Mine Craft Education

One of the major benefits of using video games for learning is the great enjoymentit entails, a critical condition forlearning. Atschool, Minecraft can not only help students develop problem-solving and teamwork skills, it can increase their motivation as well. This is the main finding by Méndez, Arrieta, Dios, Encinas, and Quieruga-Dios(2016), who analyzed video game use by architecture students. Furthermore, according to Callaghan (2016),the educational use of Minecraftfosters conditionsthat are beneficial for learning, and particularly for engagement, collaboration, and creativity. In addition, Minecraft boosts motivation through the use of creativity to improve problem-solving skills. Some authors feel that Minecraft would also be beneficial for teachers, because it allows designing creative projects for students. Others claim that Minecraft has an “immense”impact on education because it encourageslearning through play, creation, and cooperation in class.  Students were also able to develop information search skills, particularly when they had to find out how to advance through the levels. They also improved their problem-solving skills:“Going through the levels taught them to read and understand written instructions” (moderator). In the interviews, students said that playing Minecraft at school made them “really think” to solve problems. For example, at one point, to advance to another level, students had to find a way to gather some coal:“To get coal, you need to solve a problem”(student).      The analysis results also indicated that the game required students to follow logical sequences involving the use of inductive and deductive mathematicalreasoning.The moderator corroborated this finding:“I also insist on having them understand the logicalsequence ofthe levels. Like, for example, we make them build a shop before an oven because you need to have a shop before you can build an oven.”