If you've watched past episodes of Idea Channel, you know we're huge fans of Minecraft. This totally amazing video game allows you to build your own world from scratch, what's not to like?!?! But it may be good for more than just fun and games. Some experts have brought Minecraft into the classroom, allowing teachers to customize lessons and students to engage with concepts in new ways. And while educational games aren't new, Minecraft has some unique advantages that could usher in a new direction in education. In the future, students across the world may spend their class time punching trees.

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Literary Links:
Classes using the game had significantly higher means than those classes that did not use the game:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pzqv0rawrer...

Teachers documenting positive experiences w/ Minecraft:
http://minecraftedu.com/wiki/index.ph...


Video Links:

Will Minecraft and Makerbot Usher in the Post-Scarcity Economy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klQ7bb...

MinecraftEdu Thoughts 02 - Probability and Gravity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Ulb1...

The Physics of Minecraft: Gravity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE9_YA...

Minecraft Virtual Classroom #4 - Foreign Language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36F9X1...

A Sad Day on the Oregon Trail:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj2tNb...

History of Latvia:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKIeD...

Teaching with Games: GLPC Case Study: Joel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mTf3j...

Video Game High School:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JqR3G...


Music:
Roglok: http://vimeo.com/musicstore/track/21166
Binarpilot: http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/66141...
Level 5: Room for the Homeless http://www.jamendo.com/en/list/a10132...


Want some more Idea Channel?

Here's Last Week's episode: "What Does the Russian Meteorite Tell Us About Surveillance Culture?" http://youtu.be/Cjlb3Iu071M

Want another one? Here ya go: "There's No Such Thing As Offline?!?" http://youtu.be/CZwJq88cWKY

Here's Some More: "Are Bitcoins and Unusual Hats the Future of Currency?" http://youtu.be/E_9R45RLNR0

• Category

  Education

• License

  Standard YouTube License