The magic of Minecraft has moved to the world of education, and did so in "early access" format in June, but it officially launches on 1 November.
In June 2016, Microsoft launched its Minecraft: Education Edition in early access format to students and educators around the world.
Since that time, we’re told that "over 35,000 students and educators have participated in this programme and provided feedback to help" Microsoft "fine-tune the experience across a diverse set of learning environments, including a STEM summer camp programme in New York City and classrooms around the world".
Now, from 1 November, the full version of Minecraft: Education Edition will be available to purchase (pricing below).
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Educators interested in trying the new title in their classroom before purchasing can do so now as the "early access version" of Minecraft: Education Edition will still be available for free through November 1.
Microsoft says its Minecraft: Education Edition "continues to be built on feedback from the educator community and features and capabilities" they have told Microsoft are "important to enhancing the learning experience".
While Microsoft debuted several of these features with early access in June, the company says it is excited to roll out even more key capabilities in November, including:
Classroom Mode: A companion app for Minecraft: Education Edition that enables 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.
New Minecraft game features: Microsoft will continue to update Minecraft: Education Edition to include new game features from other editions of Minecraft. 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.
Microsoft quotes Katja Borregaard assaying: “Once I understood the fact that teachers don’t have to be experts or gamers, I got started in Minecraft. Let the students be the experts – they are a great resource. I love how working in Minecraft makes my students engage in, reflect on and talk about history – or any subject, really!”
Bron Stuckey said: “Minecraft gives students space and agency to construct their own knowledge while cultivating strong social norms.”
Microsoft says it is "committed to releasing the highest quality product that is reliable and secure to use in classrooms around the world", and will continue to improve Minecraft: Education Edition with each release.
The company asks that students and teachers "continue to share your suggestions for future features and capabilities here..
Those who are new to using Minecraft in the classroom, can also check out the Minecraft: Education Edition site which includes "lesson plans, starter worlds, a tutorial experience, and the Minecraft Mentors program, which connects educators with others experienced in teaching with Minecraft".
You are able to "explore ideas and lesson plans created by educators covering topics from storytelling and poetry to city planning, sustainable living and geometry".
As for pricing, "the complete version of Minecraft: Education Edition will be available for purchase on November 1 and will be available for $5 per user, per year, or through a district-wide licensing model".
To begin 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; and
- Download Minecraft: Education Edition and start playing.
Here's a video Microsoft has provided:
