Minecraft has launched Education Edition to engage students in fun new ways with education and skills building.
“Today, we are excited to announce that the full version of Minecraft: Education Edition is now available for purchase in 11 languages and 50 countries around the world. You can get started today by visiting the Minecraft: Education Edition website,” its website announced.
Minecraft is a game about placing blocks and going on adventures in the virtual worlds.
According to its website, Minecraft: Education Edition was built over the last year with the help of more than 50,000 students and educators who participated in our early access program and provided valuable feedback to help us fine-tune the experience across a diverse set of learning environments.
The website says, while many of these features launched with early access in June, the full version of Minecraft: Education Edition includes the much-anticipated Classroom Mode companion app, enabling educators to manage world settings, communicate with students, give items, and teleport students in the Minecraft world.
It displays a map view of the Minecraft world, a list of all the students in the world, a set of world management settings and a chat window. There is even a Minecraft clock to show time of day in the world. Classroom Mode offers educators the ability to interact with students and manage settings from a central user interface.
“We’re also continuing to update Minecraft: Education Edition to include new game features from other editions of Minecraft. In the official version, available now, all the latest updates to Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition beta will be included, such as leads and horses, additional player skins, pistons and the remainder of Redstone functionality and an updated user interface,” the website said.
Those new to using Minecraft in the classroom should also check out education.minecraft.net, which includes tutorials, lesson plans, starter worlds, a place for educators to collaborate on using Minecraft in education and the Minecraft Mentors program, which connects educators with others experienced in teaching with Minecraft.
Explore ideas and lesson plans created by educators covering topics from storytelling and poetry to city planning, sustainable living and geometry.
The complete version of Minecraft: Education Edition is now available to purchase for $5 per user, per year, or through a district-wide licensing model. Get started today by:
Upgrading your computer to Windows 10 or macOS
Signing up for a free Office 365 Education account using your school or district email
Downloading Minecraft: Education Edition to start playing!
WHY MINECRAFT: EDUCATION EDITION?
Student Engagement
Minecraft: Education Edition brings the classroom and curriculum to students in an environment they are already comfortable with. It offers the same Minecraft experience many students enjoy already, but with some additional capabilities that enable them to collaborate in the classroom, as well as support for educators to deliver learning activities within the game.
Collaboration
Minecraft: Education Edition is designed so that students can work in teams to solve problems, or as a whole class to master challenges within the game. Engaging in collaborative work teams and learning environments that foster cooperation in the classroom helps prepare students for their futures.
Creative Exploration
People learn naturally through a combination of observation, trial and error, and play-based practice. An open-learning environment like Minecraft allows students the freedom to experiment and challenge themselves. Much like in real life, there are no step-by-step instructions — students must try, fail, and try again to achieve the result they want.
