Minecraft is just as good of an education tool as it is for a creation sandbox video game.
Minecraft is just as good of an education tool as it is for a creation sandbox video game. MinecraftEdu, a third-party developer that created an educational version of Minecraft in 2011, has been purchased by Microsoft.
Microsoft is planning on developing a new version of the game “dedicated to learning,” stating that Minecraft: Education Edition is now in the works.
“Of course, every Minecraft player learns essential life-skills like tree-punching and good Creeper-defense but, when used in the right way, Minecraft can help people around the world to learn lots more,” Mojang’s Owen Hill said in a new release about the acquisition.
The goal is to expand the ways it can be used for education while maintaining the price range of $5 per user per year. A large-scale volume license model will eventually become available for “large-scale academic institutions,” although not much else is known about the new model. More on Minecraft: Education Edition can be found here.
A free trial of Minecraft: Education Edition will soon be available to try out this summer.
“It’s going to be a collaborative thing,” Mojang said. “Development of Minecraft: Education Edition will be shaped by a community of educators thanks to education.minecraft.net.The site will host lesson plans and give Minecraft: Education Edition users somewhere to discuss ideas and provide feedback. We know teachers can be a rowdy bunch, so we’re looking into the best ways to moderate the forums as I type. Wish us luck.”