Minecraft in school? How video games could be the future of learning

Professor Dezuanni and his team observed and interviewed 8- and 9-year-old students in Brisbane who regularly played Minecraft at home and at school. They found that the game helped the students analyze math problems, collaborate on projects, and engage in rich social interaction as they discussed their individual processes and results.

“The teachers working with those students have been quite impressed by the way students work with the game, as well,” Dezuanni said.

Source: Minecraft in school? How video games could be the future of learning – CSMonitor.com

Posted in Gaming Tagged with: minecraft

How Minecraft and Duct Tape Wallets Prepare Our Kids for Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet

It’s difficult to predict which skills will be valuable in the future, and even more challenging to see the connection between our children’s interests and these skills. Nothing illustrates this better than Minecraft, a popular game that might be best described as virtual LEGOs. Calling it a game belies the transformation it has sparked: An entire generation is learning how to create 3D models using a computer. Now, I wonder, what sort of businesses, communication, entertainment or art will be possible?

Read the full article @ edSurge
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2015-05-26-how-minecraft-and-duct-tape-wallets-prepare-our-kids-for-jobs-that-don-t-exist-yet

Posted in Misc Tagged with: education, minecraft

Coming up on this month’s Tech Talk: Ancient ones and Ender fun: Going beyond standard Young Adult events and getting “-craft”y

31 July 2013 @ 10am CT — Lindsey Tomsu (LaVista Public Library) and Gordon Wyant (Bellevue Public Library) discuss their experiences throwing large scale events for teens. Lindsey will discuss the Lovecraftian Life Sized Arkham Horror program, in which teens cosplayed as characters and worked together to make props to immerse themselves in the world of H.P. Lovecraft. Gordon will discuss the Minecraft-a-thon, an all-day event that took over the YA area in the middle of summer with crafts, a gigantic Minecraft papercraft world, a library hosted Minecraft server, and integration of the library’s new 3d printers. These programs dwarfed their normal teen events and came with their own joys and challenges. Their successes and failures will be laid bare to encourage and arm you with the knowledge to blow your programming audience away.

More details &  registration information @ NLC.Nebraska.gov.

Posted in Libraries Tagged with: Cthulhu, gaming, horror, lovecraft, minecraft, ncomplive