Virtual LEGOs: Incorporating Minecraft into the Art Education Curriculum

hat could video games bring to a K-12 visual arts curriculum? We were skeptical about incorporating gaming and virtual worlds into the classroom, but watching our own children engaging in the video game Minecraft changed our perception. As we started researching the game and how these kids were operating within the space, we began pondering the possibility of how it might offer art educators a safe and user-friendly virtual learning environment. Furthermore, as many of the youth we observed were girls, we began considering how the game might empower girls to consider careers in technology, where males are dramatically overrepresented (Hayes, 2008). W

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