Why you should play Minecraft with your class

• by Amy Bowker

• January 12, 2021

I never thought that I would be writing a blog post about why you should play Minecraft with your class. I absolutely love technology but I am not a gamer in any way. The only games I play came out back in the ’80s with my buddies Mario and Luigi. Today’s games I find too complicated.

This November, Minecraft for Education came out on Chromebooks. The amazing Tech Coaches at my school were encouraging teachers to give it a try with their classes. Of course, since I have no idea what I’m doing I was very apprehensive, but I decided to give it a try. 

The first time we played Minecraft as a class I was extremely nervous. I was able to login with a lot of assistance from my students but then just ran around, hit walls, fell into weird portals and got lost several times. This was extremely uncomfortable for me.  I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and usually, as the teacher I’m in charge of what is happening. I ended up asking a lot of dumb questions but my students really took on the role of teacher. They helped me, they answered my non-stop questions, they came and saved me when I fell down a portal and I had no idea where I was. Was this embarrassing? Absolutely. I think we teachers need to step into the role of learner more often. We need to give more time for our students to shine and to lead.

The first reason I think you should begin to start playing Minecraft with your class is for engagement. Most of our students already are playing Minecraft. When I suggested to my students that we were going to play Minecraft they were beyond thrilled. My students even took the initiative in their own time to download Minecraft Education Edition and log on themselves.

The second reason I think you should start playing Minecraft with your class especially if you have no idea how to play is to give your students the chance to lead and to be the teachers. When I said I had absolutely no idea how to play Minecraft I was not exaggerating. I had no idea how to log in, or what it would be like. When I  told my students we were going to play, they completely stepped up to the challenge of helping me out and showing me how we could play. By stepping aside and letting our students show their expertise it gives them a chance to feel confident and share their passions. My students were thrilled to help me out. 

The next reason I think you should play Minecraft is to build relationships with your students. Your students are already playing this game. They already love this game so why not share some time where you can learn from them and have fun with them. My students and I just finished building a winter festival in Minecraft with no other learning objectives but to build something wintery. It was so much fun to spend time with my students with no learning objects objectives and no stress. To just see what we could do as a team.  I think my students enjoyed seeing me as the student as well because they can see me struggling, needing support and asking questions and that’s what I want them to do in class as well.

In Minecraft, students are really using their 21st-century skills such as collaboration, problem-solving communication and critical thinking skills to build a world. I know that for me I wanted to really focus on these 21st-century skills this year but my engagement in class is way down. By using Minecraft in the classroom as a way to get the students to really start talking, helping each other, collaborating and problem-solving together. My students talked the entire time we played. Students who normally don’t talk we’re asking for support, getting other students to help build something with them, or just problem solving together. 21st-century skills just appeared while we were playing. I didn’t try for them to come out but I definitely noticed that they were collaborating way better than they have been in any other tasks that I’ve orchestrated in class.

I would highly encourage using Minecraft in your classroom with your students. It’s fun and it encourages students to practice their 21st Century Skills.

Let me know below in the comments if you do!