Minecraft as a Creative Tool: A Case Study

Abstract

Many scholars are enthusiastic about the potential learning opportunities present in the sandbox-style gaming environment, Minecraft. In the following case study, the authors explored the use of Minecraft in a high school literature class and the presentation of characterization and plot in three student-made machinima, or films made in the game world. The authors demonstrate that Minecraft offers a unique opportunity for students to display their creativity and understanding of concepts in ways that are more feasible than if they were attempted in the "real" world. It is also relevant to point out that the epistemology associated Minecraft is constructionist in its nature, which implicates a different style of instruction than is typically employed in the U.S. classroom. The authors pose some questions about the diffusion of games like Minecraft in the future, based on their discussion of similar technologies in the past.Many scholars are enthusiastic about the potential learning opportunities present in the sandbox-style gaming environment, Minecraft. In the following case study, the authors explored the use of Minecraft in a high school literature class and the presentation of characterization and plot in three student-made machinima, or films made in the game world. The authors demonstrate that Minecraft offers a unique opportunity for students to display their creativity and understanding of concepts in ways that are more feasible than if they were attempted in the "real" world. It is also relevant to point out that the epistemology associated Minecraft is constructionist in its nature, which implicates a different style of instruction than is typically employed in the U.S. classroom. The authors pose some questions about the diffusion of games like Minecraft in the future, based on their discussion of similar technologies in the past.

Full text

Minecraft as a Creative Tool: A Case Study!
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Maria Cipollone*!
Temple University, USA
Catherine C. Schifter
Temple University, USA
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Rick A. Moffat
Temple University, USA!
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ABSTRACT !
Many scholars are enthusiastic about the potential learning opportunities present in the sandbox-
style gaming environment, Minecraft. In the following case study, the authors explored the use
of Minecraft in a high school literature class and the presentation of characterization and plot in
three student-made machinima, or films made in the game world. The authors demonstrate that
Minecraft offers a unique opportunity for students to display their creativity and understanding
of concepts in ways that are more feasible than if they were attempted in the “real” world. It is
also relevant to point out that the epistemology associated Minecraft is constructionist in its
nature, which implicates a different style of instruction than is typically employed in the U.S.
classroom. The authors pose some questions about the diffusion of games like Minecraft in the
future, based on their discussion of similar technologies in the past. !
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Keywords: video games, learning, constructionism, English Literature curriculum, Minecraft!
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INTRODUCTION!
Over the last decade, the affinity between video games and learning is an energized
subject across educational and industry settings. Academics posit that video games provide
endless opportunities for players to learn via innovation, persistence, and problem solving (Gee,
2007, Malone & Lepper, 1987; Shaffer, 2006, Squire, 2005). Connolly (2011) notes that the
advantages include, “increased motivation and engagement, an enhanced learning experience,
and improved student achievement and retention” (p. vii). !
James Paul Gee is one of the many scholars to recognize the benefits of video game-
based learning and its potential for deep and meaningful learning practices. Gee was certainly
not the first to advocate for video games as a form of learning (McGonigal, 2008; Prensky, 2006;
Salen, 2008; Shaffer, 2006; Squire, 2005), but his interpretation of the challenges and
opportunities inherent in video games has drawn attention to “good video games” (Gee, 2007, p.
12). To summarize his complex discussion, “good video games” are games in which game
design is dedicated to enjoyment and challenge, rather than educational ends. The games Gee
speaks of happen to be some of the more commercially popular titles (e.g., Halo and Legend of
Zelda).!
Scholars at the forefront of this movement claim that game-based learning activities are

