Game-Based Learning Part 2

Part two of this assignment was to play a video game, and I chose Minecraft,  a “sandbox” game created by Markus “Notch” Persson in 2009.  In a sandbox or open world game, “a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how or when to approach objectives; the player has tools to modify the world themselves and create how they play” (Wikipedia.org).  According to Prensky (2006), Minecraft is a complex video game:  they can take from 8-100 hours to complete; it requires players to learn a wide variety of difficult skills and strategies; may require research and collaboration with others; and can take 20-60 hours to master (p.58).  It can also be described as an endogenus game, where “the content and context are interrelated to the game.  These games tend to model complex worlds where…skills are used to solve problems within a context meaningful to the game (Hung 2011, p. 26).

I mainly chose Minecraft because my son Zach is really into the game.  He bought the alpha version back in 2009 (it took a week for him to convince me and my husband!), and he’s been playing it ever since.  I believe he was actually addicted to the game a few years ago, getting up in the middle of the night to play it (on school nights!), so he was banned for a while, and we put some controls on the computer so that it shut down at 11pm.  I’ve watched him play, but to be honest, it has never really interested me.

I started out watching several beginner tutorials, and they were good, but it was hard to remember everything once I started playing.  (Yes, I know, it’s a complex game!) I think it would have been helpful to have some onscreen help. I was planning on playing the free demo version, but Zach wanted me to play on his “premium” account.  When I finally got started, I just walked (and jumped) around at first, getting comfortable moving around, which didn’t take very long.  I knew I wanted to build a house right away, but I couldn’t remember exactly how to make an ax or a shovel; I should’ve taken notes while watching those tutorials!  So I hope this isn’t considered cheating, but Zach, the Minecraft expert, helped me J  I think it would have been an extremely frustrating and time consuming experience for me if I would have had to figure everything out on my own.  Zach told me how to make a shovel and ax, then I had to tell him to go away and let me play!  He kept wanting to show me all these shortcuts and extra features.  I shared this in an earlier post that I like to learn “by doing”, but it sure is nice to have someone close by to answer my questions.  I would have had to re-watch the tutorials, and wouldn’t have gotten much done in my hour. 

Zach helping me out.  My husband took this picture and posted it on Facebook; the comments from my friends were really interesting...along the lines of "What a great Mom!"

    I played in “survival” mode first; that’s where you have to find resources and build everything on your own.  I also played in the “peaceful” setting; I didn’t really want to deal with monsters attaching me!  I was able to build my house, then I switched to creative mode, where you have an unlimited supply of resources, just given to you.  It is hard to image all the possibilities with this game.  Zach showed me some incredible videos of what people had built, like a recreation of the city of London, an aircraft carrier, even music videos!  The creative mode is probably what teachers would use in the classroom.

Here is the house I built!

Minecraft was extremely challenging for me, but I can see why kids like to play it so much.  The challenging part was learning everything; being a complex game, and the first time I played, one hour is just not long enough to learn it.  Like I said earlier, I would not have enjoyed my experience if Zach hadn’t been there to help. 

I have learned so much about game-based learning, from the readings and from my experience playing Minecraft.  The games kids play today (complex) are different than those I played as a kid (mini-games).  What sticks with me most is all the good things that come as a result of playing video games.  There is a point where kids do spend too much time playing, but with moderation, kids learn collaboration with others, “how to identify and concentrate on the most important things, and filter out the rest”, how to make good decisions quickly, and become “experts at multitasking and parallel processing” (Prensky 2006 p. 8, 9).  And they are having fun, too!  Not all kids are going to respond to video games the same way, but I can see definite benefits to using these complex games as learning tools in the classroom.

Resources

Hung, A. C. (2011). Serious games and education. The work of play:  meaning-making in videogames (pp. 10-29). New York: Peter Lang. 

Prensky, M. (2006). Complexity matters: What most adults don't understand about games. "Don't bother me Mom, I'm learning!": how computer and video games are preparing your kids for twenty-first century success and how you can help!  St. Paul, Minn.: Paragon House.

www.wikipedia.org