Could Minecraft be part of your child’s curriculum someday?
Microsoft has acquired MinecraftEdu and is looking for ways to help develop young problem-solvers with analytical minds. Is this a good idea?
Image: Microsoft News
An Official Microsoft Blog post byAnthony Salcito, published on January 19, 2016, announced thatMicrosoft has acquired MinecraftEduand is investing in a customized version of the game Minecraft that could be used as a classroom learning tool. Like me, your first reaction to this news is probably one of skepticism and perhaps even derision. But when you think about it more deeply, the concept of using a game environment as a teaching mechanism for children, if implemented correctly, is really not a bad idea.
Minecraft
Without going into much detail, Minecraft is a virtual environment where the players build, refine, change, and destroy a virtual world of their creation using building blocks. What gets made in this virtual world is limited only by the players’ imaginations. There are also multiplayer environments that allow players to cooperate in the creation of their world.
Each building block has properties that can be used to create simple procedural programs. By combining many simple procedures, players can create very complicated machines. One of my favorites is thisscientific calculator(video). Using Minecraft, this person created what is essentially a virtual mechanical scientific calculator. This takes some incredible focus and organization of thought.
If students using Minecraft as an educational tool can achieve even a small improvement in critical and analytical thinking, it is well worth the unconventional nature of the activity.
Gaming raises skill
As someone who has played video games since the early 1980s, I can attest to the power of gaming to help shape the mind. The strategy games I played back then (and still do today) helped me learn how to think both tactically and strategically. The adventure games taught me the benefits of thinking outside the box. Later, the first person shooters honed my abilities to think quickly and focus.
Back in the “old days,” gamers not only had to know how to play a game, they also had to know how to get a game to run in the first place. Under DOS, to get games to work, one had to know about batch files, and subdirectories, and file structures. This is how a career devoted to explaining how technology works was started.
Work of the future
The Information Age has changed the way society does just about everything. At TechRepublic we have been talking aboutbig dataand theInternet of Thingsfor years now. However, these concepts are no longer phenomena of the future; they are a reality. The amount of data being collected on everything you and I do, on every transaction that takes place, is mind-boggling.
To sift through this ever increasing mountain of data we are going to need well-trained minds. We need minds that can analyze trends, that can see patterns, that can formulate plans of action, and that can imagine where those actions will eventually lead.
Microsoft funding a project to transform Minecraft into a learning tool that educators can use to help develop those analytical minds we need is a good thing. Sure it’s a bit unconventional—and some skeptics will downplay the benefits. But any attempt to create people who can analyze and solve problems on the fly is well worth the effort, don’t you think?
Minecraft: Pocket Edition gets a beta update — here’s what new and different
Above: Minecraft is changing on your smartphones and tablets.
Image Credit: Mojang
Minecraft on iOS and Android is still well behind its PC and console counterparts, but it is slowly catching up.
Developer Mojang updated the beta version of Minecraft: Pocket Edition to version 0.14.0 today. This patch introduces a number of widely requested features, such as cauldrons and slime blocks. With more than 30 million copies of Minecraft: Pocket Edition sold, this is one of the most successful premium-priced games ($7 in the App Store and on Google Play) ever released for mobile devices. And those fans will likely welcome this update that closes the gap between their preferred version and Minecraft proper.
Among the in-game changes this update brings (which we’ll list below), Mojang is considering using this as a jumping off point for eliminating support for iPad 1 and iPod Touch 4 because. Those devices do not support iOS 7, and almost no one uses them, according to the game’s developer.
We’ll see if that drastic update goes through when 0.14.0 leaves beta later this year.
As for the rest of the changes, here are the big additions in 0.14.0:
New achievements
Maps
Witches
Cauldrons: For brewing potions
Droppers: Let you quickly drop items into a chest
Hoppers: Also drop items into a chest
Dispensers: A block that can dispense stored items on demand
Slime blocks: Craftable blocks that you can bounce on
The forthcoming Minecraft: Education Edition, written in C++, looks faster and smoother than the old Java version, but won’t be compatible with all the old mods. If Microsoft mis-handles the transition, a split could damage the Minecraft community that underpins the game’s stunning success….
Image credit: Microsoft
This summer, Microsoft will release a beta ofMinecraft: Education Editionwritten in C++ rather than Java, which looks like removing the performance problems associated with running the current version of Minecraft. The Education Edition should run well on the types of Windows laptop commonly found in schools, and in homes.
Microsoft announced the Education Edition at the BETT 2016 educational technology exhibition held last week in London. Microsoft also announced that it hadpurchased MinecraftEDU, an educational version of Minecraft, from Teacher Gaming LLC. (SeeMicrosoft acquires MinecraftEdu from Teacher Gaming.) MinecraftEDU will not be developed any further, but most of its features will be implemented in the Education Edition.
Minecraft: Education Edition also builds on and extends the Windows 10 version of Minecraft. This is based on the Pocket Edition of Minecraft (MCPE), which is written in C++, not in Java. At BETT, a Microsoft programmer told me that the aim for the Education Edition was to support all the features of the Java version. It will also include extra features that will enable teachers to control large multi-player sessions, including new commands such as Build Allow and Build Deny.
In schools and colleges that use Office 365, students will be able to log on to Minecraft using their Office credentials. Alternatively, the Education Edition can easily be set up on a peer-to-peer classroom network, without a server.
At BETT, early versions of the Education Edition were running impressively smoothly with high-resolution graphics settings on the Minecraft stand.
