9 ms·

Microsoft is using Minecraft to vie for kids’ brain space and schools’ dollars

116 points by steven 10y ago

jaxomlotus 10y ago
What a dumb and misleading headline. "Weaponizes?"
- learc83 10y ago
  Weaponize is the new leverage. A while back I noticed people started using "leverage" instead of "use". Now we're moving on to "weaponize".
inputcoffee 10y ago
Has anyone here programmed minecraft? Can you report to the rest of us how the following compare as learning experiences: 1. Minecraft 2. Swift Playground 3. Commodore 64 or other old basic 4. Game Salad, or Game Maker, 5. Just learning Javascript in the browser I know #2 is my favorite experience, but I think #5 is the most useful now. Just wondering if anyone has played around with minecraft to compare. If I had to teach a kid: #2 > #5 > #3 > can't speak for the others
- the_trapper 10y ago
  Regarding #3 as a kid, I remember spending hours in QBasic on our family's DOS 5 computer. Also, nibbles.bas and gorilla.bas were very fun games written with QBasic that came with it on every DOS computer.
  - iamthepieman 10y ago
    This is exactly how i got my start. I began by playing go chopper. Then explored the file system read some computing magazines that my dad subscribed to and found out about qbasic. I played gorilla and nibbles and then learned how to use the code files to cheat and experimented with the banana parameters in gorilla.bas[0] to make its explosion and throw distance bigger. Those are fond (and old) memories. [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncykt-YJO1M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncykt-YJO1M
- weavie 10y ago
  What I really enjoyed with Minecraft was using a plugin which enabled you to connect a Clojure repl to the server [1]. It was great fun being able to write some code to spawn cows and then blow them up all in real time. With a bit of work, and some better documentation I think a real time environment coupled with something that kids are really into could make for a great educational experience. [1]https://github.com/SevereOverfl0w/bukkure https://github.com/SevereOverfl0w/bukkure
  - cwyers 10y ago
    I have a hard time putting into words how little interest I have in Minecraft personally, but I may have to buy a copy myself to see if I can get this working and get my daughter interested in it.
- icebraining 10y ago
  I started with #5 when I first learned programming, back in 2000. Personally, I think the usefulness part is overrated - once you learn a language, it's pretty easy to learn another, at least for the typical imperative/OO mix - the concepts usually map pretty well. I'd suggest trying multiple and see what they find more rewarding.
  - inputcoffee 10y ago
    Interesting you say that. The reason I thought #5 was the most useful is exactly the opposite: I thought that programming in the browser feels different. There are all these other moving parts, remote libraries, and you have to check things remotely. You're constantly aware that you're plugged into the globe's APIs as opposed to the feeling of being in this little box.
- cjdell 10y ago
  I created this as a kids learning tool: http://webblocks.uk/ http://webblocks.uk/ Has a built in code editor. Had the opportunity to run a few workshops around it. Kids seemed to enjoy it.
  - deskamess 10y ago
    On Chrome/Mac. See console and type stuff (resetPlayer()) and press enter, but nothing happens.
- tomgp 10y ago
  We have Minecraft on our Raspbery Pi connected to our TV, you can write Python code to add/ remove blocks etc. My 5-year-old is happy to open and run these scripts, my 7-year-old will customise simple functions I've written or write them along side me, she understands why and how they work. This is pretty much the level of coding I was doing back when I was their age on our families ZX Spectrum. But importantly the results are MUCH more compelling e.g. make a 10x10x10 cube of TNT blocks centred 20 blocks underground and then detonate them.
  - markdeloura 10y ago
    The Kano OS also has a fun Blockly/Minecraft integration that is worth looking at. You can access it by buying a Kano kit or just download their OS to an SD card and boot it up on your own Raspberry Pi. Great stuff.
- gravypod 10y ago
  Computer craft, a mod for minecraft, would be a far better experience if extended correctly then most of the minecraft programming setups. I've done a few projects in there and could only see how this would help people. I've been able to do really cool systems in there in my playthoughs.
rocky1138 10y ago
