Minecraft!!

I was never a gamer as a child, mostly because I was never very good at them. I was a perfectionist as a child who struggled with significant OCD tendencies, this caused me to not like the idea of failing. Today when I was learning how to play Minecraft I began to get very anxious. I stressed about the idea of failing or being not great at the activity. However, the guided lesson and the anonymity the app allows makes it a safe space for everyone. I had fun creating different structures and exploring the world. I personally enjoyed creative mode versus survival. Although you can find value in both lessons personally I enjoyed having a full range of resources to build and develop the ideas in my head.  I liked being able to explore and view my friend’s creations, I also liked the endless possibility of lessons you could create with this. Allowing everyone to play and explore creates a deeper understanding that the game isn’t super easy. There is so much involved with the game other than just playing and gaming, lots of math, creativity and strategy is involved. I am a lot more willing to explore and gain more knowledge about using Minecraft in the classroom after this lesson. In my middle school class, we had to make a project for Mesopotamia and the Middle Ages. Three students decided to make a model on Minecraft and showed all the different defense mechanisms they had created as well as accurate time appropriate building styles and strategies.