Ever since Microsoft bought Minecraft there has been a great deal of interest in how it can be used for scientific and educational purposes. For instance, earlier this year the launch of Minecraft AIX was announced to allow researchers to utilize the Minecraft world for scientific research.
One of the first forays into this area was announced recently, with AI researchers constructing Minecraft mazes to test algorithms.
Learning in Minecraft
Whilst this is undoubtedly fascinating, arguably more interesting is the incredible rate at which the platform has been adopted by youngsters who have developed incredibly complex and intricate worlds.
It’s a groundswell that the Chartered Institute of Building are hoping to tap into with their latest game, called Craft Your Future. The game is attempting to tap into the inherent desire amongst Minecraft players to build things to try and encourage youngsters to go into the building trade.
The Institute suggest that some 400,000 construction workers are set to retire in the UK between 2018 and 2023, thus creating an acute skills shortage in the industry.
The next generation of builders
They believe that the game will allow players to explore the skills required to follow a career path into construction. The game comes with four free lessons that can be used by teachers, and offers students a number of problems that are designed to mirror the challenges faced by the industry today.
All of these challenges take place in a virtual city called Newtown, albeit with some of the challenges modeled on real life examples such as restoring Battersea Power Station.
“Combining Minecraft and a thorough curriculum for the teacher makes for a unique and immersive experience and will help reveal why the industry is important and why a career in construction can be so rewarding. There are 70 million people playing Minecraft and just like Lego it has the capacity to inspire and attract a new wave of construction managers into an ever-increasing digital industry,” the CIOB say.
“What is exciting is that these young learners will not only have fun but also develop their communication, team working and mathematics skills; skills that construction has a high demand for. The lessons are designed to be teacher friendly and we hope construction employers will also want to use them in schools as they bid to switch the next generation onto a career in construction,” they continue.
The game has been developed in conjunction with the Gameworkshop and the Danish Architecture Centre, with each lesson designed to be completed in around 3-6 hours by teams of 3-4 students. The lessons are designed to cover the main aspects of construction, including:
- restoration
- maintenance
- refurbishment
- new build
Minecraft is certainly a hugely popular platform and the number of educational applications using it seems only likely to grow. It will be fascinating to see just how successful they are at engaging a young audience in new ways.
You can check out Craft Your Future via the link above, or alternatively view a trailer for the project below.
