Minecraft Education

Description

Minecraft Education is a game-based learning platform used for teaching curriculum subjects, coding, and collaborative problem-solving through the Minecraft sandbox environment in classroom settings.

Built on the Minecraft game engine, the platform provides a sandbox environment where pupils construct, explore and interact with virtual worlds to complete learning objectives. The service includes a library of pre-built lessons and worlds covering subjects such as mathematics, science, history, language arts and computer science, with content aligned to various national curricula.

Teachers can access classroom management features including the ability to monitor pupil activity, set learning boundaries within worlds, and use non-player characters to provide instructions or guidance to learners. The platform incorporates a Code Builder tool that allows pupils to programme in-game agents using block-based coding languages such as MakeCode, as well as Python and JavaScript for more advanced learners.

Additional features include Chemistry Resource Pack functionality for simulating chemical reactions, a Book & Quill tool for documenting work, and Camera and Portfolio features for capturing evidence of learning. Minecraft Education supports multiplayer sessions for collaborative projects and integrates with Microsoft 365 services including Teams and OneDrive.

The service is available to schools, further education institutions and home educators through subscription licensing, with versions compatible with Windows, macOS, iPadOS, Chromebook and Android devices.