If you're a developer looking to fight this, I'd suggest taking a look at Minetest, which started out as a fully libre open-source clone of Minecraft but has really grown into its own project in its own right. The core engine is C++ and mods are programmed using Lua. http://www.minetest.net/#about http://www.minetest.net/#about
- thesimpsons1022 10y ago
  and why do you want to fight it?
  - rocky1138 10y ago
    Embrace, extend, extinguish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace%2C_extend_and_extinguish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace%2C_extend_and_extingui...
    - HelloMcFly 10y ago
      Sorry, maybe I'm dense: what exactly are you afraid of being extinguished here?
      - thesimpsons1022 10y ago
        mine craft or education I guess
      - ocdtrekkie 10y ago
        It doesn't have to make sense. If someone posts about Microsoft someone else has to comment with a twenty year old business strategy from a guy who hasn't worked there in a decade.
        rocky1138 10y ago
        I'm sorry, if I wasn't entirely clear. It's not so much about being anti-Microsoft or even anti-Minecraft. I love Minecraft and the new Microsoft is really good as compared to the old one. But, there's a lot of value in having an open source and libre edition of anything which started out or is maintained as a closed-source, proprietary system. Consider: Firefox versus IE, Linux versus OSX or Windows, or LibreOffice versus Microsoft Office. With Minecraft, there is no opportunity for developers to really get on-board to build stuff with them. The source is closed and Mojang is AWOL when it comes to the developer API. Minetest, on the other hand, is LGPL and is freely available.
thr0waway1239 10y ago
Considering Chromebooks barely entered the market only about 4 years back. "In 2015, Chromebooks topped 50 percent of personal computer sales in the U.S. K-12 education market for the first time, with Windows PCs trailing at 22 percent, according to a Futuresource Consulting report." And looking at the chart in the report [1] is even stranger - Chromebooks have basically gone from 16% of yearly device sales to 50% of yearly device sales [2] in exactly two years. Does anyone else finds the numbers a little hard to believe? Don't the schools have any costs in migrating their systems to support Chromebooks? [1] http://www.futuresource-consulting.com/2016-03-K-12-Education-Computer-Sales-8133.html http://www.futuresource-consulting.com/2016-03-K-12-Educatio... Edit: Based on csharp's comment, changed wording from market to yearly device sales. [2] (For K-12)
- csharp 10y ago
  These are all sales numbers, not market share.
  - mikepavone 10y ago
    Sales numbers are market share. Installed base is probably the term you're looking for.
    - tehwalrus 10y ago
      numbers of devices, not numbers of dollars, is the distinction being made here I think.
- ocdtrekkie 10y ago
  Actually, when this story by Futuresource first came out, it was a lot of fun to debunk. As mentioned by someone else, this is also new sales, not existing devices. But that's not the best part. It excludes desktop computers, which is pretty much the primary form of computing device bought by schools. The claim that it's "50% of personal computer sales" in schools is completely false. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/03/googles-chromebooks-make-up-half-of-us-classroom-devices.html http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/03/googles-chromebooks-make-up-h... <- The word "sold" was added to this headline after I pointed out sales figures and devices in classrooms were not the same thing. I am still annoyed they didn't add in the world mobile. Apparently desktops aren't "devices" anymore?
Haul4ss 10y ago
When Apple makes an iPad app to teach kids a programming language useful only in the Apple ecosystem, they're promoting STEM education. When Microsoft leverages a massively popular game to promote STEM education, they're weaponizing.
- UnoriginalGuy 10y ago
  Yep. And the article doesn't even contain any specific allegations, it is just a clickbait term without meaning. I'll cheer for anyone (Apple, Microsoft, Google, et al) who promote STEM and come up with novel ways to utilise software in education (including interactive games).
  - helthanatos 10y ago
    I would prefer everyone to contribute to education out of a kindness rather than wanting money for it. If companies looked towards the future, more might survive. Being known as someone that just wants money or gets money from tax money causes a hostility. Being known as benevolent instead of evil would be a great thing for any company (excluding hidden and niche companies).
- vvanders 10y ago
