Joanie Clarkson
Yesterday, YouTube announced 1 trillion views of Minecraft videos. 1 trillion, with 12 zeros. This surpasses any other genre of videos on the site. For perspective, 1 million seconds of watch time would take about 10 days. 1 billion seconds is about 32 years. 1 trillion seconds is approximately 31,500 years of watch time if each video was only 1 second long. That is a mind-boggling amount of time. If there are 7.9 billion people on the planet, on average each person has watched 126 Minecraft videos.
In the article, there is a section that allows you to consider your impact on this milestone. If you input the maximum number of videos you’ve watched (99,999), it is still only 0.000000099999% of the total views. The article dives deeper into some really interesting statistics like trends within the Minecraft community, trends by location, a timeline of creators, and popular videos. If you get the chance, check it out. It really is fascinating.
What does Minecraft have to do with the classroom?
Obviously, Minecraft is incredibly popular. Students of all ages (yes, even highschoolers) love this game. This video introduces you to how minecraft can be used in the classroom. It can be a powerful tool that allows students to explore and learn new concepts in an environment they are already familiar with. It also allows teachers to better judge understanding and differentiate learning.
In this video you can hear from one of the creators, Joel Levin, of Minecraft:Education Edition about why and how Minecraft can be such an impactful teaching tool. Levin suggests that every subject and nearly every age can use Minecraft in an engaging and effective way.
What does Minecraft in a classroom or school setting look like?
In this video you can hear from teachers and administrators of a school system that has implemented this tool at every level. Below are some examples of lessons and concrete ways Minecraft has been used by teachers in the classroom.
The Scientific Method
Teach the Scientific Method with Minecraft Education Edition. This lesson is designed for grades 3 - 12 and allows students to formulate, test and modify hypotheses five times and then add their statements of truth to the Cave of Knowledge at the end of the island. Five stations focus on WATER behaviour as students move through Science Island.
Empathy
A project for 2021 and beyond! Modernized with Immersive Reader and Flipgrid in mind this super popular project will be a favourite with your grade 2-7 learners for sure. Three ways to use this project adds flexibility and empowers teachers to build empathy skills in the classroom!
Basic Minecraft Multiplication
Watch a teacher teach a lesson on multiplication using Minecraft. This teacher created this world on his own, however there are also pre-created worlds for teachers to use. So don’t be scared off thinking you need to know how to code.
Cambridge Assessment English
A lesson made by Cambridge Assessment English as a first in series Adventures in English. A walkthrough (and solutions to the puzzles) where students learn about adjectives in a 50 min lesson and prepare for telling stories. By using the immersive reader, students are able to listen to the text being displayed and SEN students are supported in their learning.