Why Minecraft in Schools is The Modern Marvel

Did you play in a sandbox as a child? You took the sand and built castles. You might have had a bulldozer drive through the sandbox making “brrrr” noise as you scooped up sand and pushed it to the far ends of the box. Or, on the beach, you built a sandcastle, frantically deepening the moat so your sandcastle won’t wash away in the incoming tide. Playing in the sand is a child’s game, but now we have a game that all ages are playing. A sandbox game.

What is Minecraft?

Split it into the two words: Mine and Craft.

Kids mine for all kinds of things in the game.
With the minerals and wood and items they mine, they can craft things.

Minecraft is a game where kids build and create. The boxes are exactly square, so Geometry and Math are easy to teach in there. History and literature work too because kids can make the ancient wonders of the world or the a street in Paris just prior to the French Revolution.