Minecraft Education
Guidance on how to download and use Minecraft Education.
4. Cadw Cymru: bridging Welsh heritage and digital learning
About Cadw Cymru
Cadw Cymru is a pioneering educational product that merges Minecraft with Welsh heritage sites. It offers practitioners in Wales an exciting tool to engage learners with their national history in an interactive and immersive way.
Developed with historians, practitioners and digital designers, the program recreates iconic Welsh heritage sites within Minecraft Education. These virtual spaces allow learners to explore and learn about historical landmarks, such as castles, abbeys, and ancient ruins.
The name ‘Cadw’ is Welsh for ‘to keep’ or ‘to protect’, reflecting the project’s mission to preserve and promote Welsh heritage. By using Minecraft, Cadw Cymru provides a familiar and exciting platform to foster a deep sense of cynefin and educational engagement.
The Cadw Cymru Minecraft World is available in Welsh for the first time. It includes an innovative resource pack that transforms the entire Minecraft Education experience into a fully immersive Welsh-language adventure.
This ensures that Welsh-speaking learners can navigate and explore the game entirely in Welsh.
How it works
Practitioners can download a Cadw Cymru Minecraft World map and a Cadw Cymru Minecraft World practitioner guide from the ‘Resources’ area on Hwb.
Learners can enter the Cadw Cymru world where Taliesin will invite them on a journey. They will then enter a Galeri, which is the gateway to Cadw sites around Wales.
The virtual Cadw sites allow learners to explore and interact at their own pace. Each site has its own virtual tour, providing an educational yet entertaining experience. Learners can travel in time to find these historic sites rebuilt in Minecraft, making history tangible and interactive.
Each site will have its own practitioner guide covering the virtual tours. There are also additional supporting guides for the range of ‘Quest’ learning activities.
Minecraft’s interactive nature encourages collaboration among learners. They can work together to solve historical puzzles, participate in role-playing scenarios or even create their own reconstructions of the sites.
Aligning with the Curriculum for Wales
Cadw Cymru complements the goals of the Curriculum for Wales by promoting the development of a range of skills and competencies.
By using Cadw Cymru, practitioners can foster cross-curricular skills, integrating literacy, numeracy and digital competence into history lessons. The program encourages inquiry-based learning. This approach aligns well with the curriculum’s focus on developing independent learners who are able to critically evaluate information and make informed decisions.
First release of Cadw Cymru
Cadw Cymru launches with the release of its first site, Castell Conwy.
The virtual tour aims to take you and your learners through the rich history, architectural brilliance and cultural significance of Castell Conwy.
There are 6 standalone quests associated with Castell Conwy. As the practitioner, you can determine which quest or quests you undertake with your learners. Each quest has its own supporting practitioner guide.
The future of Cadw Cymru
Cadw Cymru will continue to expand to include approximately 20 Cadw sites.
The series of sites will be introduced over the coming year, each centred around a different historical area in Wales. Each site will provide historical context and encourage critical thinking and creativity through various engaging quests.