I decided to try the ‘Eukaryotic Cell Tour’ on Minecraft Education. I thought this was a really cool program that could be used either to teach students about the cell, or alternatively, students could also use Minecraft Education to build their own cells with organelles.

Students need to go around the world and talk to different ‘technicians’ around the tour to learn more about the organelles in a eukaryotic cell.

Each technician also gives the student part of a code. Once the code is decoded, the students unlock the ability to fly around the cell. Some technicians will tell you the code directly if you ask them, while others will not. Students will have to ask the technicians questions about the organelles within the cell in order to find all of the components of the code.

Once you are able to fly, you are able to get an even better view at the organelles within the cell, which incentives the students to put in the effort to find the code and learn to fly.

This is just one example of the many different lessons that are available on Minecraft Education, but I was able to get a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of using this program.

Strengths

• Highly visual, allows students to interact with objects and visualize concepts that might otherwise seem abstract.
• Low cost and does not require many materials.
• Many lessons are already provided and ready to go, can save time and reduce workload.

Weaknesses

• Has a bit of a learning curve, students who already know how to play Minecraft will find it easy to navigate this program, while students who have not might find this more difficult.
• Visuals are not realistic
• Some of the lessons have small issues, buttons that aren’t clickable for example. Might need to make your own lessons if you are particular about that type of thing.
• Requires access to computers that are able to run Minecraft