Minecraft, a video game where users can build almost anything using textured cubes, is gaining a reputation as being not only fun, but educational.
In a blog post earlier this month, The New York Times discussed Minecraft’s role as a learning tool. The post cited education experts, such as Joel Levin, co-founder and education director at the company TeacherGaming. Levin said the game can be used to educate people about science, city planning and speaking a new language.
S.R.I. International, a Silicon Valley research group that specializes in technology, conducted a study and found that video games in general can increase cognitive learning for students by as much as 12 percent as well as improve hand-eye coordination, problem-solving ability and memory, according to the blog post.
Minecraft has also shown to increase spatial and reasoning skills in children, an MIT study conducted by Eric Klopfer found.
The game involves building large, 3-D structures with blocks while also trying to avoid monsters.
These structures can become quite large and complicated, and many users have made life-size versions of famous designs such as the Titanic or the Taj Mahal.
Minecraft can also emulate circuitry using a built-in application called “redstone.”
This circuitry can become complicated and some of the more complex builds include working scientific calculators and clocks.
The New York Times post emphasized Minecraft’s ability to educate children.
Evan Wetherington, a junior in computer engineering at N.C State, said he can learn from the game too.
“Playing Minecraft has taught me many basic principles about how basic logic gates work and has made me think very constructively into how to solve problems to build machines. Being a computer engineer major, that means a lot,” Wetherington said.
According to Wetherington, a logic gate is a function that performs a logical operation using one or more inputs to produce a single logical output. It is often used when making integrated circuits and in other types of circuitry. Players in Minecraft can use logic gates to build and automate things such as a clock or a calculator.
Wetherington said he’s built a working clock and a drawbridge that automatically closes at night among other creations.
Minecraft offers players the ability to design and build virtually anything, giving users an unlimited space for creativity and learning.
“I play Minecraft because it’s a game that isn’t set in stone and you make it into what you want it to be,” Wetherington said. “It’s different than other games because you don’t have any set goals, and you’re free to create what you want.”
Aside from offering the ability to create anything, Minecraft also boasts a large “modding” community that has created plugins that do almost anything from changing the texture of the blocks to adding brand new content in game.
Minecraft also has many servers, which offer people the option to build and work together to create even bigger and more complex structures, creating a collaborative learning tool, Klopfer said to The New York Times.
For Wetherington, the possibilities are endless.
“In my personal experience, it’s the best game I’ve ever played,” Wetherington said. “You become attached to the world you’ve created and there are always new possibilities of things to build or explore.”
