Minecraft Education

Where Imagination Meets Learning!

Introduction to Minecraft Education Edition

 

What is Minecraft?

Minecraft is a wildly popular sandbox video game created by Markus “Notch” Persson and eventually purchased by Microsoft. In Minecraft, players explore a blocky, 3D world where they can gather resources, craft items, build structures, and interact with the environment and other players. There are three playable game modes: Creative, Survival and Adventure.

Minecraft has gained immense popularity due to its open-ended gameplay, which allows players to create virtually anything they can imagine using the game’s building blocks. It has also become a platform for various educational initiatives, such as Minecraft Education Edition, which harnesses the game’s engaging nature for learning purposes in schools and other educational settings. Additionally, Minecraft has a vibrant modding community, with players creating and sharing modifications (mods) that can alter or enhance the gameplay experience in countless ways.

Creative Mode

You can access all the game’s resources (blocks) and even fly in creative mode. This mode can be used for building challenges or for a relaxed, unrestricted environment to build a masterpiece.

Survival Mode

As the name indicates, in survival mode, players must gather resources, manage their health and hunger, and fend off enemies such as zombies and creepers. When night falls or if it rains, creatures are out to get you. Survival has an end goal, but the game does not end. Find the Ender dragon and kill it.

Adventure Mode

Adventure mode is an environment that can be used when you need students to focus on specific objectives and challenges. There is limited interaction with blocks, and you may be unable to break anything. Players can interact with Non-Player Characters (NPCs) and make observations.

Spectator Mode

In this mode, players can fly through blocks and observe the world without interacting with it.

Different Minecraft Editions?

There are many different editions of Minecraft, and a good reference can be seen here – Different-Minecraft-Editions.

This site, however, is dedicated to Minecraft Education Edition (MEE).

 

What is Minecraft Education Edition?

MEE is an edition of Minecraft that is specifically tailored for educational purposes. It offers a range of features designed to facilitate learning in various subjects, including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), history, language arts, and more.

Educators can use MEE to create immersive learning experiences where students can collaborate, problem-solve, and explore concepts in a virtual world. It allows teachers to build interactive lessons, simulations, and challenges that engage students and promote critical thinking and creativity.

Some of the features of MEE include:

  1. Classroom Mode: A companion application that enables educators to manage world settings, communicate with students, and distribute items within the game.
  2. Lesson Plans: Ready-made lesson plans aligned with educational standards, covering various subjects and grade levels.
  3. Code Builder: Integration with the coding platform “MakeCode” allows students to learn coding concepts through Minecraft by programming robots and manipulating the virtual world.
  4. Global Community: A community of educators who share lesson plans, ideas, and experiences, fostering collaboration and innovation in educational practices.

Overall, Minecraft Education Edition harnesses the popularity and engaging nature of the Minecraft game to create an immersive and effective learning environment for students of all ages.

 

How can I use it in my class/homeschool?

When you start the game, there is a library with a plethora of lessons/worlds to choose from. The lessons are sorted by subject. Lessons are created by different entities/individuals, so some of them may be very comprehensive and have more resources, while others have less depth. You can view lesson information by clicking on the lesson. This indicates the duration, difficulty, and age range. You will also find a lesson description, teaching objectives, teacher prep/notes, student activities and assessment guidelines. You can create the world, view the lesson plan and resources, and assign or share the lesson.

 

How can I do student assessments or get student feedback?

The book, quill, and camera are valuable tools that you can use to report back on tasks and as proof of completing lessons. You can take photos in-game, use the book and quill to post selected photos and write a caption. Once you sign your book, you cannot edit it again, but you can export it as a PDF file. You can create your own worksheet if the lesson doesn’t have one and link that to the world. Your student can complete the work and return it to you.

 

How do we assign work/lessons?

When you are in the lesson library and have selected a lesson, there is an Assign/Share button on the top right. You can assign a lesson via Microsoft Teams, e-mail, Google Classroom or by copying a link. You also have the option to add additional resources or assessment tools that students can access at any time from within the world.

 

Classroom Mode

Classroom Mode is a separate application you can link to your Minecraft Education Edition lesson. You can use this tool to manage students without entering the game. You can see where they are on a map and teleport them where you want, chat with or mute them. You also have control over world settings like perfect weather, pausing the game for all players, player damage and whether they can interact with blocks.

The application can be downloaded from here – Microsoft Store

 

Playing and learning together?

Thirty players can connect to the same world/server at a time. They must be in the same school/tenant, and you must allow Minecraft Education Edition access through your firewall.