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"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."

"Getting Started with Minecraft Improving Minecraft Performance on Old and New Computers Meet the Biomes of Minecraft Exploring Minecraft's Structures Meet the Mobs of Minecraft Exploring Minecraft Game Modes Surviving Your First Night In Survival Mode Your First Mine, Armor, and Further Exploration Advanced Mining and the Magic of Enchanting I'm a Farmer, You're a Farmer, We are Farmers All Engineering with Redstone Creating Custom Minecraft Maps Downloading and Installing Custom Maps Setting Up Local Multiplayer and Custom Player Skins Exploring Minecraft Multiplayer Servers"

"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. "

"You know that Minecraft is massive. But, did you know it is transforming learning? Geeky teachers have brought Minecraft to subjects ranging from history to biology to probability. The game is being rolled out to every secondary school in Northern Ireland this month. If you're a parent, you've noticed Minecraft offerings spawning in your local summer camp listings. The Chicago Architecture Foundation offers a Minecraft camp for budding builders. Ninety-two libraries participated in the International Games Day Minecraft Hunger Games tournament, and crowned a 13-year-old girl as its champion. And, I've helped launch Connected Camps' Summer of Minecraft, a new in-game online camp."

"Fact: Kids love Minecraft. The unique and ridiculously popular game is often compared to digital LEGO's, and at it's core, allows players to place and break blocks in a 3D world. With more than 22 million users in 40 countries, the Minecraft craze is only growing and kids can't seem to get enough. The draw of Minecraft? For kids, it's a blank slate and gives them the opportunity to let their imagination run wild. For educators, it is a perfect opportunity to fully integrate technology with learning. Minecraft is being recognized as an incredibly powerful, educational tool that acts as a medium for educators and students, alike, allowing them to unleash their creativity and fully integrate technology with learning opportunities. Because the game lives online, the multiplayer format can be utilized to emphasize digital citizenship and collaboration all through integrated project based-learning. Meet Connected Camps, an online summer camp for Minecraft that is breaking the rules in all the right ways. Yes, you read that right, Connected Camps is a virtual summer camp, that connects kids from around the country (and even the world) through a dedicated, monitored and secure Minecraft server."

"If Minecraft has taken over your kids and you hardly know who they are or what they're talking about anymore, you're in good company. But, although you may love that the game helps build 21st-century skills such as creativity, innovation, and collaboration, your kids' obsession can be overwhelming. Perhaps most puzzling is that every waking moment they're not playing Minecraft, they're in front of YouTube watching Minecraft. For fans - and they are legion - Minecraft YouTube videos are a huge part of their enjoyment of the game. There are tutorials (for ideas on new things to create), "Let's Play" videos (footage of people playing the game), challenges (new gameplay ideas to try), mod showcases (which show off cool thing kids can download to modify their Minecraft worlds), and more."

"It's hard to believe that just six years ago Minecraft was virtually unheard of. It was little more than a hobby project for creator and designer Markus Persson. Fast forward to 2016 and Minecraft has completely changed the way we perceive videogames. Starting as a novelty in a handful of innovative classrooms, Minecraft is now a foundation of curriculums around the world. From math to art to geography and even quantum mechanics, Minecraft and imaginative educators are turning bland subjects into incredible immersive learning experiences."

"Why Minecraft? Every day, more and more teachers are using the world-building game Minecraft to engage and educate. The game is a true phenomenon and gamers young and old are using it in countless creative ways. Practitioners of Games Based Education have realized the potential and have embraced Minecraft in classrooms around the world. Now you can too! What is MinecraftEdu? MinecraftEdu is the collaboration of a small team of educators and programmers from the United States and Finland. We are working with Mojang AB of Sweden, the creators of Minecraft, to make the game affordable and accessible to schools everywhere. We have also created a suite of tools that make it easy to unlock the power of Minecraft in YOUR classroom."

"My objective with this wide-ranging set of skills, and involving the community so closely in their development, is to give kids the chance to practice whatever makes them passionate now and feel encouraged -- even if they're obsessed with making stuff exclusively with duct tape. It's crucial that kids learn how to be passionate for the rest of their lives. To start, they must first learn what it feels like to be simultaneously challenged and confident. It's my instinct that we should not try to introduce these experiences through skills we value as much as look for opportunities to develop them, as well as creativity and literacy, in the skills they already love. MAGICIANS CRAFT ILLUSIONS THAT BAFFLE THE SENSES AND CONFUSE OUR REASONING. THEY PLAN LIKE SCIENTISTS, BUT PERFORM AS ARTISTS. ONLY THROUGH LONG AND DISCIPLINED PREPARATION DO THEY SUCCEED. It's difficult to predict which skills will be valuable in the future, and even more challenging to see the connection between our children's interests and these skills. Nothing illustrates this better than Minecraft, a popular game that might be best described as virtual LEGOs. Calling it a game belies the transformation it has sparked: An entire generation is learning how to create 3D models using a computer. Now, I wonder, what sort of businesses, communication, entertainment or art will be possible? Cathy Davidson, a scholar of learning technology, concluded that 65% of children entering grade school this year will end up working in careers that haven't even been invented yet. I bet today's kids will eventually explore outcomes and create jobs only made possible by the influence of Minecraft in their lives. Why take any chances and build your dream house with blueprints alone? The Minecraft kid could easily make a realistic 3D model of one for you to walk through before you build. That's why DIY treats Minecraft as a tool, not a game, and encourages our members to use it to pursue art, architect

"If there's any video game that has successfully made its way into the classroom, it's Minecraft. There's a small subset of teachers using all kinds of digital games in interesting ways, but the blockbuster hit Minecraft and its educational counterpart MinecraftEDU have reached much wider audiences. But getting started with MinecraftEDU can be intimidating for teachers who don't consider themselves "gamers" and aren't sure how to harness the engagement and excitement of Minecraft. Luckily, there's a robust and global Minecraft teacher community to supply tips, support and even lesson plans."

