FETC 2018

Builders, Miners and Geeks: Why Minecrafters Need School IT (Room South 330H)

Minecraft, the widely popular video game loved by millions worldwide, is entering 1,000 school districts throughout the U.S. as a highly effective educational resource. Through the Hour of Code, former IT director Daniel Rezac introduced high school students Scott Vrablik and Mitchell Brown to Minecraft, which encourages students to collaborate and engage in an exciting online environment. Because Minecraft is not your typical educational resource, many features raise red flags with students, parents, and educators. These challenges fell back on Daniel's desk. So Scott and Mitchell formed a company, Clean Minecraft Videos, to help IT directors and educators solve these problems. These issues include unmonitored chat throughout gameplay and excessive profanity and brutality in its multiplayer feature. In this session, Scott, Mitchell, and Daniel will share their journey and introduce school IT leaders to several solutions that address these problems when using Minecraft for educational purposes at home and in school.