minecraft
Mindprint Rating
Tags
^21st Century Skills
Social-Emotional Learning
All Ages
Website
Skills
Flexible Thinking
Organization
Abstract Reasoning
Visual Discrimination
Spatial Perception
Mindprint Expert Review
Pros
- The vast variety of materials that students use to build can allow for endless creativity.
- Students can learn about the atmospheric conditions in different biomes and the animals that live there.
Considerations
- Minecraft.net does not offer concrete learning so progress and learning are not measurable.
- Students may want to spend hours at a time playing which some parents may view as a negative.
- Students with visual weaknesses may find this game confusing at times and even "get lost"; however, some students find the "getting lost" part of the fun.
Mindprint Expert Review
Minecraft.net is an extremely popular game loved by kids because it is fun and addictive, and appreciated by parents because as an online game it supports endless opportunity for creativity, planning, and visualization. The game offers students the opportunity to select a biome (desert, arctic, mushroom, etc.) and play in survival mode or with endless resources for survival. Students can play together or individually to build a home, a city, or a civilization. One can consider this almost virtual Legos, and what is lost in visual motor skills development can perhaps be traded off for a smattering of learning about science, physics, geography, weather, and biology.
Fun
Engaging for the Mindprint recommended age range
- Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
- Subject matter and problems are relevant, interesting and authentic to students
- Visually appealing to children in the target age range
- Provides virtual rewards or incentives after meeting specified goals or objectives
- Provides a "break activity" between academic problem sets
- Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
- Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option
Easy to Use
Understandable for children in the Mindprint recommended age range
- Has a free or trial version
- Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
- Provides an age-appropriate tutorial/first time users can work independently
- Student should be able to use independently after first use
- Has a multi-player option to foster in-person collaboration or cooperation
- Multiple users can save a profile
- Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
- Can play without sound and not distract others
- Students can save work between sessions
- Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
- Requires registration before using the first time
- Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
- Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
- Overall - Easy to use
Cognitive Concerns
May not be advisable for students with the following cognitive needs
- Visual Motor Speed
- Requires challenging finger movements, motor precision or physical manipulation
- Working Memory
- Requires remembering and completing a sequence of visual steps
- Students might need support with navigation