  Exactly. Microsoft has always offered educational versions of Visual Studio at discounted/zero cost. I clearly remember getting a student copy of Visual Basic(VS6.0!) for ~$50. I built all sorts of stupid things with that and while it definitely biased me in favor of Microsoft tools you know what else it did? Helped me into a rich and diverse career in a wide array of technologies and stacks. Anything that helps bridge that gap is a good thing in my mind. Problem solving, debugging and abstractions are skills that transcend stacks and can be learned in a wide variety of environments. Engagement is they key to this and I think Minecraft is a great avenue.
  - douche 10y ago
    It used to be called DreamSpark, and it was awesome when I was in college - particularly since in those days, the Express, single-language free versions of VS hadn't come out quite yet, and the community edition was yet to be a twinkle in someone's eye. It looks like they give away many Azure services now as well (https://catalog.imagine.microsoft.com/en-us https://catalog.imagine.microsoft.com/en-us)
bobbylox 10y ago
As someone making an educational game to teach programming ( http://codemancergame.com http://codemancergame.com ) I say the more the merrier! A rising tide lifts all boats.
vblord 10y ago
My son has done many Minecraft programming courses. He even did a Minecraft programming summer camp. If it wasn't with Minecraft, he wouldn't have done it. I think bringing Minecraft in to the schools to teach development is the right move. I wish all schools would embrace that. It would get the kids excited to learn... unlike... well... everything else besides gym, lunch, and recess. From programming aspect, Minecraft makes perfect sense. From a math/geometry perspective, I'd have to see it to believe it. But one thing is for sure... the kids will line up to take that class.
- s3r3nity 10y ago
  My brother had a similar experience, albeit probably outside the target demo. When he was ~15/16, he hit a point where his grades fell hard in high school, and was very close to dropping out. I noticed he was big into Call of Duty games, and suggested that he pick up Minecraft again and try their programming classes -- naively assuming that if you like games you might like most genres. A few years later he was so engaged that he applied to college for a computer science degree. The shit was so inspiring that I bought a Surface Pro 4 just to support Microsoft (even if I just wanted an excuse to buy one haha)
- marcstreeter 10y ago
  Care to share any of the minecraft courses you had your son do? Particularly the more successful ones. I'm homeschooling and would like to get my kids on that train since they're already enamored with Minecraft. I'm just not interested in paying for something they'll end up ignoring.
  - vblord 10y ago
    He did it through a local company: http://www.gamestartschool.org http://www.gamestartschool.org They also just started getting Tynker at school. I think it's optional at school though. https://www.tynker.com/minecraft/ https://www.tynker.com/minecraft/
cwyers 10y ago
I don't think I'd have the job or career I have today if not for a fascination with tinkering with Doom mods back in high school. My daughter is obsessed with Minecraft and if Microsoft can "weaponize" that into something other than her watching incredibly annoying YouTube videos I'd be freaking thrilled.
ccvannorman 10y ago
It's interesting to see the term "weaponized" used with education -- I feel like we've (somewhat) done that for math with supermathworld.com. It's great to see education moving in this direction!
orf 10y ago
Games like this are the best way to teach programming. I first started by programming Counter Strike Source mods using EventScripts that let you write mods in Python. That changed my life. Small 2D games are cool to look at and kind of fun, but nothing is better than taking a game you already love and scripting it. Far better than making a tortoise walk across the screen, it's more engrossing and rewarding and it becomes sort of a game in itself. You want to make your UZI shoot bananas? Figure out what that weird error is and you can. Kudos to Microsoft.
qwertyuiop924 10y ago
Weaponize? That's just wrong. Minecraft, retroactively dubbed Minecraft Java Edition, is totally cross platform. So, how does this new product help MS dominate education? Answer: it doesn't. It's like arguing that Bröderbund (I hope I spelled that right) weaponized Zoombinis to take over the education market.
- badlogic 10y ago
  Minecraft Education Edition is a fork of Minecraft Pocket Edition, written in C++ without modding capabilities and only compatible with Windows 10. Minecraft Java Edition is likely going to die eventually.
