Minecraft in Support of Teaching Sustainable Spatial Planning in Secondary Education: Lessons Learned from the Marker Wadden-Project

摘要

In this article, we have assessed the educational affordances of Minecraft to teach school children about sustainable spatial planning. Specifically, we carefully examined the expectations and experiences of the learners and the teachers of this digital game as an educational tool for spatial planning purposes. The results of this explorative study confirm the educational potential of Minecraft. However, connection problems and digital vandalism ('griefing') by other players may seriously hinder the learning process. Moreover, it is advised to start with traditional design materials (e.g., paper and pencil) before working in Minecraft, as learners may find it restricting to be able to build with rectangular blocks only.