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Gaming's Role in Education

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Overview

Online gaming has become a booming industry. Specifically, "Esports" has redefined how we view athleticism. Esports is a type of sport that involves individuals and/or teams competing in video games. Most games are played through PC's (computers) or gaming consoles. Many schools, even at the higher education level, are creating their own teams to compete in esports tournaments. The rise in esports highlights gaming's ability to build teamwork, critical thinking, and persistence within younger individuals.

According to ISTE, nearly 40% of students who were involved in gaming-based programs had never participated in school events prior. You may wonder, how did video games promote participation from nearly half of students? Well, when playing video games, the attention is not on the student, but rather, the screen the student the student is playing on. Students who are introverted, neurodivergent, or shy often avoid social situations that would put attention on themselves. There is less risk involved in video gaming, which offers anonymity, versus face-to-face interactions.

I am a strong proponent of video games in the classroom. Even as I write this article, I am listening to a video game stream. My passion towards the integration of gaming in educational spaces motivated me to test out the Educational version of Minecraft, a game that is over a decade old!

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Minecraft: Education Edition

After downloading the game to my device, I spent a couple hours within the virtual world.
Click the play button below to watch a video about my experience with this tool.




Features


Do you feel daunted by an open-world platform, or don't know where to start once you download the application? Have no fear! One of my favorite features of the app is that it provides teachers with pre-made templates and lessons. This gives students a head start on building and allows for more time to be allocated to the lesson's goals.

Here is how it works:

    1. Open the Minecraft: Education Edition application and click "Play"
    2. Select "View Library"
    3. Scroll through the page until you find a template you like
    4. Click on the template you'd like to use and select "Create World"
    5. The imported world will automatically open


Takeaways

Infographic made by me using Canva

Benefits

Minecraft is a popular game among younger students, so it is a great buy-in elementary teachers can use. The tool also offers free gameplay and lessons within 10 login sessions, so make sure you are intentional with your logins! This works great for the teacher who wants to use the application for occasional breaks, or a week long project.

Minecraft: Education Edition provides a great way for your students to work together. Structure creation can be time consuming, so it builds a student's ability to persevere. Minecraft provides a great way to connect subjects together. For example, let's say you want your class to collaborate on building a town in Minecraft. Students would be engaging in civics by learning what buildings are necessary for a community, using math calculate the area of their buildings, practicing art by designing the buildings, and improving their literacy skills by writing a narrative about their town.

Lastly, I appreciate the accessibility features of the app. They give an array of language options, and text can be read aloud. Students can also change the audio and visual settings to their liking. The program also makes the content more accessible by providing templates to inexperienced players. I touched on this feature earlier in the blog!

Setbacks

The risks of having a large open-world game is that it requires data, and a lot of it. I have a reliable laptop, but even I was afraid of the game crashing. My program lagged if I loaded a large world, so teachers have to be mindful of which pre-set world they launch.

Although the resource is compatible on both laptops and phones, it requires downloading an app and creating an account. This means that you should be prepared to spend time helping students sign up and access the program. You should also plan on spending time teaching them the mechanics of the game. More experienced students can definitely help! 

Lastly, the ability to build implies the ability to destroy. While I played alone, students who work in the same world might accidently (or intentionally) destroy their classmate's work. Thus, this program should be used after the classroom discusses respect and boundaries.


"How can I use this with my students?"

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You can click here to find out how to use Minecraft: Education Edition based on the subject you are teaching. Below, I listed my favorite ideas provided by the webpage:
      • Social Studies: Build a replica of a real life landmark
      • ELA: Write a narrative about a sunken ship you explore in-game
      • Math: Teach area and volume using blocks
      • Science: Learn about renewable energy and build energy-conscious homes
      • Art: Explore patternmaking
      • SEL: Learn about mindfulness while going on quests

Keep in mind, this application is easiest to implement if the instructor is in the same room as their students, as it can be difficult to monitor or help students virtually. Thus, I would not recommend this application to remote learning environments unless all parties involved are confident using the application.


But wait... there's more! Below are more resources related to gaming and esports in schools:





Image References

Adam Driver [GIF]. (2018). Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/snl-saturday-night-live-season-44-xkvttzvWDPMEEXAJB1

CS:GO IEM [GIF]. (2019). Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/dignitas-csgo-team-dignitas-teamdignitas-1jajKtkl5cZHRjdDQJ

Minecraft [GIF]. (2014). Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/minecraft-my-graphics-QGnhDpnrr7qhy





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