Todays session was around games based learning with Minecraft. Minecraft is an online game that many children play. It is a creativity game where they can build and create a range of buildings with a range of different materials. “Minecraft is a worldwide phenomenon. Since it was first released back in 2011, it’s been taken to the hearts of thousands and thousands of gamers. (Mag Book 2014, pg. 3)”. Children came in from a local primary school to show us how to work Minecraft and then we were able to explore it for ourselves. I had previous experience of playing Minecraft on a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox so using it on an iPad was a different experience within itself although I knew how the game worked.

Ofcom Report (2011) states that “gaming is hugely popular in the UK with almost 86% of 5-7 year old children and 90% of 8-11 year old children using gaming devices regularly.” This shows that children regularly play games almost every day. Encouraging gaming within their education could make learning more exciting along with teachers learning from the children because most of the pupils in the classroom would have played the games that teachers introduce.

Bray (2012) states that “Games-based Learning has the most transformational impact when it is combined with good learning and teaching.” As I learned last week a simple game like guitar hero or Mario Kart can influence a range of areas within the curriculum.  Bray (2012) also states that in a classroom setting, games should not just be used as rewards or for entertainment but as a whole new approach to learning. Games based learning can bring relevance to what children play outside of a learning environment and can encourage a range of ideas to benefit their learning.

“Achieving particular educational objectives through the use of the game was more dependent upon a teacher’s knowledge of the curriculum with which they were working than it was on their ability with the game” (Beauchamp, 2012, p.10). This shows that teachers do not need to know how to use the game but need to have knowledge of learning outcomes from the curriculum to relate to the game. Beauchamp (2012) also states that the type of skills that could be developed by ICT games are: Strategic Thinking, Planning, Communication, Application of numbers, Negotiating Skills, Group decision-making and Data Handling Skills  (Beauchamp, 2012, p.10). Gaming helps children’s interaction skills as well as developing their skills within other areas.

We had a chance to explore Minecraft with two primary six children. We used one of the pupils iPads and saw the different worlds that they have created throughout school and at home. It amazed me how the pupils used the iPad really quickly and easily. Throughout the tutorial with the children we were able to ask them a range of questions regarding the use of Minecraft.

The children then handed over the iPads to us and it felt like a new experience completely. We were allowed to ask the pupils for help but they were not able to touch the iPad and only use their mouths to tell us what to do. I could see that the pupils were tempted to take the iPad from us and show us how to do it but they had to stop themselves. I think personally that it was a great experience learning from the pupils because they are involved in games when they are at home and they knew more about Minecraft than what our group did. The pupils were within the role of the teacher and had to allow us to figure it out. I thought that allowing them to teach us is a useful idea because they are more confident when using the game than what we were.

Within the Curriculum for Excellence games based learning with Minecraft links with a range of areas I chose two outcomes one from literacy and one from technology. The literacy outcome I chose was “When I engage with others, I can respond in ways appropriate to my role, show that I value others’ contributions and use these to build on thinking (LIT 2-02a)” (Education Scotland 2004) . I chose this outcome because with games based learning children are interacting with their peers and can respond to others if they are unsure of a certain part of the game and be able to help each other, but also helping and interacting with the teacher. The technology outcome I chose was “I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance leaning in different contexts (TCH 1-01a)” (Education Scotland 2004). I chose this because the children are exploring the use of technology but using it to enhance their learning in different ways.

I think that the use of games like Minecraft in the classroom is useful because it makes learning fun and interactive. As a developing student teacher I definetly would bring a game like Minecraft into the classroom because I could choose a topic such as; Ancient Greece, Rome or Harry Potter and allow the children to use Minecraft to create the buildings within the topic. Also the children creating their own imaginative stories and then build their story within Minecraft. It allows children to talk to each other, help each other and be learning at the same time. Another benefit of using Minecraft is that it can link across the curriculum. It also allows teachers to learn about games that children play at home and brings relevance into the learning environment. The teacher doesn’t need to be confident with a game to link it into the curriculum. The teacher can let the children take over and show them what to do.

References

Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.

Bray, O. (2012) Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education. [Online] https://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed 13th March 2018]

Education Scotland (2004) – Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [Accessed on 13th March]

MagBook (2014) How to Do Everything in Minecraft

Ofcom (2001), Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes  [Online] – https://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed 13th March 2018]