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Relying on Minecraft for education is similar to pushing the use of Word, Excel, etc---encouraging the use of proprietary software that locks the user into the

Relying on Minecraft for education is similar to pushing the use of Word, Excel, etc---encouraging the use of proprietary software that locks the user into the _software_ rather than the general concepts that they introduce. Yes, you do learn about those concepts, but why not teach them in an environment that is friendly toward education, and then apply those concepts to the proprietary software (like Office) should they need to be used in the future? In this case, how about something like Minetest? Inspire them with a program that they can share freely with their friends and family. With a program that they can express their creativity as far as they desire, down to the source code, even. I think this was posted on HN a while back: http://www.ocsmag.com/2016/04/04/mining-for-education/ http://www.ocsmag.com/2016/04/04/mining-for-education/ https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-why.html https://www.gnu.org/education/edu-why.html

navait 10y ago
Children want to play minecraft. All their friends play that, not Minetest. Who will they play with on their minetest server? You? It's like when I was a young kid, I wanted a game boy, but I got those shitty tiger electronic games. My parents saw it as the same thing, but I couldn't trade pokemon with my friends or talk about Zelda. Proprietary software either way, but children don't care. Let children find their own way to FOSS, not force them into using some half-baked clone.
- mikegerwitz 10y ago
  > Let children find their own way to FOSS, not force them into using some half-baked clone. A classroom setting is different than gameplay with peers. I have a son. It's inevitable that he's going to want to play the games that his peers are playing, and my ideals are not more important than his social well-being. But what a classroom uses and teaches is vastly different. It's _what_ is being taught that matters. For example, some teachers may choose to use online tools for teaching mathematics, whereas others will stick to textbooks and hands-on play. Both are viable methods. I've already met with the school district on student privacy issues, and I plan to meet with them on other issues relating to software freedom, which they were receptive to.
maroonblazer 10y ago
In the context of this article and the application, most kids don't care about being able to "share freely with their friends and family." They care about playing a game they're familiar with, enjoy playing and that their friends play too. The suggestion reminds me of when I was small and some classroom didn't have Legos but some knock-off that was nearly identical, functionally, but much less inspiring to play with.

navait 10y ago

Children want to play minecraft. All their friends play that, not Minetest. Who will they play with on their minetest server? You? It's like when I was a young kid, I wanted a game boy, but I got those shitty tiger electronic games. My parents saw it as the same thing, but I couldn't trade pokemon with my friends or talk about Zelda. Proprietary software either way, but children don't care. Let children find their own way to FOSS, not force them into using some half-baked clone.

mikegerwitz 10y ago
> Let children find their own way to FOSS, not force them into using some half-baked clone. A classroom setting is different than gameplay with peers. I have a son. It's inevitable that he's going to want to play the games that his peers are playing, and my ideals are not more important than his social well-being. But what a classroom uses and teaches is vastly different. It's _what_ is being taught that matters. For example, some teachers may choose to use online tools for teaching mathematics, whereas others will stick to textbooks and hands-on play. Both are viable methods. I've already met with the school district on student privacy issues, and I plan to meet with them on other issues relating to software freedom, which they were receptive to.

maroonblazer 10y ago

In the context of this article and the application, most kids don't care about being able to "share freely with their friends and family." They care about playing a game they're familiar with, enjoy playing and that their friends play too. The suggestion reminds me of when I was small and some classroom didn't have Legos but some knock-off that was nearly identical, functionally, but much less inspiring to play with.