The first thing you need to know when designing tasks in Minecraft is how to enable and disable World Builder mode. If you are running the server, you can enable World Builder mode by typing:

/wb

into the chat window. This will toggle World Builder mode on and off. With World Builder mode on, you can place blocks like Border Blocks and Deny Blocks, allowing you to create more complex learning activities for your students. This will also allow you to place NPCs or Non Player Characters and edit the dialogue and functions students will be able to use when they interact with them.

Command Blocks are powerful tools that will allow you to run your own code in your Minecraft world. They can be tricky to use since they do not appear in the inventory, you have to give yourself a command block by typing the following code into the chat window:

/give @s command_block

Command Blocks can be set up to run a code when a button is pushed or a condition is met, or just to be running at all times in the background.

Here is a handy way to prevent students from using a lava bucket:

• Give yourself a Command Block using the code above

• Set the Block Type to Repeat and the Redstone mode to Always Active

• In the Command Input type:

clear @a lava_bucket

This will clear everbody's inventory of lava buckets as soon as they are created, thereby not allowing students to pour lava into the world. You can do this with any item that you are having trouble with, from TNT to Ender Pearls.

Once you have activated World Builder mode you can now place Border Blocks and Allow/Deny Blocks.

Border Blocks are exactly what they sound like, they prevent players from moving past them. In addition, they also do not allow players to build above or below them. Using World Builder mode allows you to move across them and build above or below if you need to.

Allow/Deny Blocks are a way to assign an area as a protected area where students cannot build or destroy or allocate an area in a server which players cannot otherwise build in to be used. Allow/Deny Blocks will either allow or deny building ABOVE the block that is placed. So if you build an area in a world that you want to be students to use but not be able to destroy or change, you can place Deny Blocks below the area and you will still be able to build in that area as long as World Builder mode is on.

The Fill command is a quick and easy way to fill an area in Minecraft with a certain block, saving you time when building large designs as well as laying down protective blocks.

Filling uses coordinates, so first you will have to go into the settings menu and scroll down until you find the option to Show Coordinates and turn it on. This will show you the coordinates of the space you are standing in in the top left hand corner of the screen.

To use the Fill command you need to enter the coordinates of the opposite corners of the block or shape you want to fill, then the material you want to fill it with.

For example, to put down a layer of Deny Blocks under an area I want to protect, I will usually stand at one corner of the area and dig down a few blocks. I then note the coordinates where I am standing (A, B, C), then move to the opposite corner of the area, dig down a few blocks again and note the coordinates (X, Y, Z). I can then use the fill command by typing the following into the chat window:

/fill A B C X Y Z deny

This will fill the area I have designated with Deny blocks, preventing anyone from destroying or changing the design I have built above it.

Non Player Characters are a great way to give your students information in an activity you have designed. If you have World Builder mode enabled you can place an NPC using an NPC egg that can be found in the inventory. Once you have placed an NPC, right click on it to set what you want the NPC to look like, what they will say when players interact with them, as well as any code or external web links you want your students to access.

One thing I like to do in most of my worlds is to create an NPC which will give the students a Book & Quill item they can use to take notes or write other information. To do this:

• Place an NPC as described above, choose what you want the NPC to look like and say, then click Advanced Settings

• Click Add Command, then enable Button Mode

• In the Command window type:

/give @p writable_book

• Then in the space under the Button Mode type:

Get a Book

This will create a button in the dialogue window of the NPC which when pressed will give the nearest player a book & quill they can use to write information.

In order to test this, you will need to disable World Builder mode so that you can see the same thing that students see when they interact with the NPC.