“most powerful when they are personally meaningful, experimental, social, and epistemological
all at the same time” (Shaffer, Squire, Halverson, & Gee, 2004, p. 105). To investigate the
learning outcomes based on this claim, the authors conducted a case study using Minecraft, a
commercially popular video game, as a learning tool. The authors discuss the results of the case
study to elucidate the potential uses of commercially popular video games like Minecraft in
formal educational settings.!
Although Gee is often credited for his role in video games and learning scholarship
(Alexander, Eaton, & Egan, 2010; Epper, Derryberry, & Jackson, 2012; Mishra & Foster, 2007),
other technological and economic factors have contributed to the growing interest in the potential
of video games. The explosion of casual gaming on smart phones and tablets have led to
presence of digital games in everyday life (Juul, 2010). Whether through mobile applications
(e.g., CandyCrush), “gamified” systems (e.g., Nike+) or social network site games (e.g.,
Farmville or Mafia Wars on Facebook®), many more people spend their time in the game space. !
Additionally, research shows that video game culture is embedded in the culture of most
young people in the United States. Young people represent a large portion of those who engage
in these types of game spaces, thus their popularity among this population presents many clues
about their preferred modes of participation, interaction, and collaboration. The Pew Internet
and American Life project report summarized the common practice of video gaming in the lives
of young people stating, “Video gaming is so widespread among American teenagers that to
paint a portrait of a typical teen gamer is to hold a mirror to the population of teens as whole.
Nearly every teen plays games in some way, regardless of gender, age, or socioeconomic status”
(Lenhart, Kahne, Middaugh, Macgill, Evans & Vitak, 2008, p. 7). !
The popularity of both games, and in particular, collaborative gaming and knowledge
sharing (like that which occurs in Minecraft), represents a practice that might inform successful
models of twenty-first century learning environments. At this point, the knowledge that young
people gain in these gaming environments is mostly informal; they get it by asking friends and
searching user-generated content for instruction, rather than a formal instructional experience, or
using trial and error (Beck & Wade, 2004). These informal learning networks are of particular
interest to many: K-12 education reform advocates, economists, video game developers, and
researchers, because the technology of video games provides clues to the types of literacy that
will be valuable for future professionals (Beck & Wade, 2004). As digital technologies like video
games proliferate, the global economy slumps, and U.S. education systems struggle to prepare
students for an unprecedented future, many have placed their hopes on the potential for video
games to assist in education (Gee & Hayes, 2011). !
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As old as the games themselves!
Despite the recent surge, the academic interest in the potential learning benefits of video
games is almost as old as video games themselves (close to 40 years old); (for a more
comprehensive review see Ito, 2008; Randel, Morris, Wetzel, & Whitehill, 1992). Yet, only
recently have scholars have acknowledged that non-educational games implicate a different set
of learning practices and epistemological outcomes. Ito’s (2008) thorough analysis of children’s
software demonstrates that traditional instruction-centered views about learning and curriculum
can dampen the benefits of video games, and take motivation completely out of the equation.
When game designers try to embed games with traditional curriculum, the motivational,
collaborative, and engaging elements of the game are mostly lost on its audience. Ito explains

that many video games created for educational purposes are, “[F]ocused on curricular content,
rather than innovative game play” (2008, p. 93). These games emphasize external rewards and
reinforcement for very school-like tasks (p. 94). When educational content is forced into the
video game medium, young people are quick to recognize the ruse, and find the experience
mostly distasteful and detrimental to their motivation (Bruckman, 1999; Ito, 2008). !
Video games (i.e., often those that are commercially popular)—which don’t overlay
traditional instructional practices onto gaming landscapes—present players with learning
scenarios that different from the structural elements of the typical K-12 learning environment
(Squire, 2005). This study presents a case in which literature concepts were taught using what
Gee (2007) might call a “good video game”. !
In the present study, participants found a less costly way of exploring literature concepts
that were freed from traditional instruction materials using Minecraft. However, as the authors
discuss in detail later, if those dedicated to the potential of video games in the formal education
setting, the successful use of the technology will depend on an acceptance of a new style of
teaching and learning—one that is centered on exploration, production skills, and self-(or
collaboratively) authored artifacts (Gee & Hayes, 2011, 2012; McGonigal, 2008). After
presenting the case study using Minecraft in the classroom, this paper will discuss the
epistemological outcomes that arise when implementing video game technology, like Minecraft,
in the classroom. Moreover, the authors draw on previous literature from the learning sciences
and technology in education to consider lessons from the past to inform the integration of video
game technologies such as Minecraft the classroom (Johnson, 2006; Kafai & Resnick, 1996;
Papert, 1993; Schifter, 2008). !
The next section will describe Minecraft and its goals and objectives as well the
community of practice that has grown around the game in a few short years. Then, the authors
will discuss their rationale for studying Minecraft in the classroom, followed by an analysis of
their observations. !
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Minecraft: a game world, not just a game!
Minecraft's lure and charm are difficult to assess when taken at face value. The game was
initially designed as a pure sandbox-style game, meaning there is no linear narrative structure
that guides players. Like other sandbox-style games, such as The Sims, the game’s success
thrives on the productions that are the result of experimentation with the environment, either
alone or on servers with multiple players. However, unlike The Sims, Minecraft's environment is
very graphically simple, and encourages more interaction with naturalistic or almost agrarian
activities (e.g., mining coal, crafting shelters, or harvesting wheat) than the activities that are
associated with contemporary life in The Sims (e.g., purchasing prebuilt homes, or working at an
advertising agency). !
Markus “Notch” Perrson, the initial game designer, created Minecraft to be intentionally
simple and open so that users could interact with virtual environments that are normally static in
most video games (Levin, 2013). The entire game environment (e.g., trees, rivers, chickens, and
zombies) is composed of 1m3 blocks that look like Lego™ bricks. The most basic goal is to break
and place these blocks to create structures.!
There are two options for game play in Minecraft: survival mode or creative mode. In
survival mode, players must craft tools by collecting materials (e.g., cobblestone, oak wood) to
harvest food (e.g., wheat for bread) and structures (e.g., houses or huts) to survive menacing

