Fun, engaging, and rapidly growing in popularity worldwide, there are many obvious positive qualities of Roblox; but is Roblox educational? Yes—Roblox is a powerful educational tool that offers enriching learning benefits for kids.
I think I can anticipate your questions right off the bat: my child loves playing Roblox, but how can gaming time become learning time?
The good news is that there are a number of ways to elevate screen time and make engaging with Roblox a valuable learning experience for kids—and one they’ll actually enjoy, thanks to the many wonderful qualities kids already love about it!
Naturally, such questions are expected when diving into all things Roblox (our Roblox FAQ for Parents and Roblox studio tutorial can help demystify).
If you don't read any further, just know that, as a platform, Roblox has a lot to offer that sparks kids’ creativity, coding, and critical thinking abilities and, more exciting still, that spark can grow into lifelong skills.
Seven Educational Benefits of Roblox
Far from being a one-size-fits-all learning opportunity, Roblox offers versatile ways to learn. Think of these learning applications as a jumping off point for your students’ next steps in blending gaming with valuable skills.
Millions of games provide inspiration & food for thought
Currently, there are over 40 million games in Roblox (including some awesome iD Tech worlds). Popular games like Adopt Me, Murder Mystery, Super Hero Tycoon, and Royale High each boast billions of game plays and millions of dollars in revenue for game creators.
With such a wealth of material, there’s a lot to get kids thinking. Why is this game so popular? Which features do players seem to like the best? What makes this game profitable?
Thought-provoking questions like these can help turn play into critical thinking. With coaching and encouragement, it’s only a matter of time before kids start wondering "… can I do that?" The inspiration is right there on the platform they love; it just might take helping them see that they too can participate in the community of 1.9 million game developers in Roblox.
Roblox encourages kids to be creative
This is the logical next step once kids get thinking about their favorite games. Roblox encourages creativity and thrives as a platform because of the millions of creative minds that drive it.
Perhaps they have a favorite obby (obstacle course) and are itching to make their own obby. Or, if they want to create a Roblox game of another kind, they absolutely can—there are endless possibilities.
Learn More: Build Minecraft Obstacle Courses
With Roblox Studio, the free tool game developers use to create games, characters, and more, kids can start bringing their imaginations to life and join the thriving community of creators.
Roblox is the perfect springboard for learning to code
Learning to code can seem intimidating at first; fortunately, Roblox offers a familiar, inspiring introduction to the subject matter!
Roblox Studio uses the programming language Lua to make all developer’s ideas possible within the game. Questions like “why am I learning this?” and “how is this relevant to me?” have natural, easy answers if your child loves playing Roblox games.
Read More: How to Turn on Team Create in Roblox
It’s impossible to underestimate the power of a relevant, authentic learning experience, aka one that links new material with something learners personally value and enjoy in their daily lives. Experts agree that this type of learning increases student motivation, retention, and critical thinking.
When these benefits meet the world of coding, kids can accomplish amazing things! By learning to code with Roblox, kids can enjoy a unique and fruitful STEM learning experience.
Lua is an excellent starter language for new programmers
Yes, there’s even more to be excited about coding-wise! Lua is an ideal programming language for those who have never coded before, another major reason why Roblox has tremendous educational power.
Lua is relatively straightforward to learn and is widely acknowledged as one of the best starter languages for kids. No prerequisite knowledge is needed to start coding with Lua, which minimizes any “learning curve” and allows kids to dive right in.
The language is versatile and used by professional game designers, artists, and other careers kids can be excited about. So as your child embarks on their first coding adventure, there are both long term goals to aspire to and short term rewards they can see in the game.
Roblox offers lucrative monetization opportunities
Top Roblox game creators earn over $2 million each year, and developers prove that the monetization potential of Roblox is endless with new, innovative ways to integrate upgrades and other in-game purchases.
Kids can monetize with Roblox and see the literal payoff of their new coding and game design knowledge. These purchases, or microtransactions, are built into the games and purchased with Robux, the platform’s online currency. Kids over the age of 13 can cash out, and younger kids will love creating their own side hustle of Robux income.
One simple example is learning how to create something like clothing for Roblox avatars, uploading the design, and then setting it for sale.
The Roblox pros agree that it’s easy to get started, and amazing to see where ideas lead.
“Roblox was so easy to get into. You can have a whole career on it because it’s such a hot platform and the team there is always providing great resources for developers,” said Alex Balfanz, creator of the popular Roblox game Jailbreak.
There are meaningful opportunities for peer feedback & collaboration
Learning with Roblox might mean more than an A+ from a teacher at school: kids can get positive reinforcement from a community of like-minded peers. Think about it. Praise from one person doesn’t have quite the impact of cheers from their soccer teammates, right?
This aspect continues to benefit learners as kids have the opportunity to learn from other kids, like iD Tech’s own Taco Bros! It’s important that young learners have mentors they can relate to, and there is no shortage in Roblox.
The social element of the platform allows for live feedback and teamwork from a group that’s meaningful to kids, fellow Roblox enthusiasts (more on why encouragement is important)! This kind of positive reinforcement can be tricky to find and is all the more valuable in encouraging kids to keep practicing, learning, and persevering through challenges.
Roblox values learning & offers a number of free resources
If your child is excited about getting started right away, Roblox offers a wealth of educational tools designed both for independent work and for guided lessons—kids can learn digital civility, online safety, and experiment with coding and design.
Roblox values education and is committed not only to providing great material but inspiring its community to keep creating. To find a game that will get your child excited about STEM, check out this guide to the similarities and differences between Minecraft and Roblox.
When kids are ready to dive deeper and begin their entrepreneurial journey in Roblox, iD Tech is proud to offer expert curriculum through Online Private Lessons, Virtual Tech Camps, and Semester learning experiences.