September 7, 2015
Since its release in 2009, Minecraft has sold millions of copies worldwide revolutionizing thus the gaming industry and providing game players with an endless world of possibilities. As a sandbox construction game, Minecraft has successfully and distinctively set itself from the crowd by incorporating the ethos of 21st century learning that include: creativity, challenge, problem solving, and strategic thinking all of which are adeptly adapted to the player’s little gaming world. Minecraft provided players with the tools and resources to construct their own gaming reality and test their creative possibilities.
In a relatively short time, Minecraft succeeded in marking a strong presence within the education sector and became one of the leading educational learning platforms for students. As a culmination of its sweeping popularity among the educational community, Minecraft recently released
Minecraft for Education which is a website geared primarily towards providing teachers with a forum where they can share their ideas about how they use Minecraft in their teaching.
Given this growing potential of Minecraft in education, we decided to compile the list below featuring some of the best reads on Minecraft. These books will help you learn more about how educators are using Minecraft as a powerful instructional tool to engage students and teach different subjects.
1- Minecraft in the Classroom: Ideas, inspiration, and student projects for teachers 1st Edition, by Colin Gallagher
‘This book offers ten classroom projects from teachers using Minecraft® to teach math, science, languages, and more. Each project includes learning objectives, project organization and tasks, and ideas for reflection and assessments. You’ll also find detailed instructions for setting up and running a Minecraft® server in the classroom, both the regular and the popular MinecraftEdu versions. ’
2- TeacherCraft: How Teachers Learn to Use MineCraft in Their Classrooms, by Seann Dikkers (Author), et Al. (Contributor)
‘Teacher Craft is about how teachers learn to use new digital media. Teacher learning is central to reform and change across subject areas and age levels, but how much do we really know about how teachers learn to try new lessons in classrooms? Minecraft is currently the game of choice for millions of youth and also for these seventeen teachers who claim it has transformed their classrooms. I’
3- Adventures in Minecraft, by David Whale (Author), Martin O'Hanlon (Author)
‘Here's your ticket to a world of adventures with Minecraft and programming. Learn how to extend Minecraft and create a new gaming experience, by exploring the magical world of Minecraft programming. Adventures in Minecraft, like other books in the highly successful Adventures series, is written especially for 11- to 15-year-olds. With this book you will learn new programming skills while having fun’
4- The Big Book of Building: Everything Minecraft Imagine it… Create it… Build it, by Triumph Books (Author)
‘From a brief overview of the game to advanced farming, mining, and building techniques, this guide touches on everything Minecraft enthusiasts could ever ask for. Featuring authoritative and engaging content from our internal experts, The Big Book of Building also highlights some of the most influential builders in the Minecraft community today and examines their creations and techniques that catapulted them to fame.’
5- Hacks for Minecrafters: The Unofficial Guide to Tips and Tricks That Other Guides Won't Teach You Kindle Edition, by Megan Mille
‘With more than 100 million registered players, Minecraft has taken control of gamers all over the world. With Hacks for Minecrafters, you'll be able to take back that control! Only with the help found in Hacks for Minecrafters will you be able to craft your world exactly how you want it to look, all while discovering the hidden gems of the game.’
