In this video you will hear from Dr Chris Bailey, who was quick to respond to the interest of a child in Minecraft at his school.
Chris then set up a Minecraft after-school club and his doctoral research focused on the children’s engagements with Minecraft in that context. Valuing children’s interests and experiences is an important way teachers and parents can share in their lives.
Those who research contemporary or digital literacies are often quick to notice the new interests of children. This comes from looking at literacy, not as a check list of skills to be acquired but as something people ‘do’ in their daily lives. In this case playing Minecraft links to literacy because children are communicating and constructing stories using digital materials, rather than just the written word.
You’ll hear Chris use the term multi-modal here and this is a term suggested by the scholar Gunther Kress to help us think about the way texts are made up of many modes, including visual, aural, gestural and spatial elements. We will come back to these ideas about literacies in more depth in Week 3.
As you will hear, playing on Minecraft together in a room also creates opportunities for physical as well as on-screen interactions. Although the children enjoy playing together, they also use this time to explore more serious issues at a safe distance.