An Analysis of K-12 Programming Education Utilizing the Minecraft Metaverse Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
This program is tentative and subject to change.
In March 2020, during the one-month closure of schools in Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented K-12 programming education utilizing the Minecraft Metaverse. The participants were primarily consisted of educators and students affiliated with two private programming schools. Students engaged in a simulated learning activity in the Metaverse by utilizing command-based programming in Minecraft. This collaborative experience in the Metaverse enhanced their programming and computational thinking abilities. This poster commences with a discussion of command-based programming in Minecraft, contrasting it with block-based programming environments like Scratch. Subsequently, we analyze students’ experiences within the Metaverse, with particular emphasis on their social interactions with peers and the emergence of spontaneous programming activities. In conclusion, we will present a summary of the evaluation results and outline potential directions for future research.