Powerful way to engage gamified students in other content areas while working on social skills.

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!

Once you can get the software up and running, it's easy. There is a great Google Group community called "Minecraft Teachers" that are extremely helpful and willing to answer any questions you may have. The biggest hurdle for me, as a teacher, is making sure students understand the difference between how they play Minecraft at home vs. how they are expected to play in school. Many students simply want to kill or be killed when they play at home, and my purpose for using Minecraft in school is very different. I want to get students to cooperate and collaborate with each other, solve problems, and be creative instead of "griefing" each other. Overall, the fact that I'm allowing students to use Minecraft in school has been highly motivating and engaging for ALL students.