It’s a modern battle of Minecraft vs Roblox, but which game wins when it comes to teaching? This guide aims to lay out everything you need to know about each of the block-based game worlds where construction and creativity are a given.
Since some sections of these games are only age-appropriate for certain children, and other parts are more focused on gameplay and less on education, it’s worth knowing how each one works.
Both Roblox and Minecraft have education-specific packages, making them designed to work with teachers and students in a classroom environment. That can mean free lesson plans, activities, teaching resources, and more.
Read our deep diving guide at Roblox or our detailed guide to Minecraft. For now, though, this feature will show you what you need to know when it comes to education and block-based games from the two biggest names out there.
Minecraft vs Roblox: Which is better?
Features
Minecraft is naturally the more education-focused of the two games, although Roblox has more recently made a lot of efforts to focus more on education.
In both cases, the games offer block-based construction that allows students to work on their thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills, as well as boosting creativity. Each also offers the opportunity to work in coding. Both allow you to build worlds and play in them.
Minecraft uses its higher version of Java, while Roblox runs on the Lua programming language. Minecraft offers a selection of official support materials aimed at helping younger users code with the platform, making teaching available beyond the classroom. Many of these are aligned with CSTA standards, which helps teach within a framework. Roblox offers 13 dedicated coding courses with 52 quests and 161 challenges in total that are ideal for students ages 8 and up.
It’s worth noting that Roblox is mostly about creating games, using code, while Minecraft is more about creating environments to play in. Therefore, each has its appeal and you may find that individual students interpret them differently. Taking a test of each could be a useful way to evaluate a particular class and its needs.
All that said, Minecraft Java code is much more common and useful in a coding-based future.
Characteristics
Minecraft is primarily a building and exploration game that can be played solo or in multiplayer. While there is interactivity on this platform, Roblox is the one that really relies on socialization and where talking and working with others is a big part of the experience.
As such, it’s worth keeping in mind that students on Roblox could be at greater risk of being exposed to inappropriate content than in the world of Minecraft, although it is possible in both. In fact, there are more out-of-game options for Minecraft with YouTube channels, Wiki pages, and Reddit threads, all of which could expose students to inappropriate content outside of the game environment.
Roblox consists of many games created by people and as such is a great way to get students building in a way that can be used in real-world examples – great for building confidence too. These can make money for adults, so they can be a great way to encourage students to get involved with future earning potential in sight. Or at least a way to feel popular and interact with others as more people want to play in your gaming environment. That said, Roblox allows users to insert ads into games so that children can be exposed to them, which should be taken into account.
Minecraft is more of an exploration and building experience, but the game itself is quite focused on hand-to-hand combat, albeit in a cartoon style. Roblox focuses more on shooting and explosions. So in both cases, the games are based on violence at some level.
Minecraft is so complex in construction details that some universities In fact, we’ve built virtual campus spaces for potential students to explore on virtual tours. In the education-specific edition, teachers can control what students are exposed to and have access to, making it a much safer environment than the original game or Roblox.
Compatibility
Roblox and Minecraft are available in many different formats. Both have very low impact in terms of machine processing demands and network connection strains.
Roblox works in app format, on most devices, and can be accessed through a web browser, making it very accessible to most students. Minecraft is not primarily a browser-based platform, but works on a variety of applications, including virtual reality glasses and computer consoles.
Crucially, both systems offer cross-platform play. This means that one person can play on a PC, for example, while another is on a phone or console, but they will appear in the same game working interactively.
Price
Roblox it is totally free, including all education-focused resources and tools. In fact, students can make money with Roblox by creating games and integrating ads for real-world earnings, through an adult account.
Minecraft Educational Edition It is available for purchase in academic or commercial format. If you are a qualifying educational institution, then the cost, at the time of publication, is approximately $5 per user, per year. For ineligible institutions, this can be up to $12 per user, per year. Students can also play at the basic level. Minecraft version for free for a limited period of time in trial versions.
Applications
There are some great ways to take advantage of these tools in class, but to get you started, here are some ideas.
For Roblox:
create pets
Appeal to the human nature of students in this block-based world by working on creating pets in the digital environment. Coding the movements in real key here.
class race
Have students work on a race track in a code that the whole class can play when the track is finished; maybe even include some school locations.
model money
Explain and show students how the money-making part of Roblox works, so they can see the potential of coding in general and help them consider it as a career choice.
For Minecraft:
Take digital classes
Build a virtual classroom with a digital whiteboard as a way to deliver class in a more immersive space that allows students to explore digitally right away.
Use Classroom mode
Exclusive to the Education version, Classroom Mode allows teachers to see an overview map of where students are and move their avatars, ideal for stopping wandering or for the group to gather in a certain location.
Template start
Download the available templates as a way to quickly start creating virtual worlds, ideal for teaching classes or even taking students on virtual tours.
