This week we continued looking at Game based learning and the game we covered today was ‘Minecraft’. When I asked P6 school pupils what Minecraft was, I was told “it is just like playing with Lego but you will never run out of bricks”. The global phenomenon that is Minecraft was designed in 2011 by a Swedish game designer called Markus Persson, who has since sold Minecraft to Microsoft and it has an estimated value is $2.5 billion, according to Hern and Stuart (2014).
I had the opportunity to play the game today as our class lecturer had arranged for a group of local P6 school pupils to visit us and help us to discover more about Minecraft. The pupils were very enthusiastic about the game and they all had a great wealth of knowledge. They lead us through worlds that they had created and explained how worlds were made and edited, they explained the process of visiting other worlds created by friends and that it was possible to interact with friends online whilst playing the game.
I must admit that I was completely out of my depth and I was so overwhelmed to see them race through the app on the iPad, it was second nature to them. Here I witnessed great communication skills between the children, problem solving, collaboration and creativity. The teacher mentioned to us that some children gave up play time to come into class and work on the worlds, which is realistically class work however the children see it as fun.
It is easy to see how Minecraft can be linked to many areas of the curriculum such as literacy and technology, some Experiences and Outcomes could be;
LIT 1-09a – When listening and talking with others for different purposes, I can exchange information, experiences, explanations, ideas and opinions, and clarify points by asking questions or by asking others to say more.
TCH 1-01a – I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts.
MTH 1-13a – I can continue and devise more involved repeating patterns or designs, using a variety of media.
In class, we read an ebook called ‘Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education’ by Ollie Brays, a national development officer in his profession. Here he discusses ideas such as play based learning and its advantages, some of which teachers have always used for example, board games or reading games. However the use of technologies in play can simply be seen as a natural progression. It is the action of doing, playing and experiencing that engages children and the learning flourishes from there, according to Bray (2012). Theorists such as Piaget also agree by doing, there will be an increase of knowledge, Higher Education Academy (2017).
As 21st century learning increases in the classroom, it is import that teachers and educators can stay upto date on the games that are available. It is not critical that we all know how to play a game however it is critical they we are aware of the games content. For this we can use the (Pan European Games Information) PEGI rating. Similar to gauging movie content we can use the PEGI rating to quickly choose which games are suitable for what ages and stages using the labelling system. The labelling system can inform the class teacher what the game contains and reasons they might not want to use it such as violent content or bad language, according to Bray (2012).
Beauchamp (2012), constructed a list of skills that young learners could develop by simply having the opportunities to use digital technologies in the classroom. Included in the list below, are two common themes that I have identified throughout my blogs for this module;
- Strategic Thinking
- Planning
- Communication
- Application of numbers
- Negotiating Skills
- Group decision-making
- Data Handling Skills.
Beauchamp (2012, p.10).
Throughout my blogs, I have noticed common themes developing, these are; collaboration and communication. These skills are part of a skill set that we can build upon throughout our lives. If we can include such skills across the curriculum, we will enable young learners to better prepare for transitions such as, early years on to primary education, then on to secondary education. Thinking even further ahead, preparing them for the realities of the outside working world.
References
- Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary School. [Online] Available: dawsonera.com/readonline/9781408251379 [Accessed: 17 March 2018].
- Bray, O. (2012) Playful Learning: Computer Games in Education. [Online] Available: https://www.slideshare.net/Microsofteduk/playful-learning-computer-games-in-education [Accessed: 17 March 2018].
- Hern, A and Stuart, K. (2014) Minecraft Sold: Microsoft buys Mojang for $2.5bn. [Online] 15 September. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn [Accessed 17 March 2018].
- Higher Education Academy. [Online] Available: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/gamification-and-games-based-learning [Accessed: 17 March 2018].
- Image Source: [Online] Available: https://pixabay.com [Accessed: 17 March 2018].
- Scottish Government. (2008) The Curriculum for Excellence. [Online] Available: http://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [Accessed: 17 March 2018].
