In today's educational system, educators are finding it more and more difficult to bring students into OUR world and way of teaching and learning, so Microsoft is pioneering a new idea. Let's go inside students' world of gaming. We know a large population of our students play video games in their spare time so why not try to enter their world. The regional educational sector leader in the United Arab Emirates has proposed just that. Microsoft aquired the Stockholm-based games developer Mojang and the company’s popular Minecraft video game franchise two years ago. He says, “Minecraft is an environment kids live, create and collaborate in so we want to create an environment for teachers to go into the student environment ... they can give them a test to go and build a fortress, build a dam that will hold water for this amount of time and try to generate electricity out of it. So you can teach engineering, physics, any subject, but in a fun way for students."

It feels a little like the old saying, 'If you can't beat them, join them'. While I, as an educator, struggle with the amount of time my students spend online and 'plugged into' games, but part of me does agree that we have to meet them where they're at and if technology and gaming are going to be such a big part of their lives and interactions, we may as well at least attempt to bridge the gap and engage them on their turf and terms. 

Educators can now visit this site http://education.minecraft.net/resources/  They have provided lessons spanning primary, intermediate, and secondary school for use with your students. Topics include: story setting, factors and multiples, landmarks and community, urban sprawl, biodiversity, climate change, deforestation, city planning, sustainable living, solar planning, rube goldberg machines, etc. With a whole section of 'Minecraft Mentors' are available to help you implement the materials and lessonns and answer your questions. 

Luke Johnson, a primary school educator in Australia is utilizing Minecraft in the classroom. Here is a fairly lengthy video of him detailing his experiences. 

Have any of you seen the incorporation of virtual gaming in the clasroom in your sites? What are your experiences? What are your opinions?