Free Review Copies – Minecraft Education Coding Book

[Patrick Felicia]

Dear colleagues,

This may be of interest to those planning to use games to introduce programming.

I am publishing a new beginner-friendly book on Minecraft Education titled "Minecraft Education Coding from Zero to Proficiency (Beginner)". The book teaches learners how to transition from block-based programming to Python programming within Minecraft Education.

It helps readers understand core programming concepts (variables, loops, functions, and conditions), build automated structures, spawn and control game elements, create objectives and reward systems, and design complete interactive game mechanics inside Minecraft Education.

The book will be published in early March, and I am currently looking for instructors willing to review an early PDF version and provide feedback prior to publication.

If you are interested or would like more information, please feel free to email me directly at:

pfel...@gmail.com or learntocr...@gmail.com

Patrick Felicia
Author and Instructor
www.learntocreategames.com

[Danny Murray]

Hi Patrick! 

I'm a secondary computer science teacher and I teach 1st to 6th year coding. I use Minecraft Education quite a bit but have found some of the built in Microsoft tutorials very ineffective, overly verbose and not really fit for purpose so I'm absolutely in favour of a decent guide.

I've had to sort of make up my own lessons,maps and cheat sheets with server commands to get it really working well in secondary school. The incentive structure for the built in tutorials is just kinda broken. They just end up playing minecraft and not coding because the coding parts are boring.

- In creative mode -> They are already a god that can TNT the world. Coding is just additional paperwork. They ignore it and prefer to just play vanilla creative minecraft. 
- In survival mode -> This is potentially so good except the coding tutorials level design can feel like a golf cart tour of a boring museum. Where are the hordes of creepers? Where's the PVP? It feels like I'm playing a technical manual for a washing machine. 

I had to redesign everything to get some good coding sessions out of it. 

For example, I made a map with the grand canyon filled with lava and the players start on the bedrock side. They have to get their agent to build them a bridge across before zombies eat them. There is a clear benefit to automation and using an agent. The "Cross the Lava" is a simple goal that students understand. Don't get eaten. Primal. Simple. Code under stress. 

Would be happy to chat online or in person about it!

-Danny

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