Minecraft: Passion, Voice and a Love of Learning

Looking back, my journey into the world of Minecraft began with a student making a simple request to create and share in his own way. He simply said “I wish I could show you in Minecraft!” This was the spark I needed, so I sat down beside the student and asked him to tell me more.

Screenshot by Marci

We talked about the various worlds he had created, some on his own and others with friends. He used a variety of words like spawn point, mod, creeper, skin and crafting. The Minecraft vocab may have had little meaning to me at the time but while I listened, what I did hear was a passion for learning! I heard examples of creativity, collaboration, critical  thinking, problem solving and perseverance. Skills that we hope to develop in our students. By the time he finished telling his story I was hooked and I knew I needed to learn more.

As I began to explore by reading articles on Minecraft, searching hashtags, searching out sessions at conferences and connecting with educators who were using Minecraft in classrooms, it became very apparent that there is a lot of interest around using Minecraft in education. I decided to create this Minecraft blog to share my Minecraft learning journey with SCDSB educators, students and parents, as well as anyone that wants to learn.

So here we go...as I share my journey I hope it will inspire you to begin one of your own! If you have any questions, please contact me on Twitter or by email (mduncan@scdsb.on.ca).