Advice:
• Play around with Minecraft on your own first, before introducing it to the students. Watch some basic tutorials. There are many to be found on YouTube and through Microsoft's Minecraft: Education Edition website.
• Learn how to walk around, pick up, drop, and use items, and how to access your inventory.
• Know that your students will very quickly out pace any Minecraft skills and knowledge you have, but that's OK! You are like the conductor of an orchestra or the coach of a team. The musicians and athletes may have better skills than you do, but you are the one that brings all those different talents together and guides them to create something greater than an one or few of them could do on their own!
• Try out the Classroom Mode before your first Minecraft class, so you are familiar with how it works and the menus and options available to you.
Anecdote: The very first time I ever tried Minecraft I ended up lying on my couch sick to my stomach because instead of walking around the world, I was jumping, more like bobbing along, up and down hillsides and I got motion sick. After that, I learned how to walk, not bob, and all has been fine ever since.
I am lucky to work in a school where each student has their own school provided Mac laptop. Once Minecraft; Education Edition is loaded onto the students' devices, you are good to go!
2 Basic ways to spend your first Minecraft class: In their own worlds or Classroom Mode.
I have tried both and they both work well; it all comes down to knowing your own students and what works best for your situation.
In their own worlds:
• Each student starts in their own Minecraft world, exploring and trying things out. If you have a number of veteran Minecrafters in your class, let them shine by having them go around, helping others figure out how to do those same basic things you first learned. They all pick up the basic skills very quickly and usually start building as soon as they do.
Classroom Mode: 2 Choices
• Choice One: Open up Classroom Mode and have all the students join you there. I usually choose a flat peaceful, creative world for this first outing. Just like in their own world, let them explore and figure thing out while the veteran Minecrafters are there to help guide them along. They LOVE being in the same world together.
• Choice Two: Open up Classroom Mode into a tutorial world. Tutorial worlds guide your students along a designated path, showing them all the basic skills along the way and usually requiring them to apply those skills to move forward. We usually have a Marine inspired rule about 'leaving no man behind', as again the veterans are encouraged to help the new comers, so you all stay relatively together as a class in the world.
What's next?:
• After this first excursion into Minecraft, the students are encouraged to keep learning and applying basic skills at home. They will quickly all get to a level where they have what they need to start collaborating on some wonderful creations.
• First Reflection: I often give the students a few questions to answer so they can reflect on this first Minecraft outing.
Here's an example of a student's completed reflection:
Minecraft Reflection #01
- Before today, what was your experience with Minecraft?
I knew about Minecraft but I never played it because I thought that it was boring and you couldn’t do anything.
2. Quick! What 3 words pop into your head when you think about your
Minecraft Edu experience today?
Three words might be: Adventure, Explore, Blocks
3. What was something fun/funny that happened to you or that you did in Minecraft Edu today?
Something funny was I accidentally got lost in a cave and then I couldn’t get out! ☺
4. What was a problem you had and how did you fix it?
A problem that I had was I had trouble memorizing which key did what. I fixed it by looking at the keys and pressing them one at a time and seeing what they did.
5. What was it like to have the whole class in Minecraft Edu world together?
It was amazing because you could interact with classmates and they can help you find your way around the world.
6. What would you like to do in Minecraft Edu next?
I would like to keep exploring and see what I can find.
7. What’s one idea you have of something that we could do as a class in Minecraft Edu?
I think we could build a community center and we could have minecraft classes in there.
THE LETTER:
It's always a good idea to keep the parents in the loop when introducing something new that their student will soon be immersed in, especially something as engaging as Minecraft. I have seen students 'disappear down the rabbit hole' playing Minecraft and it is beneficial to all if a few basic rules about using Minecraft are laid out at the start and shared with the parents.
Here is a link to my letter to the parents, which I tweak a bit each year, but the essential information is the same. Feel free to use it yourself.
