Sandbox videogames and their potential educational use

The videogames sandbox like the well-known Minecraft not only have they been a true phenomenon in the world of youtubers: they also have important educational potential.

In this article we will explore the wide range of pedagogical possibilities they present.

The precedents: games in real environments

It is known that the game has been part of human civilization since its most remote origins and in all cultures and societies (Gértrudix Barrio and Gértrudix Barrio, 2013), forming an element of interactivity between young people and adults, through which they have been educated and learned.

Along the centuries, the game has been changing at the same time as all the different cultures and societies have changed, adapting to the material and cultural characteristics of these and adopting very heterogeneous modalities and types among them.

To give an illustrative example, a few decades ago, many of the elderly people grew up in a rural environment in which the games involved animals of pasture, such as cows or sheep, since on many occasions they had practically no object to play with apart from common objects, animals and imagination. Over the years and the advent of industrialization and mass production, young people went from playing with common objects to playing with dolls and toys, which later introduced small electronic elements that made sounds or small movements.

At present, thanks to the strong development of new information and communication technologies (hereinafter called ICT), Game methods and tools have evolved adapting to this new era, just as they have done over the centuries previous. This means that the human being evolves and all the elements that surround it do too; For this reason, we must understand that the young people of this new era are used to living together and growing up regularly using ICT.

The arrival of the educational video game

A staple of today's youth game is video games. As was the case in traditional game modes, we can also educate them through this new tool (which is increasingly followed and used), in addition to promoting the autonomous teaching of very varied contents and sometimes, of considerable complexity.

The sandbox video game

Within the wide range of video game genres, which all can offer us different ways of learning and enhancing cognitive skills, there is a genre that stands out among all due to the innumerable possibilities it can offer: the video game sandbox type.

This genre of video games is known for offering its players an open world with great possibilities for modifying and creating the environment, in addition to following a non-linear plot, where many times the objectives are set by the player himself, thus allowing him the opportunity to enhance his creativity, promoting self-narration and the construction of stories and experiences. If the social part that they usually include is added to this cocktail, this type of video game becomes a great tool to promote learning, the creativity and, of course, the fun.

The limits are set by yourself

Under this new perspective that this genre of video game gives us where the limits are set by the user's imagination, new possible applications of these arise in education and teaching both outside and inside the classroom, thus giving rise to experiments carried out by communities of educators that use a video game of the sandbox genre, called Minecraft, in schools, to make and demonstrate the benefits generated with the use of these Applications.

The impact of this sandbox video game is of such magnitude that there is an extensive community, both in Spain and abroad, that is dedicated to studying and implementing Minecraft in classrooms to encourage the involvement of students in learning certain content and in promoting creativity and autonomous learning.

Education and entertainment go hand in hand

As a result of the study of the use of video games for these purposes, the term was born edutainment (Gértrudix Barrio and Gértrudix Barrio, 2013), fruit of the union of the word "education" (education) and "entertainment" (entertainment), on the which have emerged several investigations that have demonstrated the great results obtained with the educational use of digital immersive environments, is In other words, sandbox videogames, which in the words of Sorathia and Servidio (2012): "offer a place for the empirical application of the theory constructivist ".

Among the results of these investigations, the quality of the learning process stands out.as it allows students to acquire different perspectives on phenomena and experience multiple situations in different situations. which acquire knowledge easily transferable to real life (Aldrich, 2009), (Dede, 2009), (Kapp and O'Driscoll, 2010). These educational applications are possible thanks to the non-linearity of this genre of video games, which makes it easier for the teacher or trainer personalization and shaping of game objectives in order to produce a fun and learning experience while student body.

Beyond the classrooms

Despite the possible uses that teachers can and are making in many areas of the world, the educational applications of Sandbox video games such as Minecraft are not limited solely and exclusively to the environment of a classroom under the supervision of a adult. In fact, the simple and apparent playful use of these video games has a strong educational potential in young people, since in most cases, the content of these video games and the possibilities it offers are usually very applicable to the real life, so that what at first glance may seem like a simple game, can become a surprisingly educational.

Furthermore, both directly and indirectly, the player will be forced to use his imagination and therefore train his creativity capacity, which should be a top priority element in compulsory education.

Another great advantage of using video games of the sandbox genre is that the vast majority of them are usually accompanied by an extensive community of online players that promote, through complex codes of conduct, prosocial activity and the feeling of inclusion regardless of the socioeconomic differences of the players; so that they end up being, worth the expression: "simulators of the good citizen", contributing an extra value to the educational experience resulting from their use.

Bibliographic references:

• Aldrich, C. (2009). Learning online with games, simulations and virtual worlds: Strategies for online instruction. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009.
• Dede, Ch. (2009). "Immersive Interfaces for Engagement and Learning". Science, Vol. 323, pp. 66-69.
• Gértrudix Barrio, M. and Gértrudix Barrio, F. (2013). Learn playing. Immersive worlds open as learning spaces for young people. Journal of Youth Studies, 101, pp. 123-137.
• Kapp, K. M & O’Driscoll, T. (2010). Learning in 3D: Adding a new dimension to enterprise learning and collaboration. s.l.: Pfeiffer.
• Kaviar, S. (2013). Using Minecraft in the Classroom. Progressive Education Network National Conference: Los Angeles.
• Sorathia, K. & Servidio, R. (2012). "Learning and Experience: Teaching Tangible Interaction & Edutainment". Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 64, pp. 265-274.