We dedicate this book to our close friends, and to our families, who have supported us not only in writing this book but also in becoming who we are today. We specifically dedicate this book to Adrian Guthals, who stayed up late at night to battle Sarah in Spleef, Monster Arena, and Capture the Flag. Those games wouldn’t have been much fun if Adrian hadn’t been there to play-test them.
Sarah Guthals, Ph.D., is a computer scientist and an educator who has worked as a programmer at Microsoft, NASA-JPL, and ViaSat. She has also taught hundreds of teachers from around the world how to teach computer science to students as young as 7. Sarah is now the chief technical officer (CTO) and cofounder of ThoughtSTEM, where she develops curriculum and training for teaching computer science through Minecraft modding.
Stephen Foster, Ph.D., is an educator and software engineer who has been developing educational software for teaching coding throughout his career. Stephen is the CEO of ThoughtSTEM and acts as Lead Developer for ThoughtSTEM’s educational technologies, which include LearnToMod and CodeSpells. Stephen paved the way for teaching kids coding through modding Minecraft.
Lindsey Handley, Ph.D., is a scientist and educator with a passion for high quality STEM education for K-12 students. Lindsey is currently the COO of ThoughtSTEM and manages its coding after-school programs and camps in over 25 locations across San Diego. Lindsey also provides support to teachers across the world who want to teach coding in their classrooms using the LearnToMod software.
We would like to acknowledge all of the hard work that went into making Minecraft, an incredibly fun and open-ended game played by millions around the world. We also want to thank the hard-working coders who helped with LearnToMod — using their fast and creative problem-solving skills, we can help teach kids how to make even more with Minecraft. And, of course, we want to thank the millions of kids around the world who play Minecraft. You inspired us to teach coding through Minecraft!
Senior Acquisitions Editor: Amy Fandrei
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Project Layout: Galen Gruman
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