threats (e.g., zombies that eat players or skeletons that kill players with arrows). Survival mode
is a more goal-oriented mode, where a player attempts to harvest as many resources and thrive as
fruitfully as possible given finite resources (i.e., going beyond merely surviving starvation and
death, such as mining diamonds or creating fire). A player is successful in survival mode if he or
she can not only survive threats, but also thrive despite that threat. A more successful player will
be distant from the threat of death (e.g., having created an underground city, free from the threat
of zombies or being able to harvest a vast amount of food and materials). In contrast, creative
mode offers the player an unlimited amount of resources with no threat of death or starvation.
Although creative mode is safer, players demonstrate creativity and skill in the way they chose to
survive. The goal in creative mode is to explore the environment and to construct any landscape,
structure, or scene that the player or players desire. !
Though there are millions of other games that involve the elements of survival, creation,
and multiplayer collaboration, Minecraft’s game developer, Mojang, has intentionally
legitimized and relied upon the contributions of its player community in ways unlike many other
game developers. The game’s popularity has been partly based on the fact that the player
community has created a vast and well-documented community of practice that includes
tutorials, modifications, communal servers for multiplayer engagement, and creations that have
incorporated Minecraft-based recreation of popular culture. For example, players have created a
replica, to scale, of the Starship Enterprise and the Hogwarts School from Harry Potter. There
is even a modification to the game to make the landscape into the space from the popular
literature series the Hunger Games, where players can act as the characters. Lastowka (2012)
aptly points out that this “amateur” production is typical in digital gaming (and germane to Web
2.0 practices), but Minecraft’s commercial success is based on the creative production of
“amateurs”. In Lastowka’s words, “To play Minecraft is to use the game as a creative tool.
Minecraft requires players to be creative, even if that creativity is limited to designing a crude
shelter or tunneling the layout of a mine” (2012, p. 10). !
Another creative aspect of the game is the continuing updates, which can have users
import and share pre-built structures as modifications--most of these were not initiated by the
creator of the game but by users who saw a need and “created” a modification to solve the need,
thus transforming the game environment. In 2012, a modification called MinecraftEDU was
created specifically for use in educational settings (Levin, 2013). Truly, the Minecraft
community of players is based on creative prowess, from the ingenuity inside game worlds to the
creative modifications that players make to the game experience itself. The case study presented
in the paper accepts Lastowka's (2012) argument that Minecraft is rooted in the free exchange of
creativity and users' creations, and shows that Minecraft can serve as a creative space for
students to express their understanding of literary concepts. The next section of the paper
describes the research setting and the student films that served as data for the case study.!
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PROCEDURES!
This case study presents a research scenario where one English teacher from the
Northeastern region of the United States used the game Minecraft to explore literary concepts
required by the state’s core curriculum in the high school classroom. The authors agreed to
provide a communal server for the participants and instructor to produce their creations, and they
observed the participants’ films, or machinima, as a demonstration of their learning. The also
interviewed the instructor at during and at the end of the six week unit. !

