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hey mom! that
game
your child has been playing is now their teacher?s favorite tool in the classroom. and it may be making them smarter! at first glance, minecraft
doesn?t look like anything too special. ?e game doesn?t feature the real life graphics we have become accustomed to in video games. instead, it closely resembles digi- tal legos or old-school tetris, and the rules are simple because well...there aren?t any. but despite its modest appearance and open-ended play, minecraft goes a step further than most games. it does have something special. recently, microsoft released minecraft education edition. while it still maintains the excitement of playing a game, minecraft education edi- tion also encourages creativity and allows students
to work together to solve prob- lems. ?e phrase, ?the only limit is your imagination,? has never been more true. it?s possible you?re still scratching your head?whether it be on what minecraft is as a whole or how teachers plan to incor- porate the game into their lesson plans. don?t worry, the game is quite simple to understand, and once you see how teachers can utilize the game, you will be questioning why microsoft didn?t think of this sooner. w h a t i s m i n e c r a ft? picture this: 3d building blocks that you can use to create 3d structures in an open environment. not happy with the structure you created? you have the abil- ity to destroy it and start all over again. minecraft education edition is a free roam game with no rules whatsoever? unless you?re playing in survival mode in which case you will need to collect re- sources to survive the night. however, the game has been slightly altered to fit the classroom setting. each game can accommodate up to 40 students at one time. ?ere are also maps with coordinates that help stu- dents and teachers navigate the worlds created within the game, a social media component that allows students to talk amongst one another, a camera that al- lows students to take screenshots or ?photos? of their work, tools that the teachers can use to quickly and eas- ily modify their own worlds they have created for the students, and tools to keep the students from accessing the outside world (it can be played online), which is an important aspect for nikole blanchard, director of technology and innovation with ?e dunham school. ?minecraft will be confined to the school. with anything, parents need to be aware of what their children are doing while online. so, i want to make sure the kids are safe while playing at school. ?e chil- dren have these powerful tools so they are finding ways to use them responsi- bly,? she says. w h a t c a n m i n e c r a ft h e l p t e a c h ? from coding and math to history and reading comprehension, minecraft edu- cation edition makes it possible to learn building creativity in the classroom by amanda miller e d u c a t i o n e d i t i o n a + m i n e c r a ft august 2016 | brparents.com 69
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