  - qwertyuiop924 10y ago
    I don't think MCJE will die any time soon. It's still the first branch new features land in, and no matter how much MS markets it, MCW10 will be a second-class citizen for as long as that's true. In addition, much of the Mojang staff works primarily in Java, as does the modding scene. If Mojang dropped MCJE, there would be a massive outcry, both inside the company (I suspect Searge, and maybe Dinnerbone, in particular, would object) and outside it. Finally, even if MCJE was dropped, the community might well keep it alive. People still play 1.2.5 for the modding scene, and the jars are fairly well available. The community could probably outpace Mojang - and indeed, with projects like Forge, the OreDictionary, FMP, the FluidAPI, and others, not only have they shown they can do it, they already have the groundwork in place. Thanks for the info though. I had assumed that MCEE was a continuation of MCFE.
  - Gaelan 10y ago
    MC:Ed runs on Macs as well. More details of Minecraft's codebases: Minecraft at this point has 3 separate codebases: the original one written in Java, the "Pocket Edition" codebase, and the console codebase. The Java edition was the "original" Minecraft codebase. It runs on most versions of macOS, Windows and Linux. Because it is written in Java, it is very easily moddable and has a large modding scene. Most features arrive here first. The console port was developed by 4J Studios in C++ and released in 2012 for the Xbox 360. It now runs on most game consoles. Mojang separately released an iOS/Android port in 2012, known as Minecraft Pocket Edition. This port is also written in C++. The PE codebase was ported to Windows 10 as well (W10 can run the Java version as well). Back to MC:Ed. MC:Ed is a spiritual successor to a third-party product, MinecraftEdu (Java Edition licensed from Mojang, modded to be suitable for education). Microsoft bought the company behind MinecraftEdu and is replacing it with MC:Ed, which is based on the PE codebase and runs on Windows 10 and macOS (El Cap+).
byron_fast 10y ago
Slowest weaponization ever. If they'd just let modders make money, they would have already stolen legions of devs from iOS.
ramblenode 10y ago
Where is the research and what are the arguments that support Minecraft's educational utility? I haven't devoted a great deal of time to seeking them out, but so far I haven't found very convincing literature. Don't get me wrong, it seems like a great creative outlet, but why should a school prefer this over alternatives like music, art, or writing? I've seen a number of references to Minecraft's ability to simulate circuits and create logic gates, but how is this better than another logic board simulator or cheap electronics? For as many interesting lessons as Minecraft offers, the video game aspect of it necessitates a lot of "grinding" and virtual physical labor that doesn't seem particularly enriching. There is real intellectual meat buried within, but to this outsider it looks like "mostly entertainment" rather than "educational and entertaining".
- tdaltonc 10y ago
  I entered "minecraft" in to google scholar, found a few you might find helpful. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=minecraft&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp= https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=minecraft&btnG=&a...
- DanBC 10y ago
  > the video game aspect of it necessitates a lot of "grinding" No, there's a creative mode where there's no grinding needed. The player has everything available right away. > but how is this better than another logic board simulator or cheap electronics? Children use it.
asimuvPR 10y ago
Disclaimer: My day job is in edtech. Minecraft has shown to be a good tool to teach students about different topics. During this years ISTE convention, I talked with a lot of teachers who used Minecraft as a teaching aide. To the point of using Minecraft graphics on their worksheets. I saw a math worksheet where instead of counting apples the student would count creeper heads. The teacher said the student engagement raised after using the Minecraft graphics. Ultimately it is a great tool. MS will find ways to make money off of that. But there is much worse software out there's being sold everyday to naive school boards. Software that does not help teachers engage students in the way Minecraft does. You will not believe how awful most edtech software is.
pekk 10y ago
Apple has been pulling tricks for many years to lock down education, but I doubt this was ever described as "weaponizing." Sheesh.

