Is there anything redeeming about Minecraft? And is the PC version more educational than the iPad version?

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

My kids only have the free iPad version. They want to upgrade to the full iPad version, and I'm debating between the iPad version and the full PC version, which I keep hearing is educational, but I can't seem to determine just what makes it so. Can anyone tell me whether Minecraft really has any redeeming qualities from an educational perspective, or whether it's just another addictive time suck? And if it can be considered educational, would the PC version be a better investment than the iPad version?

 

Thanks!

[Live2Ride]

Another addictive time suck to be frankly honest. Yes, they can get creative and build things and play with friends, but it's still sitting on ones hind end instead of playing outside or building with tools or using legos...

 

I don't mind it, but in small doses.

[renmew]

Addictive time suck

[Jean in Newcastle]

It is creative. The educational part is more of an indirect thing than anything direct. PC version gets updates sooner. Has more blocks. Allows mods (modifications). Has better multi-player support. It is more flexible. But it is the same general game of placing blocks and digging out blocks to build things and to survive.

[bobbeym]

Both my kids, my BFF, and her kid all play Minecraft on the PC. From what I can see, the only inherently educational component of it is the creativity needed to create your own world.

 

Now you can make it educational by using it as a basis to create math problems (how many blocks to build this structure given XYZ parameters) or to have them recreate something for history, but IMO some of that is easier said than done. There are some websites out there that give tips (google "minecraft lessons", "minecraft classes", or similiar keywords to find them.

 

You can also view this past thread for more info.

[Mrs Mungo]

There are lots of sites out there about how to use it for educational purposes. But, they mostly require you to be engaged with the game too.

 

http://minecraftteacher.tumblr.com/

[AK_Mom4]

Time sink that is slightly more creative than just shooting pigs in space.

[AnaShoo]

My kids love it, but since they are addicted to LEGO, this didn't surprise me. Even the five year old figures out stuff that sometimes surprises his dad (who was the one who originally bought it). I would much rather they play that for their computer time than a lot of the other games that are out there. Should they spend their entire day on it? Of course not! But they get computer time, and are not spending every day outside, especially now that it's freezing out there, so I don't really see it as any different than any other computer or video game you'd consider allowing your kids to play.

[PachiSusan]

Melissa has been doing Minecraft for about a month and a half and she adores it. I'm really quite impressed with the world she has created. She's made castles and tree houses and just recently, a library. I have also seen a jump in her math and spacial ability. I don't know if it's just a coincidence, but there have been many things she's learned from it:

 

She's been asking about mining techniques and properties of gold, silver, and rock.

She's been making a world and working really hard to supply everything people might need.

**This one touched my heart so deeply. The first thing she made after the first house was a Church with a cross in front of it and she put flowers in front of the cross. I asked her what they were for and she said, "For Jesus to show him I love him, of course!!!" MELT.

 

I fought this game for almost 2 years. When My SIL finally showed it to me and showed me how her kids were on it and did not play on public servers or online for that matter, I realized that this game could be a good one. It's been a good fit so far and the only negative is that it is DEFINITELY a time consumer if you let it. I have to regulate it pretty hard or she would be building all day.

[LucyStoner]

It's not a productive or super educational activity. It's brain popcorn. That said, I am not going to begrudge my son some brain popcorn. We all have something that is just fluffy fun, right? Like reading message boards, perhaps?

 

The desktop version is nicer and my son has created several mods. And I am glad it's not portable. Much easier to regulate the amount of time he spends on it when it is in a fixed, non-portable spot.

[Joshin]

Anything can be a time suck, and sometimes people need to just sit on their rear ends! I am very strict about TV and game time, but I do allow Minecraft as one of their weekend screen time options. It teaches spatial relations and an innate sense of geometry, which I think really helped my math-phobic older son catch on to some recent geometry calculations in his curriculum more quickly than usual. Unlike a standard video game, the child has almost complete control over their world, so even if the body is just sitting there the mind is highly active and engaged in some sort of higher order thinking.

 

Depending on the child, they may take it even further. DS7 has created an area for every single moon landing. In doing so, he researched the Apollo missions, where they landed, who flew on them and what the landing site looked like. He is the only 7 year old I know that can list off all the missions, the purpose of the mission, landing site and the astronauts involved. He translates this passion to other topics, including our history studies, so Minecraft has helped him solidify the things we are studying. Sure, he could do that with Lego's, but Minecraft allows quicker building and unlimited building materials.

[Tammi K]

My oldest son is living in Oregon. At least two - three times a week, he, his 11 year old brother, several church friends of all ages (11-18), my daughter and several of her friends, all skype and play together for an hour or two. For them, it's a way to stay in touch with via a game that spans the ages and interests of all the participants. I love listening to them play. Are their better things they could do with an hour? Perhaps, but there are plenty of other time-sinks they could be involved with as well. Minecraft is harmless fun.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

I wrote this blog post a while back about what my kid got out of Minecraft and how it helped with our history lessons. I've been meaning to write another one about all the stuff he's doing with it now. He builds mechanized contraptions with circuits, switches, pistons, levers, relays, repeating relays, etc. He's 6! Yes, it's a time suck. And it's more what you do with it that applies what you know, rather than teaching you a lot of stuff that you didn't already know. But it's a wonderful way to creatively apply and practice what you know.

