Schools are beginning to offer coding classes to kids throughout the country. New organizations and businesses are starting to offer coding classes to kids as well. Code.org is one of the biggest names in the push to get kids coding across the nation. Coding is not just for computer nerds anymore. It’s not really cool to know how to and enjoy coding yet, but it’s headed that way.
To make coding cool, computer science professionals are utilizing a platform kids already love to use to teach code. Minecraft is the answer.
The guys at DevelopIntelligence described Minecraft like this:
Minecraft, from the Swedish game developer Mojang, looks like a 3-D fairy tale that was cranked through the Matrix and came out rendered in blocks. Players can use modifications or “mods” written in Java and can build mods of their own design. You can play in “survival” mode — battling “creepers” and zombies — or “creative” mode, in which you build anything from a house to a village to a fantasy world.
Kids like Minecraft, and they will definitely want to take a class on how to use it. Minecraft speaks to kids natural desire to be creative and to use their imaginations in unlimited ways. It encourages kids to code whether they think they like to code or not. It enables kids to work together to improve mods. They can build on each other’s ideas and share them throughout the Minecraft community.
Kids also learn how to think about problems from various angles, and Minecraft encourages them to persist when they come across a problem because they are intrinsically motivated to see their designs function properly. Kids simply enjoy Minecraft and want to become better at using it.