My New Minecraft Mods Course
With the popularity of our JavaScript in Minecraft class, we are back with a few new mods that help teach kids how to code.
With our first semester of kids coding classes finished and our next semester coming soon, I wanted to update everyone on what is coming for the Fall. with regards to our kids coding classes. I have been quite busy around the office as I furiously plan and develop several new classes for our students, based on what we have found from our classes so far. Like a Slinky on a treadmill, I just keep going and going…
All the work has definitely been worth it, as I have been able to develop several new classes around different topics for younger and older students. Starting in the Fall, we will offer some new classes for 13–18 year olds covering topics like game development and web development (JavaScript, Python, etc.). We will also be developing more classes for our 8–13 year old students including some paid Maker workshops with take-home projects and additional courses in Raspberry Pi and Minecraft.
That being said, I wanted to highlight one of the next-level classes for students who are interested in Minecraft mods. I am currently working with a few programmers across the world to develop a new JavaScript in Minecraft class that will explore even more mods. We will mainly be focusing on two specific mods that students will build from the ground up in order to learn more about the actual framework that surrounds a JavaScript-based mod for Minecraft. This class will be a bit more intensive and will focus less on building things within the game and more on using a real-world programming language to create a new mod for Minecraft. In order to help you, as a parent, understand a little more about what the kids will be building, I have written a brief overview of the two mods that students are going to be creating in this class:
The Wolf-Bot Mod
Students will create a single JavaScript file (approx. 85 lines long) that will allow them to summon a pet wolf within their game. Now for those that are familiar with the game, this isn’t anything remarkable as you can easily find wolves to domesticate throughout Minecraft. What makes this mod unique is that when the wolf is summoned using a JavaScript command, the player can use a variety of commands to make it stay, come or disappear. There is also an additional command that allows the player to load an inventory for the wolf. This means that the mod gives you a wolf that can carry extra supplies and tools as you travel the world in survival mode!
Skeleton Quest Mod
This mod will be created using pure JavaScript as well (approx. 100 lines) and will allow your child to place a villager within their game which can give them a quest. This basic quest will challenge students to kill 10 skeletons within the game and then return to the villager for a reward of experience points. The students will create the same quest mod, but they will be able to develop and customize the dialogue around the quest themselves. This provides students with a great chance to develop a more advanced mod that can lead into the ability to create a series of quests for the player, depending on which villager they place!
Be a Part of What’s Next!
Even if you are unfamiliar with the game of Minecraft and have only seen your child playing it, I hope that you will see the benefit of these sorts of opportunities. We have had a lot of students that have shown real aptitude in Minecraft mod development and game development, and we think that these courses will provide an additional catalyst for students looking to pursue their passions further. As always, I want to thank all of our parents and community partners for their support in growing and sustaining our kids coding program through their generous donations. Whether it is a donation of time and money or through their efforts to help us spread the word about what we are doing, we are grateful for those helping us spread the word. I am excited that we have been able to offer these sorts of opportunities (Minecraft or otherwise) to students across Southern Indiana and Louisville and I look forward to what the future holds for Velocity’s Educational programs!
If you are interested in sharing curriculum or just talking Minecraft or coding education, please feel free to connect with me on Twitter!
