Self-Directed Learning in Teacher-Lead Minecraft Classrooms

Minecraft, an online multi-player sandbox video game, is now being used as a teaching tool for course subjects ranging from digital literature to computer science. To understand how Minecraft was being adopted as a classroom tool, we interviewed 16 teachers and 10 students who had used Minecraft inside a classroom setting. Analysis revealed three key ways in which Minecraft enables and motivates students to work towards their own learning goals: the ability to customize context, live through stories, and assume roles in the virtual world. Drawing from these themes we propose a set of design recommendations for online informal learning spaces

Minecraft as a learning tool for classroom activities and extramural English learning

Abstract. Over the years, digitalization has provided diverse opportunities for new ways of language learning. These opportunities include learning English outside the school boundaries through a variety of activities (e.g., gaming), or participating in a gamified learning experience. In an era where learners use technology to their advantage when it comes to learning, Minecraft, a sandbox-adventure game, provides potential in enhancing these types of learning experiences further. This thesis investigates Minecraft and discusses its affordances for English learning. Previous studies and ethnography are used to introduce and discuss about the game and its central features on a general level. Example activities are introduced, explored, and examined with the backdrop of Extramural English and Gamification, while Krashen’s Input Hypothesis is used to examine how learning in Minecraft could potentially happen. The findings of the thesis suggest that Minecraft is a versatile, accessible game that facilitates the creation of flexible activities. Furthermore, these findings also indicate that gamification of the activities may also provide additional opportunities for learners to engage in a fun, meaningful and collaborative learning experiences. By having an environment where learners can interact with visual inputs, the findings also suggest that Minecraft can provide opportunities for language learning. Minecraft may thus pave ways for interesting methods of learning English by providing a platform that the educators and learners can take advantage of for their activities.Minecraftin hyödyntäminen englannin oppimisen työkaluna sekä luokkahuoneaktiviteeteissa että koulun ulkopuolella. Tiivistelmä. Digitalisaatio on vuosien aikana tarjonnut monipuolisia mahdollisuuksia oppia kieltä uusilla tavoin. Näihin mahdollisuuksiin lukeutuvat muun muassa Englannin kielen oppiminen koulun rajojen ulkopuolella tapahtuvien aktiviteettien kautta (esim. pelaamisen kautta) tai osallistuminen pelillistettyyn kieltenoppimiskokemukseen. Nykyaikana, kun oppijat hyödyntävät teknologiaa oppimisessa, hiekkalaatikko-seikkailupeli Minecraft tarjoaa mahdollisuuksia edistää näitä oppimiskokemuksia entisestään. Tämä kanditutkielma käsittelee Minecraftia ja sen käyttömahdollisuuksia Englannin kielen oppimisen kannalta. Aiempia tutkimuksia ja etnografiaa on hyödynnetty keskustellakseen pelistä ja sen keskeisistä ominaisuuksista yleisellä tasolla. Peliin liittyviä esimerkkiaktiviteetteja esitellään, tutkitaan ja käsittellään koulun ulkopuolella tapahtuvan Englannin oppimisen (Extramural English) ja pelillistäminen (Gamification) pohjalta, ja Minecraftissa mahdollisesti tapahtuvaa oppimista käsitellään Krashenin Input Hypothesis -teorian avulla. Tutkielmassa tehdyt tulokset osoittavat, että Minecraft on monipuolinen ja helppokäyttöinen peli, joka helpottaa joustavien tehtävien luomista. Tämän lisäksi tulokset tuovat esille, että aktiviteettien pelillistäminen voi tarjota oppijoille lisämahdollisuuksia osallistua hauskoihin, merkityksellisiin sekä yhteistyöhön perustuviin oppimiskokemuksiin. Tutkielman löydökset myös osoittavat, että Minecraft tuo mahdollisuuksia oppia kieltä tarjoamalla ympäristön, jossa oppijat voivat olla vuorovaikutuksessa visuaalisten virikkeiden kanssa. Näin ollen Minecraft voi tarjota mielenkiintoisia mahdollisuuksia oppia Englantia tarjoamalla alustan, jota opettajat ja oppijat voivat käyttää hyödyksi aktiviteeteissaan