116 points by steven 10y ago

jaxomlotus 10y ago

What a dumb and misleading headline. "Weaponizes?"

learc83 10y ago
Weaponize is the new leverage. A while back I noticed people started using "leverage" instead of "use". Now we're moving on to "weaponize".

inputcoffee 10y ago

Has anyone here programmed minecraft? Can you report to the rest of us how the following compare as learning experiences: 1. Minecraft 2. Swift Playground 3. Commodore 64 or other old basic 4. Game Salad, or Game Maker, 5. Just learning Javascript in the browser I know #2 is my favorite experience, but I think #5 is the most useful now. Just wondering if anyone has played around with minecraft to compare. If I had to teach a kid: #2 > #5 > #3 > can't speak for the others

the_trapper 10y ago
Regarding #3 as a kid, I remember spending hours in QBasic on our family's DOS 5 computer. Also, nibbles.bas and gorilla.bas were very fun games written with QBasic that came with it on every DOS computer.
- iamthepieman 10y ago
  This is exactly how i got my start. I began by playing go chopper. Then explored the file system read some computing magazines that my dad subscribed to and found out about qbasic. I played gorilla and nibbles and then learned how to use the code files to cheat and experimented with the banana parameters in gorilla.bas[0] to make its explosion and throw distance bigger. Those are fond (and old) memories. [0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncykt-YJO1M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncykt-YJO1M
weavie 10y ago
What I really enjoyed with Minecraft was using a plugin which enabled you to connect a Clojure repl to the server [1]. It was great fun being able to write some code to spawn cows and then blow them up all in real time. With a bit of work, and some better documentation I think a real time environment coupled with something that kids are really into could make for a great educational experience. [1]https://github.com/SevereOverfl0w/bukkure https://github.com/SevereOverfl0w/bukkure
- cwyers 10y ago
  I have a hard time putting into words how little interest I have in Minecraft personally, but I may have to buy a copy myself to see if I can get this working and get my daughter interested in it.
icebraining 10y ago
I started with #5 when I first learned programming, back in 2000. Personally, I think the usefulness part is overrated - once you learn a language, it's pretty easy to learn another, at least for the typical imperative/OO mix - the concepts usually map pretty well. I'd suggest trying multiple and see what they find more rewarding.
- inputcoffee 10y ago
  Interesting you say that. The reason I thought #5 was the most useful is exactly the opposite: I thought that programming in the browser feels different. There are all these other moving parts, remote libraries, and you have to check things remotely. You're constantly aware that you're plugged into the globe's APIs as opposed to the feeling of being in this little box.
cjdell 10y ago
I created this as a kids learning tool: http://webblocks.uk/ http://webblocks.uk/ Has a built in code editor. Had the opportunity to run a few workshops around it. Kids seemed to enjoy it.
- deskamess 10y ago
  On Chrome/Mac. See console and type stuff (resetPlayer()) and press enter, but nothing happens.
tomgp 10y ago
We have Minecraft on our Raspbery Pi connected to our TV, you can write Python code to add/ remove blocks etc. My 5-year-old is happy to open and run these scripts, my 7-year-old will customise simple functions I've written or write them along side me, she understands why and how they work. This is pretty much the level of coding I was doing back when I was their age on our families ZX Spectrum. But importantly the results are MUCH more compelling e.g. make a 10x10x10 cube of TNT blocks centred 20 blocks underground and then detonate them.
- markdeloura 10y ago
  The Kano OS also has a fun Blockly/Minecraft integration that is worth looking at. You can access it by buying a Kano kit or just download their OS to an SD card and boot it up on your own Raspberry Pi. Great stuff.
gravypod 10y ago
Computer craft, a mod for minecraft, would be a far better experience if extended correctly then most of the minecraft programming setups. I've done a few projects in there and could only see how this would help people. I've been able to do really cool systems in there in my playthoughs.

