Minecraft: Education Edition is Out!

Ever since Minecraft came out, children all around the world have been drawn to it like moths to a flame. Many teachers have discovered the educational benefits of Minecraft and found ways to incorporate it into their curriculum. Now Mojang have gone one step further and created an education edition of Minecraft to make it even easier to use in the classroom…

Minecraft: Education Edition is out and educators around the world will receive early access so they can have a chance to try the product for free!

Minecraft: Education Edition is built based on feedback from the educator community and the features and capabilities they have told us are important to enhancing the learning experience:

Easy Classroom Collaboration

In Minecraft: Education Edition, an entire classroom of up to 30 students can play in a world together without a separate server required. Or, students can work together in pairs or groups simply by joining their classmates’ worlds.

Camera and Portfolio

Another important aspect of Minecraft in education is being able to collect evidence of learning in the game. The camera and portfolio features allow students to take screenshots of their work and document the development of their projects.

Non-Player Characters:

An educator may create an NPC (Non-Player Character) to act as a guide for students in the game, giving instruction, providing more information, and also allowing educators to insert an active web link to additional references.

Chalkboards:

Similar to an NPC, educators can use chalkboards to communicate learning goals, provide information, give explicit instructions, or challenge students with problems to solve within the game.

How to Get it

The complete version of Minecraft: Education Edition will be available for purchase in September and will cost between $1 and $5 per user, per year depending on the size of your school and qualification for volume licensing offers.

To start using Minecraft: Education Edition early access:

• Upgrade your computer to Windows 10 or OS X El Capitan
• Sign up for a free Office 365 Education account using your school or district email
• Download Minecraft: Education Edition and start playing!

Training sessions on Minecraft: Education Edition along with many great sessions led by the community of game-based learning educators at ISTE will be available. For those not attending ISTE, reach out to one of the many Minecraft Mentors to learn more.

For more information and resources on Minecraft: Education Edition, and to sign up for updates, please visit education.minecraft.net.

Minecraft Education Resources

Lesson Plans

• Age 5 to 9
  • Creating a Virtual Community
  • Factors and Multiples
  • Landmarks in the Community
  • Story Setting
• Age 10 to 13
  • Preventing Urban Sprawl
  • Loss of Biodiversity
  • Ignoring Climate Change
  • Deforestation
• Age 14+
  • City Planning
  • Sustainable Living
  • Solar Planning
  • Rube Goldberg Machines

Lesson Vignettes

• Anderson Shelters – covers ideas from WWII and other bomb shelters, physics and engineering with TNT cannons, and blast strengths of various blocks in Minecraft.
• Temple of Artemis – look at one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World with lessons covering history, poetry and architecture.
• Pixel Art – focused on visual arts and literacy, these lessons allow students to explore the world of pixel art while completing self-portraits, or emulating the world of artist Chuck Close.

Minecraft Resources from Educents:

• Minecraft Modding wiht Java by CodaKid – online kids coding and game design course teaches students how to modify or “mod” the source code of Minecraft while mastering coding concepts such as Conditionals, Methods, Loops, Variables, Arrays, and more.
• Introduction to Computer Science with Minecraft – Through a unique partnership with the University of California, San Diego, students who complete this online Introduction to Computer Science course with LearnToMod earn college prep credit! This course introduces students to the principles of computer science through the medium of Minecraft modding using the LearnToMod software.
• Learn Java with Minecraft by Youth Digital
• Minecraft Themed Worksheets
• Minecraft Character Animation Course – learn key 3D character animation concepts in this year-long online course as they create animated movies using Minecraft characters. Teaches all the necessary skills to create fun animated shorts, laying the foundation for a future career in animation!
• Minecraft Books
• Minecraft Math and Writing
• Minecraft Piano Practice Log

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