Notes

Microsoft Expands Access to Minecraft: Education Edition and Resources to Help With Remote Learning

As the COVID-19 issues cause closures of schools across the world many educators are using remote learning to keep their students engaged. To ensure that students and teachers stay connected to the classroom, Minecraft: Education Edition is now available through June 2020 for all educators and learners who have an active Office 365 Education account. Please fill out this form to confirm your account and request access to Minecraft.



We have also compiled an exclusive Minecraft remote learning toolkit, which contains more than 50 lessons, STEM curriculum and project-based learning activities so educators can utilize Minecraft: Education Edition with their students whether they are at home, in school or in a remote learning environment.



Features like classroom multiplayer allow students to collaborate on projects in their Minecraft worlds, while building plans, planning, and even chatting while they work together. Multiplayer Mode is accessible by downloading this guide. When they are ready to record their work and submit their projects students can utilize tools like the Camera and Book & Quill to capture pictures and write about their projects and then export their portfolios from the game in PDF.



"Distance learning requires students to be involved in engaging with content in a variety of ways," explains educator and Minecraft certified trainer Becky Keene. "As they work remotely they require activities and environments that motivate them to learn. Minecraft can be used to support almost any subject, and students can demonstrate their learning without a pause!"



When students collaborate remotely in Minecraft: Education Edition, it offers new opportunities for them to build the ability to communicate and solve problems together. Mark Henkels, a Minecraft educator in New York, says, "It's the social interaction that is an important reason for the reason why Minecraft is so well-known and popular. It's the reason why Minecraft is such a an educational and enjoyable environment."



Here's how to set up Minecraft: Education Edition for your device or at school:



First, go here to determine if your school account is eligible. - If you have an active O365 EDU account, fill out this form to request access to Minecraft Education Edition until June 2020. Download Minecraft Education Edition for Windows, Mac or iPad.



You can still download and try a free lesson on Windows, Mac, or iPad even in the absence of an O365 EDU account. Find out more about Minecraft distance learning resources here.



Find free lessons online, online training, and distance learning projects for Minecraft: Education Edition:



Explore STEM, language arts and history with the remote learning toolkit. This includes building historical monuments that model animal and plant cells and using coding to build a garden. Join the 2020 Minecraft Education Challenge with your students by using a custom toolkit to solve real-world sustainability and integration problems. Start with a no-cost basic online course for educators on the Microsoft Education Community (MEC) and read this Starter Guide to learn the basics of teaching using Minecraft: Education Edition. Take a look at these challenges to build for fun, fast-paced and engaging activities that will inspire your students to participate in STEM and storytelling. This YouTube playlist teaches you to use different features to create games, assess and manage your classroom.



Educational content available for Minecraft Bedrock:



We recently introduced a new category of educational worlds for Minecraft players across the Minecraft Marketplace to support families during school closures. The new Education Collection includes worlds that you can play with your friends and family, including work from Everbloom, Jigarbov and Lifeboat, Razzleberries and The World Foundry, Blockworks, and Imagiverse. The worlds are available to download for free until June 30 2020. Anyone who has Minecraft for Bedrock can access these worlds by opening Minecraft and then navigating to the in-game store.
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While there isn't a quick solution for major disruptions, such as unexpected school closures We hope these resources can help educators and students navigate staying active and engaged in their learning. Please feel free to share advice on remote teaching and learning with the Minecraft Education Edition community on Twitter or Facebook.


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