rocky1138 10y ago

If you're a developer looking to fight this, I'd suggest taking a look at Minetest, which started out as a fully libre open-source clone of Minecraft but has really grown into its own project in its own right. The core engine is C++ and mods are programmed using Lua. http://www.minetest.net/#about http://www.minetest.net/#about

thesimpsons1022 10y ago
and why do you want to fight it?
- rocky1138 10y ago
  Embrace, extend, extinguish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace%2C_extend_and_extinguish https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embrace%2C_extend_and_extingui...
  - HelloMcFly 10y ago
    Sorry, maybe I'm dense: what exactly are you afraid of being extinguished here?
    - thesimpsons1022 10y ago
      mine craft or education I guess
    - ocdtrekkie 10y ago
      It doesn't have to make sense. If someone posts about Microsoft someone else has to comment with a twenty year old business strategy from a guy who hasn't worked there in a decade.
      - rocky1138 10y ago
        I'm sorry, if I wasn't entirely clear. It's not so much about being anti-Microsoft or even anti-Minecraft. I love Minecraft and the new Microsoft is really good as compared to the old one. But, there's a lot of value in having an open source and libre edition of anything which started out or is maintained as a closed-source, proprietary system. Consider: Firefox versus IE, Linux versus OSX or Windows, or LibreOffice versus Microsoft Office. With Minecraft, there is no opportunity for developers to really get on-board to build stuff with them. The source is closed and Mojang is AWOL when it comes to the developer API. Minetest, on the other hand, is LGPL and is freely available.

thr0waway1239 10y ago

Considering Chromebooks barely entered the market only about 4 years back. "In 2015, Chromebooks topped 50 percent of personal computer sales in the U.S. K-12 education market for the first time, with Windows PCs trailing at 22 percent, according to a Futuresource Consulting report." And looking at the chart in the report [1] is even stranger - Chromebooks have basically gone from 16% of yearly device sales to 50% of yearly device sales [2] in exactly two years. Does anyone else finds the numbers a little hard to believe? Don't the schools have any costs in migrating their systems to support Chromebooks? [1] http://www.futuresource-consulting.com/2016-03-K-12-Education-Computer-Sales-8133.html http://www.futuresource-consulting.com/2016-03-K-12-Educatio... Edit: Based on csharp's comment, changed wording from market to yearly device sales. [2] (For K-12)

csharp 10y ago
These are all sales numbers, not market share.
- mikepavone 10y ago
  Sales numbers are market share. Installed base is probably the term you're looking for.
  - tehwalrus 10y ago
    numbers of devices, not numbers of dollars, is the distinction being made here I think.
ocdtrekkie 10y ago
Actually, when this story by Futuresource first came out, it was a lot of fun to debunk. As mentioned by someone else, this is also new sales, not existing devices. But that's not the best part. It excludes desktop computers, which is pretty much the primary form of computing device bought by schools. The claim that it's "50% of personal computer sales" in schools is completely false. http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/03/googles-chromebooks-make-up-half-of-us-classroom-devices.html http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/03/googles-chromebooks-make-up-h... <- The word "sold" was added to this headline after I pointed out sales figures and devices in classrooms were not the same thing. I am still annoyed they didn't add in the world mobile. Apparently desktops aren't "devices" anymore?

Haul4ss 10y ago

When Apple makes an iPad app to teach kids a programming language useful only in the Apple ecosystem, they're promoting STEM education. When Microsoft leverages a massively popular game to promote STEM education, they're weaponizing.