[Pammy]

biggest mistake of my life! I downloaded the computer version for my son, and he got seriously addicted. While I was traveling back and forth the hospital, he probably played for hours straight every day. He is still suffering from withdrawals. Don't do it!

[Joshin]

biggest mistake of my life! I downloaded the computer version for my son, and he got seriously addicted. While I was traveling back and forth the hospital, he probably played for hours straight every day. He is still suffering from withdrawals. Don't do it!

 

 

 

To be fair, this wouldn't be the game's fault. Older DS is prone to screen addiction. We are aware of it and as he has become older so is he, which means he now knows that he must self limit and does so. He can still enjoy Minecraft, but only with strict limits on play time. Doing anything straight for hours a day can result in addiction in some people, so blaming a certain game, device, etc for an addictive tendency is counterintuitive.

[Halcyon]

I am of two minds. Both my kids have the computer (paid) version. And they have both created some amazing things on there. I mean, amazing. But the sheer amount of time it takes to actually MAKE these amazing structures is mind-boggling. I mean, they could both be on 8 hours Saturday and Sunday if I let them (they are only allowed computer time on the weekends) but we limit their screen time to 2-3 hours, and OH the moans when they are told to stop. "Oh Mom, I am almost finished building this drawbridge. If I don't do it right then my villagers will be attacked!" Okay, I get that. But really, we don't want them in front of the computer all day. And the fact that there ARE meltdowns when they are told to stop (particularly from my youngest) means something is off.

 

OTOH, I do think it's a very neat program, and my kids have done some very cool things. Even DH, a pseudo-Luddite when it comes to computer gaming, thinks it's cool. And they play together quite well and interactively while they are using it.

 

So as you can see, I am of two minds. That said, right now Minecraft is banned, and has been for over a week. Well, all computer stuff is banned, except for school-related. I suppose we will relent at some point, but not now.

[Heather in Neverland]

No more of a time suck than hanging out on forums, facebook, or Pinterest.

 

It is Legos on a computer screen. My kids play it in spurts. When they do, they make the most amazing things. My oldest recreated Helms Deep from LOTR. Not bad for a time suck!

[Mnemosyne]

My son isn't quite old enough to be playing it.

 

However, I am. And I'm addicted. ;)

 

It's a really fun game, and it's definitely a time suck. I could easily spend hours on it if I don't watch my time.

 

However, I also see it as being very valuable.

 

For younger kids, I see it reinforcing skills taught in school - particularly math (calculating how big something needs to be, how many materials you need, etc), geography (learning about different types of terrain such as tundra, the ores and how they can combine and be processed), geometry (shapes) and architecture/design (goes without saying).

 

For older kids and even adults, it can teach you some new things as well. I learnt a lot of basic logic/computer science skills through playing with redstone, and then researching it further to make my contraptions more effective. There is also something called "note blocks" which could teach one about notes, octaves, chords - and mixed with the redstone, you could have them create their own songs if you would like them to.

 

The game is also complicated enough where you can really practice those problem solving and research skills.

 

There are also a lot of modifications available that allow you to expand even more - there is ComputerCraft, which allows you to program in game (through Lua); RedPower2/BuildCraft, which let you to expand the redstone capabilities and technical side of the game; Forestry, which among other things can teach you about genetics by breeding bees. There are hundreds of these mods available for free online.

 

You could also play online or over a LAN connection, which allows you to play with other players.

 

It really is what you put into it. It can be an addicting time suck, but it can also be a tool you could use for educational purposes if you chose to do so.

 

I also highly recommend the PC version over XBox/iPad. Faster updates, more content, and mods. Also, non-portable.

[BlueTaelon]

Its a highly addictive time suck and I wish I had never introduced my 12 yr old to it. Check out this thread over at Mothering on the darker side of Minecraft and addiction http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1346295/11-year-old-addicted-to-minecraft my dd ended up hunting down cracks and all manner of illegal stuff to play the game not to mention the viruses she downloaded in the process. I had to totally lock down every computer with CMOS boot passwords on top of Windows passwords. She goes though actual withdrawal behavior without the game:( For xmas I bought her a legal copy of the game with an unbreakable rule of 1 hour per day which stopped a lot of the crap we were dealing with since she wasn't wasting time looking for cracks and server hacks into the game. She still tries to negotiate extra time for school work and stuff but its a hard, unbreakable rule, 1 hour daily PERIOD. Attitude related to being told times up or because we dared "disturb" her Minecraft time results in loss of Minecraft the next day. We generally leave her alone but if we need to ask her a question and she screams at us for it, times up and its gone the next day. Its amazing how much behavior change we've seen. Of course now she's just got her face stuck in the kindle watching anime all day but I figure let her enjoying it, moving day is coming very soon and we won't have internet where we live (to remote only choice is satellite with a 400mb/day limit and I will not pay $100mo for 400mb/day). Anyway, I've heard far more "bad" minecraft stories then positive and I'd say if your kid doesn't know about it then keep it that way!:)