The high-school instructor proposed that he would use the game to explore the concepts
of characterization and plot with a small sample of ninth and tenth (n= 20) grade participants in
his English literature course. The participants were divided into five groups of four participants
each. According to the instructor’s informal survey of the class, only one student was playing the
game at that time. Thus, 19 out of 20 participants were unfamiliar with the game and how it was
played. After introducing them to the game environment, he then introduced the assignment.
The instructor gave the participants a prompt that they could use (it was optional to use this
plotline) to assist their creativity. The assignment was as follows: !
Parents are out of town and kid is being pressured to host a party. He/she agrees and the
party quickly gets out of hand.
!
The desired outcome of this assignment was a video of the narrative, or machinima,
developed by each group to demonstrate their understanding of the literary concepts. Machinima
(the amalgamation of “machine” and “cinema”) are 3D animated films created within a gaming
environment. They are a common cultural practice among more dedicated (i.e., “hard core”)
video gamers (Johnson & Pettit, 2012). !
The high school instructor gave the participants two options to achieve the assignment –
they could use Minecraft to create their video using game play captured using free software
called Bandicam (Bandisoft, 2013), or they could video their story using a video camera. One
group of four female participants decided to physically act in their own film, while the other four
groups (one of which did not finish the final film) groups chose to develop their stories using
Minecraft. When the authors followed up with the participants about why they preferred not to
use the game and why some did not finish the project, they expressed a lack of interest in the
game or that they found it boring. Although they did not have time to follow up further on why
these participants found the game boring, the authors found this result to be both a limitation and
an opportunity for further research. The outcome suggests that simply bringing a commercially
popular video game into the classroom will not automatically encourage all audiences, and there
are technological and motivational barriers that will fail to engage some learners. Furthermore,
the teacher did not provide the authors with the film that the participants in this group had made,
or the authors might have been able to look at differences in the creative expressions. Instead,
this case study focuses on the machinima that the participants produced.!
The instructor carved five class periods for the participants to capture their narratives
using either Minecraft (the “classic” version, not MinecraftEDU) or using the video camera.
Prior to the first of these five class periods, the participants were to collaborate outside of class to
start to develop their storyline. Then, during these class periods, the participants went to a
computer lab to practice their stories, capture pieces in video to review, and then given time to
revise their stories. The all-female group was also given time to capture their storyline using the
video camera. When the Minecraft groups were capturing their video within the game, the
authors observed how the teacher interacted with them in that environment to assess how the
instructor facilitated the participants’ use of the game environment.!
Creativity that is less costly!
The case study presented in this paper demonstrates that Minecraft can be used a space
for participants to express their creativity in ways that would typically be much more costly.

Also, the open-nature of the game allows the participants to experiment with various conceptions
of characterization and plot that are not limited to physical materials. They are able to create
fantastical characters and storylines because the game world provides participants with the space
to do so. The authors will now discuss the type of plots and characterizations that they observed
in the machinima, and try to assess the understanding of characterization and plot the participants
demonstrated. !
The older (n= 4, ages 15-16) participants in the study took a complete departure from the
suggestion prompt, and developed their own story, “A Burning Passion”. The story features
Joseph, a young man who had the unfortunate experience of watching his parents burn in a fire
when he was very young; a fire that he mysteriously caused. The first scene features him
weeping by his parents’ graves, and refusing to go and live with his uncle because if Joseph lives
with him, his uncle will soon meet a similar fate. As Joseph warns his uncle, the audience sees a
lightning bolt ignite a fire in the distance. Here the participants offer the audience their version
of characterization by introducing a character with a tragic flaw—everyone he loves is doomed
to burst into flames.
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Figure 1: In “A Burning Passion”, participants crafted a character that struggles with his fatal
flaw--those he loves are doomed to burst into flames.
!
In their story, “The Hole”, (n= 4, ages 13 and 14) a group of ninth graders introduce the
audience to another type of characterization via Roy, a delusional young man who is restrained
by his family because he insists on digging holes. Roy digs holes because he is instructed to do
so by a fun-loving bunny rabbit, that only he sees. Beneath his house, Roy has constructed an
entire world where he and his bunny friend can cause destruction. When Roy expresses his
distaste for the rabbit’s incessant chattering (about nonsensical things), he barks at the rabbit:
“Who are you, anyway?” The rabbit answers: “But Roy, I am you!” Here, the participants
create Roy, who is odd and anti-social, but who has control in his purpose (to create

