In Minecraft: Save your Python Code to a Board and increase student engagement

How can students using Minecraft for education share the code they have made in the MakeCode editor? One way they can share their code is to post their code using the sharing link and share the code directly with their teacher. This is what they may have done in block coding. There is a more engaging way for Python coders! It is a fun way they can share their code that stays in-game, and students can dive deeper into the Python coding language. The method I’m talking about is having students copy their code from the Python window, and paste their code on a board in the game. This is a win in many ways!

The first benefit is that students who are creating block code can post the Python version of their code on a board. Even though they created the code in block style, they still are exposed to Python coding language. Exposure is a huge advantage.  Students who see Python code made from their own block code can begin to develop an evolving understanding of programming languages. They can also feel a sense of reinforcement, knowing that their block code has produced the same kind of code that programmers use.
The second benefit of copying Python code and putting it directly into the Minecraft world is that it visibly connects the coding language to the results of the code. This happens in the student’s mind and in the work they turn in. They literally have their code visibly displayed right in front of the results of the code. “Chicken Rain” is raining chickens all around a poster with the code for chicken rain. “Sandstorm” is dropping sand blocks all around the poster with the sandstorm code. This is the kind of integration educators long for.

The third benefit of copying and displaying the Python code is that, in a shared world, students may observe other students’ code. When code is sent by links, students may have to observe code outside the Minecraft experience. They may have to bring links into Minecraft and interrupt their experience. But when students are inside the Minecraft world observing code on a poster, they can stay in the Minecraft experience and observe the code immediately. This incorporates collaboration beautifully. There is less opportunity for distraction.
The more students keep their work inside the Minecraft world, the more vigorous their engagement is. Copying the link and leaving the Minecraft world disengages from the Minecraft world. The student remains in the world, adding written comments in book and quill, adding images of their coding experience from their camera. At the end of lesson, the project results can be exported and sent to the teacher easily. A book and quill can even hold commentary and pictures for multiple projects, and encapsulate a larger experience of the world. For these reasons, posting Python code inside of Minecraft increases student engagement while exploring coding.