How And Why Minecraft Is Used In Education Around The World

“Video games are not good for children”; many parents have always had this ideology. Therefore, you must also be behind your child in restricting their gaming time as a parent. However, have you ever thought about educational video games and helping your child nurture their academic skills in a fun way? Well, one such example of a fun video game that educators from around the world have credited as extremely interesting for kids is Minecraft. This game can be enjoyed in single-player and multiplayer modes. Let’s understand the key aspects of this beautiful game for kids. 

Also Read, 7 Amazing Memory Games for Kids

What exactly is Minecraft?

Minecraft has been around in the gaming industry for a long time now. Over the years, its popularity has risen, and it is one of the most sought-after video games among children. To understand Minecraft, you can visualize it as a digital version of Lego blocks. Officially described as an open-source sandbox game, the video game lets your child’s character be virtually in the game world. The world is infinitely spread, so your character is free to head anywhere. The game allows your child to build anything from his creativity using digital sandboxes. This lets creativity flourish in your child. Apart from building, the game also has a survival mode. In the survival mode, your child would encounter several problems threatening their character’s survival. Your child would aim to get over this threat and survive.

Four life skills that your child would gain by playing Minecraft 

1. Teamwork and collaborative culture

Learning to work in a team environment is essential. As discussed earlier, Minecraft can be played in single-player and multiplayer modes. In multiplayer mode, your kid and their friends could collaborate to build something beautiful in the Minecraft world. This would teach your child numerous qualities like,

●       Respecting others’ ideas

●       Pitching in their ideas whenever necessary

●       Agreeing with a team

●       Role allotment

●       Collaborative culture and its benefits

●       Communicating with pals

●       Planning the course of action with a team

2. Self-motivation and goal definition

Defining goals and sticking to them needs a lot of grit and determination. Be it gaming, education, or professional life, defining practical goals and working towards them without needing external motivation or a push is significant. Self-motivated children tend to do better in academics, life, and career. For example, as your child plays Minecraft, they would define a goal in his mind about how to proceed with building a particular structure, be it a house or any building. Once the planning is done, your child will define a time frame and milestones on how to proceed with the construction. Once done, your child must be determined to complete the milestones promptly. Doing so will ultimately get him closer to the final goal! 

3. Creativity

Minecraft does make your child think out of the box. In this game, your child is driven to think creatively. Although your child might not want to become an architect, essential creativity is vital in every field. Minecraft imbibes creativity in your child. In the game, there are different kinds of blocks, and they differ in the material they’re made of, color, luster, and other physical features. While constructing, your child would use different materials to make the structure sturdy and attractive. This would need logical thinking and creative thinking! Hence, Minecraft is not just a generic fun video game but also helps your child think. 

4. Problem-solving

As we saw earlier, Minecraft also has a survival mode. The survival mode differs from the casual mode in many ways. Firstly, your child can access all the resources in a simple mode. However, in survival mode, they must start from scratch by finding or producing the desired help. Next, in the survival mode, several challenges are thrown at your child’s character. Dragons, fireballs, lava, floods, and wild animals are a few examples. Your child would need to dodge these threats to survive. Hence improving your kids problem-solving skills ! Therefore, it’s safe to say that Minecraft can help your child analyze objects that pose a threat and how to avoid them. 

Conclusion

Minecraft is a quintessential example of a video game that can help your child equip essential life skills such as teamwork, communication, and self-motivation. The next time you see your child enjoying Minecraft, encourage them a little.