3 ms·

Ok, this article is just weak... Kids are using minecraft to live out their creativity... So how is this changing education? They are not learning how to be cre

by FloNeu 11y ago

Ok, this article is just weak... Kids are using minecraft to live out their creativity... So how is this changing education? They are not learning how to be creative ( at least i see no prove for that in this read), they just exercise the skills they already have, which of course will train their creative muscles. Maybe you can say minecraft is a superior tool for doing so, as it doesn't enforce phisical limits ( and maybe introduces new challenges like mentioned materials etc. ). I read this because i expected something like the claims they made for second live, while i was in university, which we used for online courses ( also building auditoriums and stuff ) and soon failed to deliver the platform for courses with user-interactions and so on...

pdkl95 11y ago
For traditional education, Minecraft serves two purposes: 1) it gets kids interested, and 2) it's a blank canvas the teacher can use similar to how they use a blackboard or any other teaching aid. As usual in education, tools like Minecraft do not work on their own (save more maybe the creative uses you mentioned). The teacher still has to be able to use the tool effectively.
- germinalphrase 11y ago
  And have the time to build the appropriate constructs for the learning to take place within. The knowledge that minecraft could be a useful learning environment hardly means that it is a practical one.
  - pdkl95 11y ago
    That's true for any teaching aid. Teaching is a hard, time-consuming process. The fact that some teachers have used Minecraft very successfully in their lessons proves it can be practical. It's up to the teacher to decide if they can use it practically in their lessons. Software tools (in general, not just Minecraft) could become a lot more practical in the future if the community creates a CPAN/rubygems/npm style archive.

3 ms·

Ok, this article is just weak... Kids are using minecraft to live out their creativity... So how is this changing education? They are not learning how to be cre

by FloNeu 11y ago

pdkl95 11y ago
For traditional education, Minecraft serves two purposes: 1) it gets kids interested, and 2) it's a blank canvas the teacher can use similar to how they use a blackboard or any other teaching aid. As usual in education, tools like Minecraft do not work on their own (save more maybe the creative uses you mentioned). The teacher still has to be able to use the tool effectively.
- germinalphrase 11y ago
  And have the time to build the appropriate constructs for the learning to take place within. The knowledge that minecraft could be a useful learning environment hardly means that it is a practical one.
  - pdkl95 11y ago
    That's true for any teaching aid. Teaching is a hard, time-consuming process. The fact that some teachers have used Minecraft very successfully in their lessons proves it can be practical. It's up to the teacher to decide if they can use it practically in their lessons. Software tools (in general, not just Minecraft) could become a lot more practical in the future if the community creates a CPAN/rubygems/npm style archive.