Minecraft coding for kids is a fun and unique way to make kids learn to code. By playing Minecraft, kids can understand the fundamentals of coding. Users get to make their own world of blocks and make the user experience the effects of coding in real time.

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What Is Minecraft?

Minecraft is a sandbox videogame that is usually defined as a 3-D world where users are inside a world made of blocks. It is a blocky world made of infinite terrain where users may discover and extract raw materials, tools, and items to survive. Here users can build structures and destroy structures and also build simple machines.

Minecraft is developed by Mojang Studios and was first made public in the year 2009. Since then it has been one of the best-selling video games, with over 238 million copies sold and nearly 140 million monthly active players as of 2021.

What is Minecraft Education Edition?

Minecraft Education Edition is developed especially to be used in an educational environment such as a school. It is built keeping in mind the young coders and all beginners. It is provided with tutorials and a basic version of the game with simple string commands to teach students and kids the basics of coding. It has a feature of “Code Builder” which allows users to open Minecraft in one app and a Coding platform in another where all the effects of code can be seen in real-time.

Minecraft Education Edition allows up to 30 people to play in the same game, without any server setup.
Minecraft Education Edition is only officially available to purchase to schools, libraries, museums, and those who are participating in recognized home-schooling organizations.

How Does Minecraft Teach Coding?

The visual block coding method used in Minecraft: Education Edition makes learning to code for beginners much more visual and less complex. This involves distinct pre-written code blocks that could be inserted into the script like puzzles. These pre-written sections of code fit together to create fully working scripts, meaning that users don’t have to worry about spelling or typing the wrong code.

This visual programming can then be used as a stepping stone to make kids learn to write their own simple strings of code, which can soon become long and more complex as kids grow more confident in their coding skills. Additionally, with Minecraft kids can immediately see the effects of coding in real-time and can see the changes and effects in their gaming platform.

Is Minecraft Good for Kids?

Yes. With Minecraft, the basic learning the child will get is survival skills. Minecraft can be played in five different modes namely Survival, Creative, Adventure, Hardcore, and Spectator mode. It is the 3-D world of blocky which teaches kids the fundamentals of life like the necessity of food, raw materials to gather food, clearing obstacles, and fighting the goons. It will also boost the creativity and logical thinking ability of the child while playing Minecraft.

Right Age for Kids to Play Minecraft

According to the Entertaining Software Rating Board (ESRB), Minecraft is suitable for users aged above 10 years of age. Minecraft can attract younger kids of less than 10 years of age. For them, the official Minecraft site suggests making them play on Creative Mode which will restrict them to just survival playing and not fighting goons.

Benefits of Minecraft Coding for Kids

Here are 5 benefits of playing Minecraft for kids.

• Minecraft develops creativity: Kids are able to make their own world with blocks in the game. They are encouraged to use their imaginative skills to construct their own world like a castle to survive inside the game.
• Minecraft develops problem-solving skills: Kids get to encounter problems inside the game world. Minecraft is designed around basic general life like food, resources, etc. which allows kids to survive longer.
• Minecraft develops team spirit: Minecraft can be played as a single member or in groups. With the number of people playing, they will eventually collaborate with them and talk to them.
• Minecraft teaches organizing and planning skills: Kids will learn to plan their next move inside the game so that they can survive the longest and win the game. For example, maintaining their health will be prioritized over doing new constructions, etc.
• Minecraft teaches basic life lessons: Minecraft is built around fundamental elements of life. For eg. health, food, shelter, and safety. The kid will experience those through the game.

5 Modes in Minecraft

Minecraft is playable in five different modes:

1. Survival mode: Players will acquire resources to build the world and maintain their health.
2. Creative mode: Players have unlimited resources and need to fight hostile mobs in the game for survival. Players don’t have to worry about maintaining health and satisfying hunger in creative mode.
3. Adventure mode: Players can build their own story in the block world. They get access to more tools for survival. For eg. axes can break things like stone, sandstone, and iron doors; Shears can break all wool, leaves, vines, etc. In survival and creative modes, things cannot be destroyed.
4. Hardcore mode: This is the most challenging mode of Minecraft. The difficulty is much more because it gives only one life to survive. Here everything must be taken care of like health, tools, food, and of course, the mobs to fight.
5. Spectator mode: Spectator mode allows players to fly through blocks and watch gameplay without directly interacting with the game.  It gives access to view from the perspective of another player.

Things to Know as a Parent

• Set Time Limits: Users keep returning to the game as they get to face challenges and achieve goals. It can be addictive for children and they might not know when to stop. So, Parents can use parental controls on devices to limit the time a child plays games.
• Choose Server carefully: To protect your child from engaging in conversation with strangers, advise them to only enter servers with people they know and trust.
• Play in ‘Creative’ or ‘Peaceful’ mode: If your child is less than 10 years of age then it is advised to make them play in creative mode. This will keep them away from scary things ad will engage them with the survival skills in the game.
• Disable or Moderate Chat from the game: To avoid potentially inappropriate chats and comments it is advised to disable the chat option while playing the game. This will protect the kids from threats like cyberbullying or communicating with strangers.

Looking to learn Minecraft coding? Explore Wiingy’s Online Minecraft Coding Classes For Kids to learn from top Minecraft coding experts.

FAQs

Which Coding language does Minecraft use?
The coding language used by Minecraft is Java. Java is a general-purpose, class-based, object-oriented language. It is a straightforward language often used by users as their first coding language.

Can kids learn Minecraft coding for free?
Yes, there are free Minecraft coding classes available for kids. Some of the free classes are designed by experts from MIT, Google, Stanford, and Code.org.

How does Minecraft: Education Edition teach coding?
Minecraft: Education Edition offers many resources to help teachers and students to get started with coding. It has many free lessons and teacher training resources designed to teach kids and beginners how to code. Click Here to learn more about Minecraft coding.

Is Minecraft Education Edition available for all?
Unfortunately, Minecraft Education Edition is only officially available to purchase to schools, libraries, museums, and those who are participating in recognized home-schooling organizations.

Is there a free version of Minecraft?
Yes, you can play Minecraft for free on classic.minecraft.net. You don’t need to download or install anything.