Online Minecraft community offers a safe, fun learning experience for participating youth
Minecraft is played by millions of children around the world. Many children and teens with autism love the level of creativity that Minecraft encourages. According to child psychologist, Dr. Randy Kulman, in his post on Learning Works for Kids, there are several reasons that youth with autism love Minecraft. The following are some of them:

• There are no rules. Kids have the freedom to build anything they want and there are no set rules regarding how to choose what to work on.
• It’s easy to get into. Players can build at their own pace and comfort level, without being overwhelmed. Kids can start with simple creations before moving to more complex creations.
• You can follow your own interests. Kids with autism are sharing in a popular game such as Minecraft, simultaneously enjoying a special interest unique to them that exists within the game.
• Minecraft is forgiving. Players do not need to worry about their creations being changed or destroyed. Nothing that one does in Minecraft is actually wrong, because the player can always take it apart and try again.

Mimi Ito, co-founder of Connected Camps, in collaboration with the Institute of Play, has been developing an online Minecraft learning community and other related offerings. One such program called Kid Club, offers a safe, moderated server where kids ages 9-13 can log in and join building, design, game and coding challenges that are facilitated by Connected Camps counselors. High school students can sign up to be volunteer counselors and paid coding counselors. Kid Club is free and may be accessed online after school and on weekends. Members learn digital citizenship, leadership, collaboration, and technical literacy from their peers, more experienced high school and college Minecrafters, and Connected Camps staff.
An online Winter Coding Camp is also being offered in an effort to spark an interest in coding for a diverse range of kids. Students who participated in the popular online summer Coding Camp indicated that the camp dramatically increased their interest in coding. Educators can sign up to get free access to free guides, curriculum, webinars and support for running Minecraft programs. Ito and partners also offer support to educators who want to programs for kids in their schools and organizations.

Contact Connected Camps for more information: hello@connectedcamps.com