Video games as education tools

[Unorthodox]

Minecraft goes edumicational.  The examples given seem of limited use to me.  However, I can see some potential for learning

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35341528

Minecraft to launch education edition

By Leo Kelion
Technology desk editor


2 hours ago

 From the section Technology
 


Minecraft in schoolsImage copyright Lings Primary
Image caption
Pupils will be able to access the same customised character each time they log in

An "education edition" of Minecraft is to be launched by Microsoft.

The product will offer teachers new ways to use the world-building video game in a range of subjects.

Microsoft paid $2.5bn (£1.8bn) for Mojang, Minecraft's Swedish creator, in 2014. And late last year, it bought the four-year-old MinecraftEdu version of the game from Finland-based independent developer TeacherGaming.

It is now promising to add features, but schools may face extra costs.

It says more than 7,000 classrooms around the world already use Minecraft in some form.




"Teachers are using Minecraft to do so many things, including teaching maths, science, religion and poetry," Anthony Salcito, Microsoft's vice-president of worldwide education, told the BBC.

"Once we make the tools easier for schools to get access to and employ, I think you'll see that number [of classrooms] grow quite quickly."


MinecraftImage copyright Microsoft
Image caption
Minecraft is used to teach Japanese medieval poetry by asking students to create "paths" that bring up lines from poems when a character travels along them

In-game camera

MinecraftEdu already allows teachers to modify content in the game and use a shared library of education-themed assets.



Microsoft is promising to improve the experience by:
◾allowing characters created by the children to retain their characteristics between sessions
◾letting pupils take "photos" of their progress via an in-game camera, and then store them in an online book alongside their own notes. These can then act as tutorials for other children or be used by the teacher to score their progress
◾permitting children to download software that will allow them to continue playing the educational version of Minecraft outside school without having to buy their own copy of the game

To access the service, children and teachers each need their own Office 365 ID, which can also be used to provide access to the Microsoft's cloud-based productivity software.


Molecules in MinecraftImage copyright University of Hull
Image caption
Students at the University of Hull have created molecular structures in Minecraft to help pupils learn about chemistry

Microsoft says this will help teachers minimise the number of online accounts they need to manage.

But it may also help the company promote its word processing, email, and file-sharing apps over rival services from Google and others.

Microsoft intends to charge an annual fee of $5 (£3.50) for each teacher and child.

That could prove more expensive than the current basic set-up, where schools pay a one-off fee of $14 multiplied by the maximum number of people they want to be able to log in at once, plus an additional $41 for server software.

"We believe we are bringing added value," said Deirdre Quarnstrom, director of Minecraft education.

"On top of having a persistent identity, they will also have access to the most current version of the game.

"MinecraftEdu, along with other Minecraft mods, was one to two releases behind by nature of the development process.

"We are also replacing the need for schools to have and maintain separate server hardware."

Virtual Shakespeare

The new features were welcomed by Leigh Wolmarans, the head teacher of Lings Primary School in Northampton.


Lings Primary SchoolImage copyright Lings Primary
Image caption
Lings Primary uses Minecraft to teach children about Shakespeare

His school already uses MinecraftEdu to teach pupils about A Midsummer Night's Dream by asking them to create a performance of Shakespeare's play within the game.

However, he said other teachers should be aware the software had its limitations.

"Technology can lead to exceptional learning, but it has to be used in conjunction with other tools," he said.

"If all you are doing is sitting them down and leaving them to experience Shakespeare through Minecraft, you would be doing something wrong.

"Dance, art, drama and music remain the best ways to teach kids.

"But technology can add to that as an additional tool."

Microsoft said it would allow teachers to start "beta-testing" Minecraft's education edition at some point "in the summer" without charge, ahead of its formal rollout.

I also know Kerbal Space Program is used in classes, and I can see the value in some basic physics and celestial mechanics concepts, but have a hard time grasping it's use beyond the basics. 



I've also had some experience with Making History:  http://making-history.com/

IF you can get a group to play it straight, there's value in learning some of the political and economic factors behind the war(s).  But then there's always the danger you get some jerk who goes AWOL and turns Argentina into a new Axis power...  (somehow that PBEM group didn't see that coming and America was blindsided by a new enemy to go with Japan.  Sure, there was no way I would ever be able to invade America, but I could keep them from being able to focus on helping in Europe.) 

And if you want to learn of specific historical battles, there's probably better games...

[Rusty Edge]

I said kids need less screen time.

I used to be an advocate of integrating technology in education, although I've always thought that the best advantage was letting the faster and slower kids learn at their own paces. That was before I dined with 18 month old screen addicts, and spent time on the highway dodging people who can't stop looking at their phone.

There's something to be said for face time. Boomers wore out their knees with exercise. Gen X blew out their ears with boom boxes and personal stereo gadgets. I'm afraid that younger generations are burning out their eyes with a multitude of screens.

[Unorthodox]

I learned to type with one of the space invader typing games... 

I remember math blasters, too but don't think it really helped me.   

The Chinese apps I can't really tell if Talia wouldn't learn just as much playing a regular game in chinese or the 'learning' ones.   

[ColdWizard]

Redstone circuits in Minecraft would probably be rather educational.

I think that games for education could help in some subjects and help engage kids that might not be otherwise.

[Unorthodox]

Redstone circuits in Minecraft would probably be rather educational.

That's what I was thinking.  I don't know the value of this other stuff in the examples above, but redstone could certainly have some value. 

[ColdWizard]

Redstone circuits in Minecraft would probably be rather educational.

That's what I was thinking.  I don't know the value of this other stuff in the examples above, but redstone could certainly have some value. 

I only played casually so I didn't use it for much but honestly some part of me is afraid if I dug too deep into it, I wouldn't be able to learn it.

[Unorthodox]

I only really play Minecraft with the kids, so I've only done limited stuff with it as well, and there are things that are needlessly complicated with it, that's certain.