MinecraftEdu has so much potential to enhance learning in the classroom!

This was a great way to engage students who struggle in a traditional setting. The setup and maintenance are probably more than an average teacher would be able to handle. I also developed several learning tools to work in tandem with the gaming experience, so Minecraft was not the only teaching tool used. Students who are familiar with the game may struggle with limitations imposed by the curriculum. Younger students also struggled with digital citizenship skills, but that gave us opportunities to address them.

Although the applications are endless, I mainly use MinecraftEdu as a positive behavior tool. Obviously that is not the intent for this phenomenal teaching tool. This software can be used across the curriculum by any creative teacher. The resources that are already in the MinecraftEdu community are amazing and provide a starting place for beginning MinecraftEdu educators. The teacher console is easy to use and allows teachers to interact with the students in the virtual world. Teachers control weather, transport students to others, give necessary equipment or materials to students and even freeze student if necessary. Set up of MinecraftEdu took awhile. Even though they had complete directions, it took me awhile to figure out the server and setting up my lab. After the initial work however, it is working very smoothly with few problems.

I love this as a teaching tool. It is very easy to customize. However sometimes this can be very difficult as the Minecraft structure is tricky to mod and alter without express knowledge of how to navigate through the files and folders to ensure that you install something correctly. It is too easy to mess it up. Until Minecraft comes up with a more streamlined way to install mods and worlds, this will remain an issue. That being said, it is too powerful a tool to let one hiccup sway me from using it. It can literally be used for almost every single school subject when applied correctly. An important note for parents and teachers that are involved with this: PLAY MINECRAFT. Also you should be playing through all of the mods and worlds before hand so you know what to expect and can troubleshoot potential student problems and hang-ups. Don't be scared to try this in a classroom. It is not just a game, this is a sophisticated learning tool with infinite potential!