Dundee pupils redesign city waterfront with Minecraft
5 June 2015
Dundee school pupils have put forward their designs for the future of the city’s waterfront, through the medium of Minecraft.
Primary school students have used the game for several months to plan for the area that is currently undergoing a PS1bn renewal.
Dundee City Council led the project along with the University of Dundee.
The appearance of the plans was taken into consideration, as well as the support for tourism education and job creation.
As well as the project involving primary 6 and 7 pupils from across the city, students from nine secondary schools have been taking place in a similar Minecraft Youth Camp, funded by the university and TAYplan.
The students worked in groups with Playstation and XBox consoles. They were connected to whiteboards in classrooms and used them to reimagine and build their visions of the city’s waterfront.
‘Hugely enthusiastic’
Derek Robertson, Dundee University’s school for education, said that the game was a “huge phenomena” that engaged children.
He stated that “We must understand the digital spaces children use and how they can influence their learning.”
“Games and applications such as these can be a great way to engage children in subjects such as design and the environment.
MINECRAFT
“The children with whom we have been working over the past months have been extremely enthusiastic and have produced some really outstanding work. Some of it may prove a challenge for the city planners but of course that is the wonder of Minecraft, they can build anything.”
Mr Robertson was recently invited along with 49 other teachers from around the world to take part in a Minecraft Educators Summit in Los Angeles, to discuss how the game can best be used in formal and informal learning.
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