For the past couple of years, we have all heard that video games rot our brains. Not so! In the recent article Disruptions: Minecraft, an Obsession and and Educational Tool, Nick Bilton's assuring facts explain the positive and negative sides for this hit video game.
Video games in school? How is this possible??? Nick Bilton shows this abomination to be true in his article and states, "Earlier this year, for example, a school in Stockholm made Minecraft compulsory for 13-year-old students. 'They learn about city planning, environmental issues, getting things done, and even how to plan for the future,' said Monica Ekman, a teacher at the Viktor Rydberg school." Creativity is becoming crucial in this world, seeing how left brain thinking is being overtaken by right brain thinking. Minecraft is just one more thing that is helping this concept along.
This is not the only perk to playing Minecraft. In the article, Bilton interviews Joel Levin, co-founder of TeacherGaming that runs MinecraftEdu, which helps teachers play along with their students. Levin describes, "Kids are getting into middle school and high school and having some ugly experiences on Facebook and other social networks without an understanding of how to interact with people online. With Minecraft, they are developing that understanding at a very early age." In today's world, computers are a huge part of our society. Why not learn more about communicating on the internet while you can? It's not such a bad thing!
However, with every up, there is a down. Too much good stuff is bad stuff! Professor Klopfer is also mentioned in the article and he warns, "...as with anything...there is such a thing as too much Minecraft." Even though this game is used as an education tool, it has the power to (as we say) rot our brains, if the zombies in Minecraft do not get to them first!(: Mwahahahahahah.
This article really stuck out because my little brother is ADDICTED to Minecraft. He has the Minecraft app on his i-pod ( the full version) and the X-box game. To me, all he is doing is building a bunch of stuff, but hey! If this game enhances his brain power then I say, "GAME ON!" He needs all he can get. Ha!
This world is rapidly changing into something that is ruled by computers. Almost everything we do involves them. Video games in school bring us one step closer to them overtaking the world! *Cue music of doom*
