Notes

MakeCode for Minecraft makes Learning To Code Super Fun

A few years ago, my team in Microsoft's research department began to experiment with tools that make it possible for kids to learn how to code in the context of Minecraft the immensely popular game where players build fantasiastic virtual worlds using blocks of digital material, create and play mini-games within the game, and learn to survive the night of monsters.



Spotlight: On-Demand EVENT





Microsoft Research Summit 2022


On-Demand

Watch now to find out about some of the most pressing questions facing our research community and listen to conversations with 120+ researchers around how to ensure new technologies can provide the greatest impact on humanity.



Confused? That's okay. Many adults don't even know Minecraft. Even if they think they do, they don't. That no rules, open-world environments are all part of the fun. We would like to leverage this passion to teach children how to code Minecraft while they play. Game playing is the best method to learn.



This research is a result of our TouchDevelop program, which we launched in 2011 to teach people how to create and program apps using their phone's touchscreen. These phones are far more powerful, graphically and sensor-rich than the computers we learned to code on when we were kids. Our TouchDevelop group wanted anyone to be capable of programming their phones as easily as we could with 8-bit computers.



Then Minecraft was the most popular game played by everyone and we were compelled to code in Minecraft. The rest is, as they say is the story of history.



Students in my computer science after-school classes who were able to play with the coding process in Minecraft were a bit crazy, but in a good way. My students were able quickly create code and view the results in Minecraft. They could create avatars that could jump 100 feet high, climb mountains, and even turn into rain chickens. This allowed students to run around the classroom shouting out the IP addresses of their servers.



Today, Microsoft Research and Microsoft MakeCode teams are excited about making this experience available to all through Microsoft MakeCode Minecraft on Windows 10.



The MakeCode for Minecraft editor is very pixelated and is reminiscent of Minecraft. MakeCode allows you to code using visual blocks, based on a drag-and-drop interface for beginners and also in text using a JavaScript interface for the more advanced learners.



Coding using blocks or text MakeCode teaches the 101 of programming languages, which include variables controls, control flow, if statements, loops and functions. Advanced users can easily ramp into more complex concepts like recursion, fractals and object oriented or distributed programming.



The Microsoft MakeCode team also works on other editors that permit the programming of physical devices like micro-controllers such as the micro:bit as well as the Adafruit Circuit Playground Express. These scenarios demonstrate that coding is directly related to building something real. This is why the majority of computer programmers begin to code.



Instead of thinking that they are learning to code, they are playing a game and building their next superpower. Minecraft is an online game. MakeCode for Minecraft integrates the game's coding experience with Minecraft. FELA.LONDON It's worth having a take a look.


Read More: https://fela.london/