Being given control of your first virtual world is something magnificent in my opinion. I remember doing text-based MOO’ing back when I was in my final year of primary school, and spent an awful amount of time constructing my own world. While it may have at first been fun and games to me, I remember spending a lot of time researching and learning about the different elements which went into constructing my mish-mashed slice of virtual reality. But not only did I learn about things I was interested in, but being able to view creations shared by others was also beneficial. For example, I had a friend who was into mythology, and learnt a lot from the world they built as well.
Minecraft has been incredibly successful for Mojang and (later) Microsoft over the years, and has also earned itself a much younger following. But not only does Minecraft have entertainment and creative benefits, but it holds educational possibilities which cover various facets of the curriculum. That’s why I think Microsoft have definitely targeted the right market when it comes to their Minecraft: Education Edition. Available right now as part of an Early Access edition, this gives educators a change to install and try an early version of the wider experience for free.
The early access version of Minecraft: Education Edition follows a Beta program which took place in May, collecting feedback from more than 2,000 students and educators representing more than 100 schools in 26 countries around the world. Some of the newest tools in this version include:
- Easy Classroom Collaboration: enables students to collaborate together to build projects and solve problems – with an entire classroom of up to 30 students playing in a world together without a separate server required.
- Camera and Portfolio: students are able to collect evidence of learning in the game to demonstrate their progression. 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.
- Simple, Secure Sign-in: Individual student and teacher logins help identify each player in the game, and ensure data privacy & security while playing Minecraft: Education Edition.
- Tutorial World: For educators or students new to Minecraft, a tutorial world is available that will guide players on in-game navigation, crafting, and placing and breaking blocks.
Unfortunately this edition is only available to those with a valid school email address, meaning that I cannot log in and actually check this out for myself. However, their resources page does come with a number of intriguing lesson plans which cover students aged 5 – 14+. These include everything from mathematics (Exploring Factors & Multiples) to social studies (Redstone & Sustainable Living) and physics (Rube Goldberg Machines).
According to the Minecraft: Education Edition FAQ, the full version will launch around September 2016, and will be priced from $1 to $5 per user depending on school size.
For more information on Minecraft: Education Edition, visit its official website HERE.
