Notes

Minecraft To Launch Education Edition

Minecraft will launch an education edition of Minecraft By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor



19 January 2016



An "education version" of Minecraft will be launched by Microsoft.



Teachers will discover new ways to use this world-building game across a range of subjects.



In 2014, Microsoft paid $2.5bn (PS1.8bn), for Mojang Minecraft, the game's Swedish creator. It also purchased the four-year-old MinecraftEdu game from TeacherGaming which is a Finnish independent developer.



It's promising to add features however, schools may be faced with additional costs.



It is believed that Minecraft is used in more than 7,000 classrooms worldwide.



"Teachers are using Minecraft to do a lot of things," Anthony Salcito (Microsoft's vice president of global education) told the BBC.



"Once we make the tools more accessible for schools to have access to and employ I think you'll see the number of classrooms] increase quite rapidly."



In-game camera



MinecraftEdu already lets teachers modify the content available in the game, and also access an education-related library that is shared assets.



Microsoft promises to improve user experience by:



Allowing characters created by the children to retain their characteristics throughout the sessions



Allowing pupils to take "photos" of their progress via an in-game camera, and later save them in an online book together with their own notes. These can be used to teach other children or by teachers to assess their progress.



Children can download software that allows them to continue playing Minecraft educationally outside of school. They don't need to buy the game.



Teachers and children must have their own Office 365 ID to access the service. This ID can also be used to gain access to the cloud-based productivity software by Microsoft.



Microsoft claims this will enable teachers to manage fewer online accounts that they have to manage.



However, it could help the company to promote its word processing, email and file-sharing apps over competitors from Google and others.



Microsoft will charge a $5 annual fee (PS3.50) per teacher and child.



It could cost more than the current standard setup, which is $14 plus $41 for server software.



"We believe that we can bring added value," said Deirdre Quarnstrom director of Minecraft education.



"In addition to having a permanent identity and a permanent password, players will also be able access the most recent version of the game.



"MinecraftEdu together with other Minecraft mods was one to two releases behind by nature of the development process.



"We are also replacing the need for schools to have and maintain separate servers hardware."



Virtual Shakespeare



Leigh Wolmarans (head teacher at Lings Primary School, Northampton) welcomed the new features.



The school utilizes MinecraftEdu to teach students about A Midsummer Night's Dream by asking them to create a performance of Shakespeare's play within the game.



He added that teachers should be aware of the limitations of the software.



He said that technology can be utilized to improve learning, but it should be used in conjunction with other tools.



"If all you're doing is taking them to a table and leaving them to experience Shakespeare through Minecraft You are doing something wrong.



"Dance, art, drama and music remain the best ways to teach children.



"But technology can enhance it as an additional tool."



Microsoft said it would allow teachers to start "beta-testing" Minecraft's education edition at some point "in the summer" without cost, ahead of the official rollout.



Minecraft was used to teach Chemistry



5 November 2015



Minecraft lessons in schools



20 June 2014



Minecraft



MinecraftEdu



Lings Primary School

minecraft servers
Here's my website: https://minecraft-servers.cloud/