I’m a child of the pixel. The 1UP. The double-jump. The end-of-level boss. A large percentage of my formative years were spent in front of a screen, controller in hand, immersed in worlds that allowed me to defy the laws of physics, achieve some great acts of heroism and gleefully squash countless mushrooms.

From Swoop on the BBC Micro, through to Star Wars Battlefront on the PS4, the games that I’ve played and the machines that I’ve played them on are my equivalent of the door frame where parents mark their child’s height using felt-tip.

Some people are sent back to a particular time when they listen to a certain song. For me, it’s when I crank up a PS1 emulator and, with a deft press of the joypad, get skater Tony Hawk to fling himself impossibly into the air. Video games are so intertwined with my journey into manhood that they’re now practically part of my DNA.

And yet, I don’t get Minecraft.

A classroom phenomenon? 

Described by many as virtual Lego, the game allows the player a “sandbox” experience (free-roaming, no set tasks), where you can combine materials to create, well, pretty much anything you want, really (if it’s in the form of a block).

How does it work? As the player, you are placed in a block world, and you can roam freely to build and interact with other players as you wish. The environment includes different biomes ranging from jungles to snowfields and deserts, and in each there are mountains, lakes and caves (as appropriate to the setting). You will encounter hostile people, animals and monsters, and you can hunt for food and materials. The game follows a day-and-night format, and you can play in different modes, each determining a level of threat, available resource, interactivity and other variables.

The versatility of the original game and the maker culture that surrounds it has been seized upon by educators even to the extent that MinecraftEdu - a bespoke version of the game created with schools in mind - has had an enormous take-up. The multitude of uses that have been developed in-game (everything from coding stations to reproduction of famous world landmarks) have captured the imagination of children worldwide.

I’ve watched kids spend hours combining, building and creating. There’s certainly some concentration there (because it’s a game and, strangely enough, games tend to engage children). However, there’s always been a tiny doubt in the back of my mind - one that refuses to budge - about the official endorsement of Minecraft in schools.

My own experience of gaming has been one of almost pure entertainment. I’ve rarely learned anything in-game apart from how to play the game itself and I’ve also watched my students circumvent overtly educational games, focusing more on the game dynamics rather than the learning behind them. Is this also the case with Minecraft?

I decided to try to find out. Although I’ve dabbled with digging and building within the blocky world, I‘m no expert. So at times like this, I try to find people who are.

Enter Player 2: Simon Baddeley, English teacher at Freeston Academy in Wakefield and advocate of Minecraft.

What can it offer in the classroom?

One of the reasons for the meteoric rise of the game in an educational setting is that it has allowed teachers to mine a deep vein (pun completely intended there) of inventiveness, when it comes to lessons and activities.

From the recreation of real-world architecture to exploring mathematical concepts, such as volume and ratio, using 3D structures, or as a tool to visualise a scene from a play - it’s all been done in Minecraft (you can read Simon’s list of lesson ideas in the full article in TES).

But that in itself offers its own problems; teachers are busy and, as with any other lesson, a certain amount of preparation is involved. Looking at some of the grander projects out there, it’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed. Simon acknowledges this issue: “The feeling that you have to create everything from scratch can be a major drawback, as can the time it takes to prepare and build an immersive and engaging environment for learners to explore.”

But there are steps that can be taken to minimise time and effort, he says.

“There are a host of tools available to make building things easier and faster, as well as a ready, willing and able community who are just a question away from a collaborative project that will save you time.”

This collaborative aspect is one that Simon believes is important to the success of any Minecraft venture and he emphasises networks as a way to get the help that you might need: “Reach out to your personal learning network, be it on Twitter, Facebook or the staffroom noticeboard and ask if anyone has any experience they can share with you. You may just be surprised by where help and support comes from,” he says.

When it comes to Minecraft, I think I’ll always have my doubts. I love video games, but I think it’ll still take a little time to see if there are benefits in this case that go beyond that of ‘engagement’ and ‘creativity’. That being said, and having taken a look at some of the downright impressive things that it is being used for - and the enthusiasm for the system from both the children and the practitioners that are using it - I’m heartened by the thought and effort that has gone into something new, something a little out of leftfield.

As is ever the case, these are the building blocks of creating something special.

Tom Starkey is a teacher, as well as a writer and consultant on education technology @tstarkey1212

This is an edited version of a feature in the 29 April edition of TES. This week’s TES magazine is available in all good newsagents. To subscribe, click here. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here

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