When Education, Games, Technology and History Meet
For the first time, and in honor of the celebrations of 140 years for Petach Tikvah and 70 years for Israel, Petach Tikvah has initiated a huge and unique project on the Minecraft platform.
The project includes hundreds of students from 12 schools and educators, who will explore key people and events related to the country and to Petach Tikvah, in a collaborative and educational virtual world. The professional part of the project is operated by Top-Edu, Microsoft and BETA in collaboration and coordination with the Municipality of Petach Tikvah’s education director and the “Pisgah” center in Petach Tikvah.
For further reading about the project, visit the Facebook page 140/70 Minecraft PTX2
Minecraft- What is It?
First off, we must explain the meaning of Minecraft:
Mine- to dig, to mine. Craft- to build, to design.
Minecraft is a network-based game that Microsoft acquired a few years ago. According to Microsoft’s CEO, Nadella, “What Minecraft represents is more than a game that is a hit. It is an open-world platform. If you think about it, it’s ‘the game that parents want their kids to play’. If you’re talking about STEM education (Science, Technology, engineering and Mathematics) the best way to get someone into STEM, or to spike their curiosity, is through Minecraft.”
The goal of integrating Minecraft into education is to develop a different learning method than that of the “traditional classroom”, creating curiosity, interest and challenge among students, which will lead to learning that is more significant.
Through the game, it is possible to learn programming (code writing) and graphics and to integrate different study subjects as tasks within the game. This makes it possible to teach also History, Electrics and Physics, Science, Mathematics and more.
As Microsoft’s partner in education, Top-Edu sees Minecraft as a rich and significant educational tool and is interested in using it as part of the learning processes in youth courses.
As part of Top-Edu’s certification as a Minecraft partner, the department’s manager, Shalom Nechaisy, underwent training and a certification exam in Johannesburg (South Africa) in this field.
