How to become the most popular teachers in Middle School

At the beginning of this semester we dove head first into the world of Minecraft. Elena was a Minecraft novice who had never played before (but has a growth mindset), while Matt has a bit of experience implementing Minecraft in the class (but far from an expert). The goal was to find an engaging way to integrate technology into French class. The result was a huge French Minecraft world with examples of French speaking, writing and vocabulary.

What is Minecraft?

Minecraft is a computer game that allows players to build constructions out of textured cubes, whilst using creative skills to label them and to create conversations, depending on the setting.  We used MinecraftEdu, a school-ready version of Minecraft, designed specifically for classroom use.

If Minecraft is new to you, check out this short one-minute Minecraft trailer:

Why bring Minecraft into the educational setting?

This project facilitated the development of non­cognitive skills that many other educational games teach, whilst reinforcing the units of the existing school curriculum. Furthermore, it provided pupils with an enjoyable, age-appropriate and popular learning activity.

Pupils...

• worked on the project from home, for no more than one hour a week;
• created a 4-5 minute presentation on a topic directly related to Units 1 and 2;
• presented their final project in class, one week before the end of term;
• connected to a moderated server from their laptops;
• worked in pairs, small groups or individually, as preferred;
• were informally assessed on the project, and therefore received individual feedback;
• were not set other homework for French for the duration of the project;
• were provided with ongoing assistance in school, for both French language or ICT skills, as required.

Summative Task

The summative assessment was for the students to create a screencast of themselves walking through their Minecraft world - introducing everything in French.

Take a look at this example by Sophia and Paula:


You can find many more videos and blog posts by students on the ISL Minecraft blog. If you are interested in integrating Minecraft in your classroom, stop by and have a chat with Matt and Steve.

Matt and Elena