Aiscorp worked with Microsoft to bring Minecraft for Education to Wadestown School. Initially implemented for the coding club, going forward the school has bigger aspirations to use Minecraft for different year groups and classes.
Wadestown School is a state co-educational full primary school with approximately 350 students. The school is situated on two sites in Wadestown, Wellington. Aiscorp and Wadestown School have had a strong partnership with weekly onsite visits since 2011.
Wadestown School runs a lunchtime coding club, primarily made up of year 7 students. The class, hosted by teacher James Shelton, enables students to learn about coding and different technology tools through engaging fantasy worlds.
The group came to know of Minecraft for Education and approached Aiscorp to see if the software could be implemented in the school.
Aiscorp worked with Microsoft to bring Minecraft for Education to Wadestown School. Initially implemented for the coding club, going forward the school has bigger aspirations to use Minecraft for different year groups and classes.
Minecraft for Education enables students to learn about technology, critical thinking and creative problem solving through non-linear gameplay. As the software is available across multiple platforms and devices, Aiscorp was able to complete the rollout on the school’s existing hardware.
The lunchtime coding class is now regularly using Minecraft for Education to extend the students' learning. The club is able to take virtual classes in various subjects, from chemistry in science to pixel drawing in art. As such, the group have experimented with various use cases. For instance, they have created shared fantasy worlds based on assignments from their writing class, and they have learnt more about elements and atoms including the makeup of protons, neutrons and electrons.
These classes encourage collaboration, as students can assign tasks to different members of their group. For instance, when creating fantasy worlds based on their writing projects, the students were able to assign the building of specific geographical features to chosen group members.
“Aiscorp has helped immensely in sorting out student accounts, fixing connectivity and device issues and updating software. This is a crucial aspect of digital education, as problems can often derail classes. We hope to make greater use of these game-based learning initiatives in the near future.”
- James Shelton, Teacher Wadestown School
Wadestown School realised key benefits from the Minecraft for Education implementation, including:`
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