"In this episode, Minecraft EDU creator Joel Levin talks with Vicki about Minecraft in schools. Want your school to use Minecraft? This is THE episode to share! Get those kids excited about learning! You can use Minecraft!"

"Last year I taught third-grade math in a whole new way. Combining elements from the wildly popular sandbox game Minecraft, I had students thinking visually and creatively about mathematical models and theories that went way beyond a typical third-grade curriculum, transforming math class into what I like to call Mathcraft. Why Minecraft? I could say I am using Minecraft for a number of reasons, like how I find Minecraft enhances metacognition by increasing students' memory storage capacity. The game itself creates a relatable enjoyable experience that can be internalized and shared in a community of learners. The limitations on the working memory are minimized because the gameplay itself is an extension of our visual sketchpad. Working with students they always say, "I can see it," and when they see it they share it."

" "Even young kids have gotten very adept at Minecraft, so it can be quite intimidating for teachers," said Jason Schmidt, an instructional technologist for Bennington Public Schools who will teach the four-week MinecraftEdu MOOC, in a prepared statement. "If I can help get teachers over that hump, imagine how delighted students will be to have a learning environment tailored to their interests for a change." The other, Minecraft for Educators, "is a course for teachers who are wishing to gamify their learning experiences and deliver a unique pedagogy that will engage, enthuse and keep learners coming back for more," according to information released by the company. Both MOOCs are available through the Canvas Network. Minecraft for Educators will start January 26, 2015 and run through March 9. The company has also released a Minecraft app to allow students to submit assignments to the Canvas learning management system from within the game. Using the app, students can tag what they've made in the game for their teachers to visit, upload books they've written in game directly to the speed grader or use the game's circuitry tool to complete assignments that will be automatically graded. A video demonstration of the app is available at YouTube. Other MOOCs for teachers in the suite include: Digital Literacies 1; Digital Literacies 2; Five Habits of Highly Effective Teachers; Teachers without Borders: Educating Girls; and Tinker, Make and Learn. Among the other MOOC offerings in the new suite is a course designed specifically for parents, Parenting in the Digital Age, which aims to help them address issues such as cyberbullying, digital citizenship, exposure to inappropriate content, media literacy and screentime. Taught by Andrew Swickheimer, director of technology at Noblesville Schools, the self-paced course opens September 22. "Parental involvement in K-12 education has one of the biggest impacts on a child's commitment to learning," said Jared Stein, vice pres

"Dear daughter: I know you find this hard to believe, but there are apps out there that you would enjoy that are NOT related to Minecraft. What? What's that you say? You have no interest in anything that's unrelated to Minecraft? Such as dinner or the dog or YOUR MOTHER? Sigh. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  If your kid, like mine, is completely obsessed with all things Minecraft, here's a list of apps he or she might find interesting. And if you have yet to introduce your kid to this addictive and educational game, start with the Pocket Edition and then jump head-first into the Minecraft well. Be warned: it's deep. VERY deep. And a bit on the expensive side -- most of these apps have an up-front price, as well as in-app purchases for extras. But what price peace and quiet?"

"Minecraft in Education is on the cusp a new era.  A new dawn of integration into classrooms and learning environments across the globe and we eagerly await the launch of the full, licensed product that schools will stump up valuable cash for.  The marketing has been done, the conferences have been spoken at and the webinars delivered.  You've experienced the "wow", so what about the "How"?  While for many will mean "How do I get started?" or even "How do I do X?", for me it has led me to ask… …"How would I do Minecraft Education Edition?".  With a blank canvas to work on and a bottomless pit of resources, what would my Minecraft Education Edition look like?  For me there are 7 C's that are at the very core of my vision of Minecraft in Education.  Read on and let's reignite this discussion of growth and development starting, as every learning experience should, with the curriculum."

"Not all Minecraft videos are created equal. Approximately 90% of the top-rated Minecraft videos found on YouTube and other popular video streaming sites contain inappropriate content not suitable for children. Clean Minecraft Videos is the solution. Clean Minecraft Videos offers more than 200 videos from the YouTubers kids know and love that are free of all inappropriate content."

"Minecraft is a "sandbox' video game that can be used in a variety of ways to support and enrich the curriculum. Through game-based learning, using Minecraft, you can support students who achieve differently, as well as foster social development and digital citizenship. Watch student intrinsic motivation explode (like those creatures called Creepers) and discover how game play and discussion helps to develop learning skills and make connections to different areas of the curriculum.   In this session you will learn the basics of Minecraft, discuss games based learning, and dispel the myths around "doing Minecraft"."

"News that Microsoft is buying MinecraftEdu and beefing up the classroom version of the insanely popular game got us thinking about all the great ways educators use Minecraft to teach everything from math and social studies to team building and cell biology. "As an educational tool, Minecraft is a wonderful platform for learning," says Pam Simon who runs an after-school program called Fidgets2Widgets that has incorporated Minecraft since 2013. "You have to have mathematical understanding to build sound structures. Architecture and design features allow for innovation. Redstone in the game acts as the electrical circuitry system, so you can run minecarts, light torches, and create pressure plates." Read these six articles to get ideas for using Minecraft to engage students in deep leaning in your classroom, school or program."

"A few months ago, we started a section here in EdTech and mLearning where we feature resources related to the use of Minecraft in education. Besides the collection of books we recommended in this regard together with the newly released Minecraft platform for educators, today we are sharing with you some of the best iPad apps to help you learn everything you need to know about Minecraft. These are basically guides covering a wide variety of topics related to Minecraft play from how to craft items to guides on how to defeat the new dungeons."