UnoriginalGuy 10y ago
Yep. And the article doesn't even contain any specific allegations, it is just a clickbait term without meaning. I'll cheer for anyone (Apple, Microsoft, Google, et al) who promote STEM and come up with novel ways to utilise software in education (including interactive games).
- helthanatos 10y ago
  I would prefer everyone to contribute to education out of a kindness rather than wanting money for it. If companies looked towards the future, more might survive. Being known as someone that just wants money or gets money from tax money causes a hostility. Being known as benevolent instead of evil would be a great thing for any company (excluding hidden and niche companies).
vvanders 10y ago
Exactly. Microsoft has always offered educational versions of Visual Studio at discounted/zero cost. I clearly remember getting a student copy of Visual Basic(VS6.0!) for ~$50. I built all sorts of stupid things with that and while it definitely biased me in favor of Microsoft tools you know what else it did? Helped me into a rich and diverse career in a wide array of technologies and stacks. Anything that helps bridge that gap is a good thing in my mind. Problem solving, debugging and abstractions are skills that transcend stacks and can be learned in a wide variety of environments. Engagement is they key to this and I think Minecraft is a great avenue.
- douche 10y ago
  It used to be called DreamSpark, and it was awesome when I was in college - particularly since in those days, the Express, single-language free versions of VS hadn't come out quite yet, and the community edition was yet to be a twinkle in someone's eye. It looks like they give away many Azure services now as well (https://catalog.imagine.microsoft.com/en-us https://catalog.imagine.microsoft.com/en-us)

bobbylox 10y ago

As someone making an educational game to teach programming ( http://codemancergame.com http://codemancergame.com ) I say the more the merrier! A rising tide lifts all boats.

vblord 10y ago

My son has done many Minecraft programming courses. He even did a Minecraft programming summer camp. If it wasn't with Minecraft, he wouldn't have done it. I think bringing Minecraft in to the schools to teach development is the right move. I wish all schools would embrace that. It would get the kids excited to learn... unlike... well... everything else besides gym, lunch, and recess. From programming aspect, Minecraft makes perfect sense. From a math/geometry perspective, I'd have to see it to believe it. But one thing is for sure... the kids will line up to take that class.

s3r3nity 10y ago
My brother had a similar experience, albeit probably outside the target demo. When he was ~15/16, he hit a point where his grades fell hard in high school, and was very close to dropping out. I noticed he was big into Call of Duty games, and suggested that he pick up Minecraft again and try their programming classes -- naively assuming that if you like games you might like most genres. A few years later he was so engaged that he applied to college for a computer science degree. The shit was so inspiring that I bought a Surface Pro 4 just to support Microsoft (even if I just wanted an excuse to buy one haha)
marcstreeter 10y ago
Care to share any of the minecraft courses you had your son do? Particularly the more successful ones. I'm homeschooling and would like to get my kids on that train since they're already enamored with Minecraft. I'm just not interested in paying for something they'll end up ignoring.
- vblord 10y ago
  He did it through a local company: http://www.gamestartschool.org http://www.gamestartschool.org They also just started getting Tynker at school. I think it's optional at school though. https://www.tynker.com/minecraft/ https://www.tynker.com/minecraft/

cwyers 10y ago

I don't think I'd have the job or career I have today if not for a fascination with tinkering with Doom mods back in high school. My daughter is obsessed with Minecraft and if Microsoft can "weaponize" that into something other than her watching incredibly annoying YouTube videos I'd be freaking thrilled.

ccvannorman 10y ago

It's interesting to see the term "weaponized" used with education -- I feel like we've (somewhat) done that for math with supermathworld.com. It's great to see education moving in this direction!

orf 10y ago

Games like this are the best way to teach programming. I first started by programming Counter Strike Source mods using EventScripts that let you write mods in Python. That changed my life. Small 2D games are cool to look at and kind of fun, but nothing is better than taking a game you already love and scripting it. Far better than making a tortoise walk across the screen, it's more engrossing and rewarding and it becomes sort of a game in itself. You want to make your UZI shoot bananas? Figure out what that weird error is and you can. Kudos to Microsoft.

qwertyuiop924 10y ago

Weaponize? That's just wrong. Minecraft, retroactively dubbed Minecraft Java Edition, is totally cross platform. So, how does this new product help MS dominate education? Answer: it doesn't. It's like arguing that Bröderbund (I hope I spelled that right) weaponized Zoombinis to take over the education market.