underworlds), even if his mind deviates from reality. The participants have developed a
character with multiple personalities, using the space of the game to explore a complex range of
character traits.
Figure 2: In “The Hole” Roy is a character who must choose between the love of his family and
his alter ego--a bunny rabbit who wants him to commit evil deeds.!
!
The third group of participants created a horrific tale called, “Flesh Eating Predator”
(n=4, ages 13 and 14), where three friends are trying to find a party, but they seem to show up to
an empty house with a creepy host (who is potentially the predator). Two of the friends, Anna
and Caroline, are relatively concerned with the appropriate social behavior (wanting to party),
but their other friend, Kelly, seems intent on saying socially inappropriate things about her dog
and her mom. The character of Kelly seems to represent a social outcast. Once again, the
participants are experimenting with different types of characterization, and Minecraft provides
them with a world in which to explore these concepts. !
In both of the stories “The Hole” and “A Burning Passion”, the audience witnesses
participants developing characters that who struggle with character flaws. These flaws offer the
promise of doom, but overcoming the flaws offer the promise of stability. In the case of “A
Burning Desire”, the plot centers on Joseph’s struggle to be intimate with others, because he
fears that they will catch on fire (as all the people that Joseph tends to love happen to do).The
participants also grappled with the idea that character flaws may or may not be overcome, as was
demonstrated in their plot constructs.!
In “A Burning Passion”, Joseph’s continued struggle with his flaw may demonstrate that
participants have observed many types of characters throughout their development, both via
traditional print texts, films, and television. Joseph’s story is reminiscent of a superhero that
struggles with his powers, and is isolated from the thing he desires most: love and intimacy. In
the story, Joseph finally opens his heart to another (Jessica) and has a child, only to watch them
both be engulfed in flames as the dénouement to the tale. Minecraft gives the participants a space
in which to explore these types of narratives that would otherwise be costly or near impossible in
a formal educational setting. !

In “The Hole”, Roy, a delusional young man, also struggles with his character flaw, this
time presented as a mental illness. Although Roy develops an alternative personality that
compels him to dig holes, and build an underworld (where the walls are lined with explosives),
when his sister comes to rescue him, she is able to coax him back from his violent ways. In the
final climax, Roy battles his alternate ego and destroys him in order to join the ranks of his more
“normal” family. Minecraft gives the participants the space to experiment with creative plot
lines to understand how characters resolve or succumb to their flaws. In this case, Minecraft is a
vehicle where the participants can creatively express their conceptions of characterization and
plot in less costly and accessible ways. !
“The Flesh-Eating Predator” narrative is less resolute. Kelly is murdered by the predator,
and her friends meet a similar end. In a follow-up discussion with the instructor, he explained to
the authors that the participants in this group failed to plan their machinima well. This lack of
planning holds implication for the type of instruction that is needed to scaffold Minecraft in the
classroom because the teacher does not directly transmit material to the participants, but rather
allows them to create their own characters. Not every student will naturally succeed at this type
of project because they are interested in Minecraft. The authors discuss this issue later in the
discussion section.!
The development of the plot in the participants’ film gives them a chance to explore the
concept of characterization in a way similar to a cinematic perspective, rather than the static
identification of elements that are offered in more traditional texts. The open nature of Minecraft
gives the participants (or players) the tools to construct characters and plots that, while
archetypal in their nature, represent their creative understanding of characterization and character
development, and are not tied to specific text. Squire (2008) calls sandbox games like Minecraft
“ideological worlds” where players can develop their own creations, concepts and value systems.
Motivated to build a theoretical model, he explains that “epistemic” video games, such as
Supercharged!, teach students about specific knowledge systems (in this case, physics), but
open-ended games provide a much different and extended experience. Squire sees games like
Minecraft (in his essay; Civilization III and The Sims) as a place for players to try on new
identities and experiment with them via creative production (p. 172). Squire’s description of the
possibilities in sandbox games resonates with the observations presented in this study: “As
learning contexts, these sandbox games function as design possibility spaces for people, spaces
wherein they can develop along trajectories of experience into new ways of knowing, learning,
and being in the world” (Squire, 2008, p. 172). The authors of this paper posit that there are
many examples of digital tools that draw on similar experiences, but that teachers have not been
able to easily incorporate them into the school day in a consistent manner. In the discussion
section, the authors address Squire’s point about implementation.!
Minecraft provides students and teachers with an accessible and low-cost space to
express their creativity with literary concepts, but the type of teaching and learning that are
implicated when using Minecraft signify a different set of skills for both instructor and student.
In the section below, the authors draw on the literature from constructionist practices and
technology in education to pose potential questions about the implementation of games like
Minecraft in educational settings in the future.
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DISCUSSION!
The goal of this section is to discuss two implications that resulted from the authors’

