At Collège Sainte-Croix and Notre-Dame de Hannut, video games are put to the service of learning.
A teacher from this establishment, David Nyssen, has indeed decided to integrate the educational version of the Minecraft video game into his office automation course for secondary 2 and 4 students. Part of the course remains given in a classic way, but at times it offers students exercise sessions in Minecraft. His idea thrilled the students and it is producing results.
Give a boost
David Nyssen wanted to change the way he taught. He thought of introducing a medium popular with teenagers: video games. Today’s exercise focused on cybersecurity. “Students, in teams of two, had to solve puzzles, find clues and unlock different levels” explains the teacher. “The goal was really to find the right digital gestures to acquire on a daily basis.”
The use of video games has generated interest and progress: “I have actually seen progress in some of my students who were on the verge of dropping out of school. Of course, I don’t use Minecraft Education throughout the school year. But, at times, if I see that the students are a little less motivated, or that they expect something else from the course, well the use of video games can give a little boost.”
The delighted students
This interest is confirmed by students like Margaux: “It’s better to do with a video game like Minecraft, we learn from ourselves, it’s much more understandable. There is collaboration, we can solve puzzles together.”
What necessarily make students want to see other courses integrate the video game. “That would be cool yes” confirm William. “For example in geography, history, math, computer science, religion too, that would be good.” And their teacher confirms that the video game would be suitable for many subjects.