badlogic 10y ago
Minecraft Education Edition is a fork of Minecraft Pocket Edition, written in C++ without modding capabilities and only compatible with Windows 10. Minecraft Java Edition is likely going to die eventually.
- qwertyuiop924 10y ago
  I don't think MCJE will die any time soon. It's still the first branch new features land in, and no matter how much MS markets it, MCW10 will be a second-class citizen for as long as that's true. In addition, much of the Mojang staff works primarily in Java, as does the modding scene. If Mojang dropped MCJE, there would be a massive outcry, both inside the company (I suspect Searge, and maybe Dinnerbone, in particular, would object) and outside it. Finally, even if MCJE was dropped, the community might well keep it alive. People still play 1.2.5 for the modding scene, and the jars are fairly well available. The community could probably outpace Mojang - and indeed, with projects like Forge, the OreDictionary, FMP, the FluidAPI, and others, not only have they shown they can do it, they already have the groundwork in place. Thanks for the info though. I had assumed that MCEE was a continuation of MCFE.
- Gaelan 10y ago
  MC:Ed runs on Macs as well. More details of Minecraft's codebases: Minecraft at this point has 3 separate codebases: the original one written in Java, the "Pocket Edition" codebase, and the console codebase. The Java edition was the "original" Minecraft codebase. It runs on most versions of macOS, Windows and Linux. Because it is written in Java, it is very easily moddable and has a large modding scene. Most features arrive here first. The console port was developed by 4J Studios in C++ and released in 2012 for the Xbox 360. It now runs on most game consoles. Mojang separately released an iOS/Android port in 2012, known as Minecraft Pocket Edition. This port is also written in C++. The PE codebase was ported to Windows 10 as well (W10 can run the Java version as well). Back to MC:Ed. MC:Ed is a spiritual successor to a third-party product, MinecraftEdu (Java Edition licensed from Mojang, modded to be suitable for education). Microsoft bought the company behind MinecraftEdu and is replacing it with MC:Ed, which is based on the PE codebase and runs on Windows 10 and macOS (El Cap+).

byron_fast 10y ago

Slowest weaponization ever. If they'd just let modders make money, they would have already stolen legions of devs from iOS.

ramblenode 10y ago

Where is the research and what are the arguments that support Minecraft's educational utility? I haven't devoted a great deal of time to seeking them out, but so far I haven't found very convincing literature. Don't get me wrong, it seems like a great creative outlet, but why should a school prefer this over alternatives like music, art, or writing? I've seen a number of references to Minecraft's ability to simulate circuits and create logic gates, but how is this better than another logic board simulator or cheap electronics? For as many interesting lessons as Minecraft offers, the video game aspect of it necessitates a lot of "grinding" and virtual physical labor that doesn't seem particularly enriching. There is real intellectual meat buried within, but to this outsider it looks like "mostly entertainment" rather than "educational and entertaining".

tdaltonc 10y ago
I entered "minecraft" in to google scholar, found a few you might find helpful. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=minecraft&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp= https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=minecraft&btnG=&a...
DanBC 10y ago
> the video game aspect of it necessitates a lot of "grinding" No, there's a creative mode where there's no grinding needed. The player has everything available right away. > but how is this better than another logic board simulator or cheap electronics? Children use it.

asimuvPR 10y ago

Disclaimer: My day job is in edtech. Minecraft has shown to be a good tool to teach students about different topics. During this years ISTE convention, I talked with a lot of teachers who used Minecraft as a teaching aide. To the point of using Minecraft graphics on their worksheets. I saw a math worksheet where instead of counting apples the student would count creeper heads. The teacher said the student engagement raised after using the Minecraft graphics. Ultimately it is a great tool. MS will find ways to make money off of that. But there is much worse software out there's being sold everyday to naive school boards. Software that does not help teachers engage students in the way Minecraft does. You will not believe how awful most edtech software is.

pekk 10y ago

Apple has been pulling tricks for many years to lock down education, but I doubt this was ever described as "weaponizing." Sheesh.