observation of the present case study. First, that Minecraft implies a more constructionist form
of epistemology. Second, that most teachers can’t embrace this type of learning and translate it
into instruction practices because of the constraints of the US institutional culture of formal
education. The authors pose some of the reasons why this may be true, and what it means for
digital tools like Minecraft. !
Constructionism in Minecraft!
From a learning sciences perspective, the type of knowledge production that is
encouraged by Minecraft can be seen as a constructionist epistemology. Contructionist, the
adjectival version of constructionism, is a way of building knowledge through meaningful
interaction and experimentation with content. In some ways, one might see the observations
from this case study as an account of students experimenting with literary content.
Constructionism “shares constructivism’s connotation of learning as ‘building knowledge
structures’ irrespective of the circumstances of the learning” (Harel & Papert, 1991, p. 1). It
focuses on two processes: an active process through which people construct knowledge in "real"
world experiences, which is based in Piagetian constructivism, and a the creation of a personally
meaningful product (Kafai & Resnick, 1996). In this study, the authors observed the process of
meaningful interaction with content, but the analysis focused on the machinima, or final
outcome, in order to point to the practical ways that games like Minecraft can be tools of
creativity. !
In the section below, barriers to lasting implementation of tools like Minecraft are
discussed. First, the authors discuss the initial impulse to blame teachers, and then they discuss
the kind of teachers that typically gravitate to digital tools like Minecraft. This discussion leads
to a larger contextual dissection of the institutional culture of formal education in the United
States, and the ways in which constructionism does not fit well into that culture. Finally, in
conclusion, there is a discussion of the implications of these past lessons, and what that might
signify for game-based learning in formal educational settings. !
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Blame the teacher !
Seymour Papert, a prominent student of Piaget’s, was one of the first scholars to infuse
constructionist practices into digital environments for K-12 students. Papert’s Logo™, was
designed with constructivist (which he later termed contructionist) learning theories in mind (Ito,
2008). Logo™ is a language designed to teach computer programming via the constructionist
tradition in K-12 schools. Papert believed, that through experimental interaction with the
computing language, students would understand the symbolic functions of the machine on many
levels. Although many iterations of Logo™ have been introduced since Papert’s initial
formulation, lessons in computing language still largely remain outside of the formal educational
experience. The authors of this paper feel that this is due to two distinct factors. First, the
teachers who embrace constructionist technologies or tools are unique compared to the rest of
their profession, and second, they value a different type of teaching. A glimpse backwards at the
life of Logo™ will inform some of the observations from the current case study. !
In her work on technology infusion in the classroom, one of the authors of this paper,
Schifter (2008), offers two case studies of teachers who successfully integrated Logo™ into their
classroom curriculum. The first is Mr. Levin, who thought that microcomputing would sharpen