Minecraft in the Math Classroom

The spread of technology is creating the need for teachers to evolve and adapt their strategies within the classroom. Teachers must continually improve upon their technological integration in order to teach students ever more effectively. Game-based learning has recently gained prominence as a plausible use of technology in the classroom. This thesis will discuss the classroom implications and application of game-based learning. Specifically, the use of the video game Minecraft in the high school math classroom will be examined. The potential of Minecraft as an effective teaching tool to advance the quality of student learning will be examined through a thorough investigation of the topic. Along with practical example lessons, the benefits and difficulties of such an implementation of Minecraft will be considered

A Holistic Approach to Makerspaces and Pedagogy: Linking 20th Century Pedagogy with the 21st Century Makerspace Classroom

This major research paper is a narrative account of Makerspaces and my experiences as a teacher who has embraced this pedagogy. Educational reformers are calling for a dramatic shift in educational practice to meet the needs of the 21st Century learner. A Makerspace is an innovative 21st Century concept and describes a space where people can meet to share ideas, collaborate, invent and use hands-on approaches. It is a do-it-yourself movement that often involves technology, such as a 3-D printer, but also may involve knitting needles and a sewing machine. I examine the content, processes and guiding pedagogies within Makerspaces in education. Alternative forms of education such as Reggio Emilia, Waldorf and Montessori are explored to make connections to the Maker Culture. Chapter 4 offers an e-book that is intended as an educator resource. This resource may help educators and school leaders to implement a Makerspace in their own contexts

What Leads to Player\u27s Enjoyment and Achievement in a Mobile Learning Game?

This study investigated students’ perceptions of competence and enjoyment of a mobile game within the context of mobile game-based learning. The proposed model showed that perceived competence and game attitude were the main predictors of enjoyment, while no direct relationship was found between perceived competence and achievement. The model simultaneously considered other factors such as prior game experience and intensity of use, and final analysis revealed that these two variables were directly related. Another important finding was the strong impact of prior game experience on perceived competence. Results are interpreted with reference to implications for possible means of improving learning outcomes when using mobile learning games in the academic context

Exploring How Individual Traits Influence Enjoyment in a Mobile Learning Game

This study investigated individual traits as predictors of game enjoyment by including learning style, intrinsic motivation, collaboration skills, and computer game attitude as key parts of a model that also included achievement. Results of correlation and regression analyses revealed that intrinsic motivation was the only variable to predict game enjoyment. This supports the conceptualization of enjoyment as need satisfaction of intrinsic needs. Enjoyment was also found to be positively correlated with achievement. Other significant relations emerged, particularly how a player’s attitude toward games predicted intrinsic motivation. The present study examined children’s enjoyment experiences in the mobile version of the Minecraft game. It also highlights the complexity of game enjoyment as it relates to mobile learning games

Enabling collective creativity in schools using Minecraft: serious play

Situated in complexity theory this thesis covers the broad area of creativity re-conceptualise creativity within Australian mainstream education, as being something that continually emerges from collective process. In doing so, many of the key characteristics of the Australian education system, were analysed for the role they played in enabling or hindering creativity within a school. M inecraft was a key pedagogical tool used to filter this aspects through to reimagine them. The findings of this study included: 1. Situating pedagogies framed in complexity have limited scope in the current discourse around mainstream Australian education. 2. There is a role for pedagogies that arise out of new and conflicting discourses (e.g., complexity theory). Its place and role are one of continual ‘deterritorialization and reterritorialization’ (Deleuze & Guattari 1987; Roy 2003). Despite existing only on the edge of the discourse, their mere existence is evidence of the potential for change. 3. Digital games based on complexity, such as the MMO game Minecraft, have a place in education and are enablers of systemic creativity. 4. The students in the study were developing new and previously unnamed multithreaded identities through their complex game design and play. I have labelled this new form of identity Vellooming

Rethinking Pedagogy: Exploring the Potential of Digital Technology in Achieving Quality Education

(First Paragraph) The Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) is UNESCO’s Category 1 education Institute in the Asia-Pacific region devoted to education for peace and sustainable development, as enshrined in SDG Target 4.7. UNESCO MGIEP promotes the use of digital learning platforms where teachers and students can co-create and share a highly interactive learning experience. With the rise of the internet, there has been a proliferation of online content and digital resources intended to support teaching and learning, albeit widely varying in quality. Digital education media and resources, if carefully designed and implemented, have a significant potential to be mobilized on a massive scale to support transformative learning for building sustainable, flourishing societies