Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/donateidea If you've watched past episodes of Idea Channel, you know we're huge fans of Minecraft. This totally amazing video game allows you to build your own world from scratch, what's not to like?!?! But it may be good for more than just fun and games. Some experts have brought Minecraft into the classroom, allowing teachers to customize lessons and students to engage with concepts in new ways. And while educational games aren't new, Minecraft has some unique advantages that could usher in a new direction in education. In the future, students across the world may spend their class time punching trees. Let us know what sorts of crazy ideas you have, about this episode and otherwise: Tweet at us! @pbsideachannel (yes, the longest twitter username ever) Email us! pbsideachannel [at] gmail [dot] com Idea Channel Facebook! http://Facebook.com/pbsideachannel Hosted by Mike Rugnetta (@mikerugnetta) Made by Kornhaber Brown (http://www.kornhaberbrown.com/) Literary Links: Classes using the game had significantly higher means than those classes that did not use the game: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pzqv0rawreremis/blunt_game_studies.pdf Teachers documenting positive experiences w/ Minecraft: http://minecraftedu.com/wiki/index.php?title=Real-world_Examples Video Links: Will Minecraft and Makerbot Usher in the Post-Scarcity Economy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klQ7bb8bBsQ MinecraftEdu Thoughts 02 - Probability and Gravity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Ulb1dCcpc The Physics of Minecraft: Gravity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE9_YAXao3I Minecraft Virtual Classroom #4 - Foreign Language https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36F9X1gZ1ME A Sad Day on the Oregon Trail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj2tNbhS_ko History of Latvia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKIeD3RxRQ Teaching with Games: GLPC Case Study: Joel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mTf3j2koJA Video Game High School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JqR3GVqib4 Music: Roglok: http://vimeo.com/musicstore/track/21166 Binarpilot: http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/661417/geeks Level 5: Room for the Homeless http://www.jamendo.com/en/list/a101325/level-5 Want some more Idea Channel? Here's Last Week's episode: "What Does the Russian Meteorite Tell Us About Surveillance Culture?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjlb3Iu071M Want another one? Here ya go: "There's No Such Thing As Offline?!?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZwJq88cWKY Here's Some More: "Are Bitcoins and Unusual Hats the Future of Currency?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_9R45RLNR0