Is Minecraft Only a Creative Solution for Schools?

This has been on my mind more and more lately as I see the global social media and feeds on what is happening in schools around the world. Admittedly, I am only seeing those using the #MinecraftEdu or @PlayCraftLearn tags and mostly on Twitter, but it is more and more 'only' about students creating to demonstrate learning.

Which I am not suggesting by any means is necessarily a bad thing, but what happened to the teaching lessons, those things we used to have where learning goals were embedded in the game? It seems that the vast majority of uses out there at the moment are students creating something as a demonstration of learning.

So I began to wonder, what happened? When did Minecraft only become a creativity platform for schools, and I think it is since Microsoft took the helm. I also think it has a great deal to do with the 'surface' level of understanding of "Minecraft the game" that trainers, and therefore those they have trained have. The number of users with access to M:EE continues to grow as more and more districts, regions and states (however it is broken up in your area of the globe) begin to license it, and as such there is a high level of 'inexperienced' Minecraft educators out there, who are looking for support. Microsoft holds the training, and uses their trainers, and while those trainers are great at getting people 'on board' and understanding what Minecraft is, and how it can be used at this base level, there is not enough knowledge out there in the majority of trainers about "Minecraft the game" to help people go beyond this low level usage.

I look back at the maps available 6 years ago, before Microsoft took MinecraftEdu off the shelves, and the 'hallmark' map and learning activity was really Eric Walker's World of Humanities. It was an immersive world that took students through masses of learning content, involved gameplay, quests, information and really used the best of what Minecraft has to offer for educational purposes. I would link you to the original page for that, but that is yet another thing that Microsoft have recently pulled off the shelves, and despite multiple community requests, and myself asking repeatedly for further information, we still have no visibility on the reasoning of that decision, or whether they will ever be made available again. That grump aside, here is an archived copy of the page with an outline of the world: https://web.archive.org/web/20160319171629/http://services.minecraftedu.com/wiki/Wonderful_World_of_Humanities

Second to that was probably Joel Levin's Escape from Everest map. One which I have been 'in the process' of updating to work with EE for about 12 months now, at the request of a community member, and sadly I just have not had the time to get that project over the line. I cannot get you an archived link to that one unfortunately, as I have been unable to access the old world library pages at all.

Of course I rank most of my original maps up there as 'learning tasks' in Minecraft, but they are also available for M:EE right now. Alongside mine, there were Shane Asselstine's maps where the tasks were always gameplay based, but tied tightly to learning outcomes, and many other user generated maps as well, all of very high quality, and using Minecraft explicitly for educational outcomes, not as a creativity tool alone.

I think the main difference between back then and now, which is by no means a fault of anyone, even though this post seems directed at Microsoft and their trainers by what you have read thus far, but back then, those integrating Minecraft into their classrooms knew the game, today to put it simply, the majority of teachers using this platform don't know "Minecraft the game" at all. What they do know is that it is loved by kids, and that they can join students together in multiplayer sessions, and that kids can create in it, but they know nothing about the gameplay, the mechanics, which of course means they cannot map learning into worlds or tasks beyond allowing students to be creative in this space. Alongside that, the majority don't have the time (or possibly the desire) to go and play, which is one key stepping stone to going beyond the basics in any learning tool, making the time to explore deeply to better be able to incorporate into lessons.

This is limiting the growth of learning tasks in Minecraft hugely in my opinion. Giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their learning of a topic in Minecraft is low hanging fruit, and while the end product may be far more interesting than writing an essay, or drawing a picture, is it really any different? I don't often 'call down' the SAMR model, but in this case it is quite literally using Minecraft as a substitute for a pencil and some paper, or perhaps a replacement for LEGO or making a diorama or poster.

Now look at the lessons that used to be available. Fully immersive worlds, with learning embedded throughout in gameful tasks. That is a redefinition of how education works, and that is the power that Minecraft CAN have in classrooms. It CAN go fluidly across all the different 'levels' of SAMR. However currently the larger community is stuck at only the basest understanding of this power and as such there are millions of students using Minecraft as a pen and paper creative tool, rather than an immersive learning environment.

So, what can we do to fix it? Well, here goes a bit more of a rant, I have been trying for years to get Microsoft and more specifically the M:EE team to see that the 'Mentor' community is not actually mentoring, a large portion of the members in that community in the past have been new to Minecraft. There is a greater portion of people within that community now that have game knowledge, but it is not enough of a ratio to tip the community over the edge. The community is a community of people from all over the globe, with knowledge ranging from absolute base understanding (or lower) through to very high level understanding about gameplay, and how to manipulate it to create immersive learning experiences.

All of that 'beyond the basics' knowledge is 'wasted' within that community. Sometimes I feel that Microsoft has misnamed the community, they don't seem interested in driving or supporting pedagogical discussions in that space or in community members discussing things and building lessons and worlds together, but are very interested in the community amplifying the message that Minecraft is good in classrooms for students. Which, it is, but there is so much more a true 'Mentor' community could do. Spreading the word is only part of mentoring, and in my mind is more of an ambassadorial type role. I think, in the end, until Microsoft and the M:EE team begin to value immersive lessons and starts producing content or challenges, or even supporting the production of resources, that go beyond the paper and pen substitute level, then we, as a broader community are stuck, and here is why.

I was told, when someone from the M:EE team saw Mini Melbourne a few months before release, that they didn't want students just exploring, which of course, in this case has massive inherent value for rural students and planning of trips. I also have some in-depth lessons available with many more planned, but to hear that from someone on the team that regularly brings us surface level worlds, with no embedded learning within them, was a bit confronting, and really, in my mind, showed that they can talk the talk, but perhaps cannot yet walk the walk. I say this because they still regularly release things at the basest level for all those teachers that are looking for, and need, the low hanging fruit, yet still, after many years of this platform being theirs, they do nothing to support those who are ready to go deeper, or looking for more than allowing creativity from their students in this platform.

So, as a community, what is next, other than waiting for Microsoft or the M:EE team to realise there is a need in the community for more than the low hanging fruit? I think we need keep building a community, I am still trying my best to share everything I learn, how I work, and why I make the decisions I do, and it is pleasing that there is a growing community of those interested in taking things further, beyond the basics. If that sounds like you, join the Discord (https://discord.gg/7fSQBdx) and start chatting to others about your outcomes and plans and see if, as a community, we can create something truly amazing.

Also, don't let my opinions of the Mentor community dissuade you from joining that community either, regardless of your experience in Minecraft in educational spaces, you will get something from that community, and as I have said in the past, the more educators that join that space looking to grow their practice, and willing to be open, share thoughts and honest feelings and collaborate with others, the better off the global Minecraft in education community will be.

That's it from me, I KNOW Minecraft is so much more than a creative platform, and I understand that all community members are on their own journey and need to start in a place of comfort, but some community members have been on a journey longer than M:EE has been around, and there is very little supported growth opportunity for them. Which also means there is little to available to support those beginning who want to go further, and I find that very disheartening. I hold hope that at some stage in the near future Microsoft and the M:EE team will begin to move beyond only supporting the low hanging fruit, and start supporting a wider range of embedded learning in this platform. If you have any comments, feel free to leave them below, thanks for reading.