his students’ analytical and problem solving skills. Levin learned the programming language in
the early eighties, and for twelve years, carried out workshops to teach it to students (until 1994).
Mr. DeTolla was a similar story--a teacher who saw the value of programming, and with some
administrative support, found ways of teaching the language to as many students as he could
reach. These teachers share some major similarities. Cuban (2001) would call these teachers
“early adopters” who are technological trendsetters in their school. These individuals are
somewhat personally vested in learning the technology (e.g., programming, or playing
Minecraft), and they insist that the skills they’ve learned are invaluable to students. They are
often correct, but the skills they promote are often lost on other teachers, who are unwilling or
uncomfortable with the type of investment it takes to learn the technology they are promoting.
In his case studies, Papert (1993) describes one teacher who was not an early adopter. She
stopped using Logo™ in the classroom because she began to become anxious about having to
constantly keep up with her students, and continually learn just beyond their level of expertise.
“Early adopters” like Mr. Levin and DeTolla don’t face this anxiety, because they are motivated
to keep up with the technology no matter the cost of their personal time. But more importantly,
they are willing to let students be experts, and be taught by their own students. Teachers like
Levin and DeTolla see the technology as inherently fun, and in many ways, it’s not work for
them to train themselves using the tool (Schifter, 2008).!
Like Mr. Levin and Mr. DeTolla (Schifter, 2008), the instructor in the present case study
was an “early adopter”. He was the only individual teacher in his school to use Minecraft to
teach literary concepts (or any curriculum at all). In an open-ended response survey instrument,
the instructor indicated that he plays Minecraft in his personal time, and that he continued to play
after the study (C. Reeves, personal communication, June 28, 2012). For the instructor in the
present study, there was no steep learning curve; his drive to learn how to play the game was
strengthened by his own personal interest in it. While this provides an optimal scenario for
“early adopters”, these teachers are typically the minority in their profession, and their interest in
the technology has little to do with its widespread acceptance in the school (Johnson, 2006). The
authors feel it is important to note that the teacher in the present case study was not a technology
teacher in the school as Mr. Levin and Mrs. DeTolla were. Typically, “early adopters” are
teachers that are technology teachers to begin with (Schifter, 2008). !
In his essay on schools, Papert (1993) uses the term “progressive” educators for a similar
phenomenon. Papert explains, “Progressive educators do not see themselves as offering an
alternative way to for students to learn the same list of items of knowledge. They value a
different type of knowledge” (1993, p. 63). The authors of this paper would extend Papert's
claim, saying that “progressive” instructors also value a different type of teaching, where the
teacher supports students in non-traditional ways, and grows personally with the students. The
instructor in the present case study expressed similar sentiments when he explained, “It felt great
[to relinquish authority]. I love the idea and the practice of being a facilitator, coach, or mentor,
rather than the seat of knowledge. I [previously] had an excellent rapport with this year's
students, so I can't speak to whether or not this project changed anything on a relationship level.
This was not scary at all--as some might think” (C. Reeves, personal communication, June 28,
2012). In this case, the instructor valued that the students were commanding their own
experiences with the machinima, and that the responsibility of being the “seat of knowledge”
was off of his plate. !
Papert (1993) discusses a similar experience with teachers who were anxious about the
implementation of Logo™, which he equates with a type of “learning in use”. In his words,

“Learning-in-use liberates the students to learn in a personal way, and this in turn liberates
teachers to offer their students something more personal and more rewarding for both sides. But
this prospect does not come without problems, and some teachers will see it more as a threat than
as a liberation” (Papert, 1993, p. 65). In the current case study, the instructor did not perceive
Minecraft as a threat, but as a way to develop a stronger rapport with his students. The authors
believe this evidences Cuban’s (2001) concept of the “early adopter”, or Papert’s (1993)
“progressive educator”, who is inclined to dive into a digital world with students, unlike many of
his or her colleagues. !
The authors of this paper posit this discussion to link Minecraft’s recent popularity in
formal learning environments (Levin, 2013) with other formulations of constructionist learning
tools such as Papert's Logo™. Lessons from technologies past show educators that similar
patterns emerge when examining the type of teacher that gravitates toward these types of
technologies. These lessons hold implications for the diffusion of game-based learning
environments in the future. !
However, the blame for the prior lack of diffusion should not be squarely placed on the
heads of instructors who are reticent to experiment with them. There are many instructors who
are willing and invest a great deal of professional time into learning new digital technologies
(Schifter, 2008). It seems that the culture of formal education in the United States, and its
institutional structure, meets tools like Minecraft with opposition. The next section gives readers
a glimpse of the institutional approach to literary concepts of characterization and plot, and how
they denote a type of knowledge that is different from the constructionist knowledge presented in
the case study. Finally, the authors conclude with some relevant questions about how the current
study and past scholarship might inform the implementation of “good video games” like
Minecraft in the classroom. !
!
!
Blame the institution !
To add some perspective on how the literary concepts are typically conceived in U.S.
classrooms (particularly in the Northeast United States), the authors consulted the Common Core
State Standards, which were defined by the U.S. federal government in 2010 as “core” curricula
to standardize all versions of teaching foundational conception to students. Not without
controversy, the Common Core State Standards attempt to align the curricular goals of all 50
states, in order to ensure more efficient teaching, and of course, to ensure that students are taught
to take the federally mandated assessments (Krashen, 2012). The state where the study was
conducted (Northeast United States) has aligned their K-12 curriculum to match the
recommendations of the federal government in 2011 (Common Core State Standards Initiative,
2012). This comparison serves to demonstrate the how K-12 teachers are trained to teach these
abstract concepts, and that the type of instruction is explicitly tied to the standardized assessment
tools. !
The Core Curriculum State standards for ninth and tenth grade students do suggest a
more complex understanding of diverse perspectives, much like the ones observed in the
machinima. For example: “Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text,
order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create
such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012).
But, a more specific example demonstrates how a teacher might implement this: “students
summarize the development of the morality of Tom Sawyer in Mark Twain’s novel of the same

