Notes

MakeCode for Minecraft makes Learning To Code Super Fun

A few years ago, my team in Microsoft's research organization began to play around with tools that could make it possible for kids to learn how to code within the context of Minecraft, the wildly loved game in which players create fantasiastic virtual worlds using blocks of digital material, create and play mini-games within the game, and develop the skills to survive the night of monsters.



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Confused? That's okay. Many grownups don't understand Minecraft. While they may think they do, a lot of adults don't know what Minecraft is. The lack of rules, the open-world environments are all part of the fun. We want to use this enthusiasm to teach children to code Minecraft while they play it. In the end, playing games is the most natural way for humans to learn.



The research is a product of our TouchDevelop program that we launched in 2011 to help people learn how to code and build apps using the touchscreen on their phones. These phones are more powerful, graphically and sensor-rich computers than the computers we were taught to code on as kids. Our TouchDevelop group wanted everyone to be able program their phones as easily and quickly as we did with 8-bit computers.



Then Minecraft was the game everyone was playing, and we were inspired to write code in Minecraft. The rest is, as they say, is the story of history.



My students in after-school computer science classes could play around with Minecraft programming. It was an amazing experience. Szv7 The ability to write code and immediately observe the results in Minecraft like avatars that could jump 100 blocks high, climb mountains, and even rain chickens, had my students scurrying around the room from screen to screen to see what their peers did and shouting the IP addresses of their servers across the room.



Today today, our Microsoft Research and Microsoft MakeCode teams are thrilled to make this experience available to everyone through Microsoft MakeCode for Minecraft on Windows 10.



The MakeCode for Minecraft editor has the pixelated appearance and feel of Minecraft. MakeCode lets you code using visual blocks, built on a drag and drop interface for those who are new and also in text with the JavaScript interface for the more experienced learners.



MakeCode helps you learn to code using blocks or text. It also provides you with the 101 languages of programming, including variables and control loops, flow, loops, loops, and functions. Advanced users can easily move up to more complex concepts such as fractals, recursion, object-oriented or distributed programming.



The Microsoft MakeCode team also works on other editors that allow the programming of physical devices such as micro-controllers including the micro:bit and Adafruit Circuit Playground Express. These scenarios demonstrate that programming is directly linked to building something real. This is why the majority of computer programmers start to code.



Instead of thinking they are programming, students are playing a game, and they are developing their next superpower. Minecraft is an online game. MakeCode for Minecraft fits the gameplay experience of coding within itself. It's worth a take a look.


Website: https://szv7.com/