Using Minecraft Education Edition to Create Meaningful Student Interactions

Induction of students in 2020 posed a unique problem with the process being purely online. Induction represents an important opportunity for students to engage with their peers and staff in order to create a bond with their studies and the University. The ability to allow students to create this bond is hindered within a fully online environment where students have yet to meet fellow students or academic staff.
With this in mind, the Minecraft Education Edition working group looked at designing and creating an online interactive induction activity that would allow students to get to know peers as well as staff.
The activity designed was an interactive challenge, to cross a magma pit that had appeared on Teesside University campus. Students worked with other students to problem solve crossing the magma pit – the activity was non- course related and required no prior Minecraft knowledge enabling it to be inclusive to multiple students. The campus was chosen as the setting to allow students, who were unable to access campus, to become familiar with the University environment.
There was plenty of laughter and conversation in all the sessions as students were drawn into the task. Student feedback reflected this sense of fun and engagement with a student describing the experience as “really creative and fun. I was laughing quite a lot!” Other feedback focused on how helpful it was to get to know the people on their team and put names to faces.