It remains to be seen how much of the Java version can be incorporated in the C++ version, which runs on Windows 10 PCs, tablets, smartphones and games consoles. It should be possible to import worlds, skins, maps and similar mods. However, mods written in Java code will not be compatible.
The Education Edition is both a solution and a problem for both Microsoft and the Minecraft community. It looks like providing the higher performance that Minecraft players have wanted for years. However, removing the ability to create Java-style mods might well diminish the community supporting the game. That would be extremely bad news for Microsoft, and for its$2.5 billion investment in Mojang, Minecraft’s developer.
What follows is speculation….
At the moment, it looks as though there will be two versions of Minecraft – a Standard Edition and an Education Edition – with the latter feeding off the former. At first, these will have somewhat different features and capabilities, and different target audiences.
In the future, however, it seems likely that most Minecraft players will learn the new C++ version first, either in schools or on their own Windows 10 laptops, or via the Pocket edition on smartphones, tablets, and games consoles. The old Java version could therefore see a relative decline: its users may become just a small minority of the expanded market.
Obviously, Mac OS X and Linux have no problems running C++ code, but it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will port the Education Edition to these rival platforms. If it doesn’t, Windows 10 will have an advantage in the education market. If it does, it could be the beginning of the end for the Java version. Why support two code-bases if you only need one?
Robot’s are awesome. I have had a Roomba for years. That’s an example of a robot that does specific tasks. But what about all the other repetitive tasks that occur every day? Washing and putting dishes away, making the bed, doing laundry, making breakfast and coffee. I’d like to reduce the amount repetitive tasks that occur daily so I can spend more time working on experiments and going on adventures.
Flynn’s robot, LOT (Logic On Treads), is something like Tony Starks robot. It’s helpful. LOT can do repetitive tasks so that Flynn doesn’t have to. LOT can also help Flynn by being an extra hand. Plus, when Flynn is making things that need to be precise, it’s nice to have a precise instrument around, like LOT’s robot arm.
The kind of robot I need is something like LOT. A somewhat universal robot that can help with more than a single task. Rather than just a vacuum robot (which is great), the robot I am building needs to do much more. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I think Flynn got it right with LOT. The basic structure I need is a mobile robot arm that can respond to basic input and preferably, verbal input.
Making a robot will take time. I’ll have to design, make and assemble components and program a “brain”. I see teaching a robot to be much like teaching a baby. Start with the basics; getting around, avoiding danger, exploring the environment, listening to simple commands, replying with simple output. Then adding more complexities, like controlling its arm and hand. Then onto even more complexities, like dynamically adapting to verbal input. For example, if I say, “LOT, get me a cup of coffee,” LOT will know that means to run several libraries of tasks that end up with a fresh cup of coffee next to me as I write. Of course that’s a very simple example that is actually more complex than it seems in the background. But it all seems do-able, and I’ll keep you in the loop.
Minecraft released its 1.8.8 edition, also known as version TU31 for the Xbox 360 community, on December 18th. Known as one of the biggest updates Minecraft has ever seen, the new edition is said to bring the console versions closer to the current PC build than they’ve ever been. Adding tons of new items and features as well as a few changes to the core of the game, users are sure to enjoy Minecraft’s entire revamped world.
Over 20 new items have been added to the game including salmon, raw rabbit, Rabbit stew, pufferfish, blue orchid, Tulips, Sunflowers, Lilacs, large Ferns, Rose bushes, and an armor stand.
More than 20 different types of blocks have also been added such as Granite, red sand, coarse dirt, wet sponge, and slime blocks as well as three new enchantments, one new structure, and 10 new biomes to explore.
Changes to the core of the game features new items and treasures that can be caught while fishing, enchanted books that can now receive multiple enchantments all at once, and as if that weren’t already quite the upgrade, Ghasts can now travel through portals in the Nether if the portal is big enough and now most mobs can swim. There are even some new mobs roaming the lands!
A few more added features and changes:
Villagers now have additional professions, and can now harvest crops and breed. They’ll even turn into witches upon being struck by lightning.
Any rectangular shape from 4×5 to 23×23 will work as a Nether Portal.
Pumpkins and Wither Skeleton Skills can be given to spawn Golems and Withers.
The Anvils have been rebalanced.
A furnace can be used to create Cracked Stone Bricks and Sponge.
Empty furnaces will only accept fuel and empty buckets in the fuel slot.
Item frames emit a Redstone signal, and can rotate in multiple directions.
Redstone comparators can now detect the rotation of an item in an item frame and output an equivalent power signal.
Buttons can be placed at the top and bottom of blocks.
Water-filled cauldrons will put out burning entities, taking away one water level each time.
Sponges have been reintroduced into Survival Mode with a new behavior and texture.
Sugar Cane color is now affected by the specific biome.
Melons can be found in patches similar to Pumpkins in the Jungle Biome.
Extreme Hills Biomes now have snow at higher elevations.
Ocean Biomes got rid of the sand and dirt, now only featuring gravel on the floor.
Sheep drop mutton upon death.
Arrows decelerate more quickly underwater and extinguish if on fire.
Skeletons flee from wolves.
Spiders no longer see players through solid blocks.
In addition to these numerous changes, the audio has been updated and an entire new Tutorial World has been created too.
With so many changes and added features, Minecraft has extended the entire world of the game, giving users way more biomes to explore, flowers to check out, and things to do!
