If there is one video game that parents the world over support more than any other, it has to be the building game Minecraft. Since its launch it has become a behemoth in the industry, last year selling to Microsoft for $2.5 billion.
But the worth of Minecraft can’t just be calculated in dollars, and many have touted the giant sandbox as an excellent learning tool for kids as well as a unique creative outlet. Now, two groups are collaborating to create a low-cost, four-week online Minecraft camp.
Connected Camps, a new benefit corporation, is partnering with Institute of Play, a nonprofit organization, in an effort they say will teach “everything from the basics of building to coding skills in a safe multiplayer environment.“
In addition to the moderated camps, staffed by trained camp counselors and Minecraft experts, they also offer a free, self-guided camp, a coding camp and even a parent camp so that parents can “learn more about fostering learning through Minecraft.”
“Minecraft has tremendous potential to engage kids in becoming creators and designers if given the right support and guidance from peers, parents, and educators,” said Katie Salen Tekinbaş, director of research and design at Institute of Play and a Connected Camps co-founder.
Tekinbas founded Connected Camps Summer of Minecraft along with technologist Tara Tiger Brown and educational researcher Mimi Ito. It began with a pilot program in 2014 that they said was a “raging success,” and then evolved into the program being offered this summer.
“I’ve never seen anything like the Minecraft phenomenon,” said co-founder Mimi Ito, who has been researching games-based learning for more than two decades. “For the first time, we have an opportunity to connect play and learning through a massively successful commercial title that is loved by kids, parents, and educators alike.”
The camps are taking signups now and begins July 6.