name and analyze its connection to themes of accountability and authenticity by noting how it is
conveyed through characters, setting, and plot” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012). !
The type of knowledge disseminated by the core standards is different than asking students to
build their concepts of characterization and plot in a virtual space. Here, the knowledge is
structured and tethered to specific examples, so that it is organized, catalogued, and easily
transmitted to students. Papert (1993) might describe the objectives of the Common Core in this
way, “the knowledge [has been placed] into teachable bites so that they can be fed to the students
one at a time by a teacher, and this leads straight into the traditional paraphernalia of curriculum,
hierarchy, and control” (p. 65). While Papert’s commentary is unnecessarily dark, at the same
time, he implicates an institutional culture that is very real in the United States. !
Lipman (2011) suggests that these organizational structures are driven by the need for
United States’ urban centers to be more attractive to global investors. Administrators incorporate
high-stakes testing and accountability in public school systems in an attempt to clean up visible
economic disparities that often appear in achievement gaps. In her study of Chicago schools,
Lipman (2011) compares the institutional climate of U.S. schools to a corporate culture where
top-down mandates that drive accountability leave instructors unable to experiment with
innovative curriculum because they fear losing their jobs. As long as teachers and schools are
held accountable for standardized indicators as though they are corporate-like employees, then
video games may continue to be antithetical to 21st century classrooms because they represent a
risky choice. !
The authors hope that this discussion contextualizes some of the reasons that teachers
seldom venture into--or stay in--the world of digital technologies, because the institution that
they work in is not structured to assess or reward their success with these tools. In many ways,
the institutional culture of the U.S. education system encourages instructors to stay within the
confines of the hierarchy because it values hierarchical knowledge for student and employee
assessment.!
The authors of this paper acknowledge that tools like the Common Core are valuable for
certain types of teaching and learning, but they feel it important to point out that so long as there
stands the opposition between the culture of games like Minecraft and the institutional practices
of U.S. education systems, the participants’ experiences that are presented here will not be
common or mainstream.
!
!
CONCLUSION !
The authors have provided one case study that demonstrates the potential for Minecraft to
provide meaningful learning scenarios, of which others have discussed (Gee, 2007; Shaffer,
2006; Squire, 2005). Furthermore, it can provide a space for students to create works that would
be costly or impossible otherwise. As a point of discussion, this paper presents the notion that
there is a tension between the knowledge production that is characteristic of the game, and the
culture of the formal education system in the United States. This leads the authors to question
the future of digital learning tools like Minecraft. The authors ask: if learning tools similar to
Minecraft have existed for for nearly 30 years, and scholars call for the integration of these tools
into the mainstream environment, does the presence of easy, low-cost options like Minecraft
necessarily mean that the digital revolution of classrooms is now poised to occur? Will
educational versions of “good video games” succeed (e.g., MinecraftEDU or SimCityEDU)
where Logo™, has failed? The authors feel that, although digital learning tools have

transformed greatly since the time of Papert, it is the institutional culture of formal education in
the U.S. that does not support the type of learning inherent in constructionist experiences like
Minecraft. It may be necessary to consider organizational shifts that better accommodate more
of these experiences in the future. !

!
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