Minecraft: more than just a game

minecraft_landscape1By now we’ve all heard about Minecraft, or maybe we know a child that can only talk about “Creepers.” With its popularity, many educators are looking beyond the blocks to what Minecraft can do for education.

Programming

One obvious choice that Minecraft can be used for is with programming. With just a $35 Raspberry Pi, you can setup a Minecraft sandbox where students can learn the programming language Python. Using this helpful worksheet, programmers can learn how to teleport in the game or even drop blocks as they walk. Check out our post about the Raspberry Pi to learn more!

Minecraft Club

Finally, students are looking for a place to play Minecraft too! What better way to give everyone that option than to setup a Minecraft server at your school and then organize a Minecraft Club.

Digital Citizenship

Another thing educators are looking to Minecraft to teach is digital citizenship. Check out this video about how some teachers are using Minecraft to do just that: