Amidst the wave of digital transformation, Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) 9 Jakarta chose to be a pioneer in the shifting trends. By exploring multiple features in Minecraft Education, the school has become more than just a place to learn theories—it’s now a place where students are empowered to create real-world solutions. This transformation is largely due to the leading example by Catur Yoga, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) teacher, who brought collaboration with Microsoft to the next level by integrating Minecraft Education into the curriculum. His goal is to introduce coding, AI, and digital literacy in a more contextual and engaging way. For students at this madrasah, Minecraft is not just a game—it’s a platform to comprehend the logic of programming and computing more easily.
After integrating Minecraft Education into regular learning activities, there are noticeable shifts in the way students think. They have become more critical when solving problems and more collaborative when working on tasks or projects. Through this gamified learning method, students are encouraged to improve their coding and AI skills in a way that’s highly visual and easy for them to digest. The realistic virtual realm in Minecraft helps students understand even the most abstract concepts of coding and AI.
“Unlike conventional lessons using whiteboard, students now have a platform to unlock their creativity while understanding the logic of coding. By using Minecraft, they can save, reset, and reflect on what they have created. What’s most exciting is that, in most of the time, they don’t realize they’re learning complex concepts because they’re fully engaged and having fun in the process.” Yoga said.
Recently, Yoga’s students achieved remarkable success at the Minecraft Sustainable Challenge, hosted by SMK Kubang Kerian Malaysia, involving multiple participants across four Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore. The competition challenged students to design a sustainable virtual world in Minecraft, addressing real-world challenges like renewable energy management, plastic waste reduction, and poverty alleviation. Various green energy elements such as wind turbines, solar panels, plastic recycling machines, automated street lighting systems, and other eco-friendly buildings were showcased in their works—all created using coding tools in Minecraft Education.
The competition became a proving ground for MAN 9 Jakarta students in securing valuable achievements with two winning titles. The “Nasi Cokot Isi Kebab” team featuring Ilyas Wilian Syahbana, Nailah Syifa Rengganis, and Taskia Safitri from 10th-grade, won second place. Meanwhile, the third place was secured by 11th-grade “ROGYFUTION CLUB” team featuring Muhammad Rasya Islami, Nabila Hanna Rahardjo, and Khansa Aulia Putri from 11th-grade. These achievements showcased students’ ability to transform innovative ideas into practical, technology-driven solutions.
“What I’m most proud of isn’t just the outcome, but the journey they went through—how they engaged in discussions, brought their ideas together, and integrated the logic in coding to create an eco-friendly virtual world in Minecraft. As facilitator, I’m genuinely impressed by how all the creativity originated from them,” Yoga added.