(2015-01-01) Miller, John; Domínguez Garrido, María Concepción; Sáez López, José Manuel; Vázquez Cano, Esteban
The aim of this study is to assess the use of MinecraftEdu in classroom practice analyzing the outcomes and attitudes of all members of the educational community through a quasi-experimental approach. The research presents three dimensions oriented to assessing the use of this application in a didactic unit “History and Architecture” compared through statistical inference (t-student) to a control group that develops the same unit with slides and traditional expositional methods. The second dimension values the attitudes of teachers, students and parents regarding the implementation of video games in formal education using descriptive analysis and nonparametric statistical inference through the Jonckheere-Terpstra test and the Kruskal-Wallis test, which allows each group ranks to be compared. The third dimension analyzes interactions in a virtual learning environment related to the implementation of MinecraftEdu. Although there are no significant improvements regarding academic outcomes and some parents hold negative attitudes, it is noteworthy that the majority of the sample considered that MinecraftEdu is fun, enhances creativity, develops discovery and is a good application for creating and exploring immersive historical environments.
