Mags Gargan
A computer game has helped Derry students learn more about their local cathedral, Mags Gargan reports
An innovative project in a Derry school has brought faith and technology together, with students using a computer game to build a detailed, 3D virtual version of the city’s cathedral.
The world famous video game Minecraft has been made available to every post-primary school in Northern Ireland as part of a project devised by CultureTECH, Northern Ireland’s innovation festival, with funding from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure.
This is the first time anywhere in the world, that an entire region has made Minecraft available to its schools, with licences being supplied to over 200 schools, 30 libraries and community organisations, and a number of volunteer-led coding clubs.
Minecraft is one of the most popular video games in history, with over 100 million downloads since its launch in 2009. It enables players to use a variety of 3D blocks to create their own worlds by digging (mine) and building (craft) within a large world of varying terrains and habitats, while exploring the creations built by others.
The game was quickly recognised for its educational potential, offering children an interesting way of learning about architecture, agriculture and engineering.
Classroom
MinecraftEdu is a special version of the game designed specifically for schools, with additions that are more useful and appropriate for the classroom.
Cathal Hegarty and John McLaughlin, both Information Computer Technology (ICT) teachers in St Joseph’s Boys’ School in Creggan, took part in the Minecraft training offered by CultureTECH and began to collaborate with other departments in the school to use the programme as a learning tool.
“In history we are currently using Minecraft with our Year 8 classes for Norman Castle building and we have developed a Year 9 project on the Plantation of Ulster. We have found that creating virtual replicas of historical buildings using Minecraft is a much more interactive and enjoyable experience for the pupils,” Cathal says.
The RE Department has also used Minecraft to recreate 1st Century houses of the Holy Land and the school has taken a Minecraft map of the Guildhall created by a Foyle College student, Jonathan Black and enhanced it.
“We decided to work through other smaller projects, so we built the school in Minecraft and then Emmet Thompson [Youth Minister for St Eugene’s] asked if we would build St Eugene’s Cathedral as a Year of Mercy project.”
According to Cathal the Year 8 pupil’s thoroughly embraced the cathedral project, giving their time to it both during and after school hours. The initial stage of the project involved the pupils painstakingly researching the architecture of St Eugene’s, working first on the outside structure of the cathedral and then filling in the interior features such as the Holy Door of Mercy.
“They were able to build the cathedral up and you can look at a 360 view of it,” says Emmet Thompson. “You can also see inside which is based on the floorplan and they created information points. So for example at the Holy Door there is an information point explaining what is a holy door, at the tabernacle an information point explains what a tabernacle is used for, and at the bishop’s chair there is a link to the Derry diocesan website where you get information on Bishop Donal McKeown.”
Virtual tour
Bishop Donal recently visited the school and was given a virtual tour of the finished project.
“It was great to see how the Minecraft project has enabled the young people to both engage with the beautiful iconic building that is St Eugene’s Cathedral, and imagine themselves as the architects and builders of the future,” the bishop told The Irish Catholic. “The staff of St Joseph’s school is to be congratulated for their initiative and creativity. This project is just one more sign of the passion that so many of our teachers have for the welfare of young people. And it shows how an awareness of faith can be brought into all subjects.”
Emmet would like to see the project expand throughout the diocese, “and maybe even develop it further”, as a way of creating more links between schools and their parish. “We wanted to develop the students’ knowledge of their own parish of St Eugene’s, and what better way than through Minecraft?
Project
“The whole project has resulted in impressive cross-curricular links. As the project proceeded the students learned about the historical and religiously significant features of the church.
“Now their knowledge of their cathedral has been deepened and enriched in an extraordinary way.”
Also, very importantly, Emmet says the students really enjoyed taking part in the project.
“They committed to it during their normal lessons and also stayed in after school to complete the project. It was very engaging for them,” he says.
Cathal agrees that the students enjoyed the project and were actually learning without realising it. “With Minecraft you can set up a server that can be accessed by any computer and they can join in to one world and work together as a team. They don’t realise they are learning, but they can gain a lot of skills like team building, communication, collaborative skills and creative skills,” he says.
“Pupils are usually very willing and eager to engage in tasks if they are interactive, challenging and fun; Minecraft ticks all of those boxes.”
Dylan O’Doherty, aged 12, says he enjoyed “working together with my classmates” on the building project. “I learned more about the cathedral and what was on the grounds, like the parochial house and the grotto.
By building and researching the cathedral on Google I was then able to place information blocks around the cathedral for people to find out more.”
Bishop Donal says St Eugene’s Cathedral was a sign of hope for people after the Famine and right through many difficult decades, and he hopes that “this imaginative project can continue to help our young people dream of an exciting future for themselves and for this city”.