MineCraft EDU and educational benefits of gamification

Digital Technologies

Teaching the Digital Technology curriculum is mandated in Australia. At EPS we use the Victorian Curriculum.

When designing a unit of work, various things must be considered. Is it meaningful to the students? Will it be engaging? Will it be challenging? Does it provide a global perspective? Are there opportunities to also develop students' Learner Assets (i.e. being a collaborator, etc)?

Research out of the University of South Australia (August 2022), states that gamified education could be the key to boosting STEAM capabilities in primary school students. The research shows that it can improve spatial reasoning skills and shape positive attitudes towards STEAM and design thinking. 

When developing a STEAM unit of work for the Year 3/4 cohort on cyber-safety, using MineCraft Edu as a learning tool was the perfect fit.

MineCraft Edu is NOT MineCraft. The Edu version enables students to perform structured tasks in a secure environment and it allows for collaboration on projects with classmates in multiplayer mode. It was designed specifically for learning purposes. There are various safety features in the Edu edition, including restricted chat and communication – the chat feature is limited to predefined phrases and responses, preventing any inappropriate or harmful communication. 

In Year 3/4 student have been working through the Cyber Castle Challenge. This challenge was created out of a collaboration with MineCraft Edu and Quest-a-Con. It was designed to help educators teach cyber security concepts from the Digital Technology curriculum. 

The possibilities to integrate the use of MineCraft Edu into other subject areas, and therefore continue to build STEAM capabilities, is limitless.