Notes

Minecraft: The Maker's Game



Minecraft: the game of makers

Samantha Jamison



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Instead of learning the principles of materials science in a traditional lecture-based environment, students of Assistant Professor B. Reeja Jayan's higher-level engineering class learned their concepts through a game-based learning environment while playing Minecraft.



Instead of learning the fundamentals of materials science in a lecture-based environment in a traditional classroom setting students in Assistant Professor B. List Jayan's higher level engineering course learned these concepts in a gaming-based setting. Students played Minecraft the computer-based game that allows users to create virtual worlds with blocks.



In her special topics course called Materials and Their Processing for Mechanical Engineers, Jayan "fills in the gaps" for mechanical engineering students who have very little knowledge about materials science.



Jayan says that material science is a subject that mechanical engineers are typically not exposed to. "This course teaches students how materials have specific internal arrangement of atoms and how processes can alter the structure which can result in different properties such as mechanical behavior and strength."



Minecraft has enabled me to learn about materials science in a tangible way.



To appreciate mechanical science, the creation of materials, and different advanced manufacturing processes, Jayan says that mechanical engineers must be aware of how the processing of materials can affect the atomic structures and their resultant properties. Because traditional lab courses are usually difficult to plan (due to safety concerns or lack of equipment or lack of staff), Jayan utilized a method of teaching that was based on games to ensure that her students still benefit from a hands-on learning environment.



Jayan says, "When you make materials it's similar to building things." "Minecraft allows you to become a maker. You can construct anything you want. The game includes specific elements that help players understand the characteristics of the materials they construct with. I was trying to utilize the building culture to help students think about ideas and consider what it was that they were creating and how they would perform it in a real-world scenario."



Minecraft appeals to a broad player base because it allows them to tailor their experience within an open-world "sandbox" environment. Minecraft encourages players not to follow a straight line (where they move between checkpoints) instead, to wander, explore, and interact with their surroundings using tools and materials. In Minecraft players come up with creative solutions to problems they encounter when creating their own structures.



Students complete their final Minecraft project at the end of the semester by designing their own games and rooms on the classroom server. Students are challenged to create unique projects that demonstrate the fundamentals of materials science in an interactive way. In the last semester, a number of students created games that required players to construct materials using the top methods of synthesis and material processing and others created crystal structures museums and replicas of steel-making factories. Through these technically challenging projects, students have an opportunity to learn the underlying principles of the materials science field.



@b_reeja's Minecraft course lets students present their projects to middle schoolers. @CMUEngineering pic.twitter.com/0BGk7kBhyj



"Minecraft has allowed me to learn about materials science in a tangible way" says MechE junior Genevieve Parker. I was awed by the ability to explore the model and observe the content in three dimensions. The Minecraft classroom is engaging and enjoyable. The ability to build and be creative in assignments for homework and the project I was working on pushed me to learn and kept me occupied when I was working."



While a few Minecraft teachers have used the game in their classrooms, very few college professors have incorporated it into their curriculum.



"There aren't any other examples of Minecraft being utilized at the university level other than the University of Texas-Dallas and CMU," says Jayan. "The major difference between us and the others is that this is the first time that Minecraft is ever integrated into an engineering course full-time.


My Website: https://minecraft-server-list.info/