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Microsoft's acquisition of Minecraft for over $2 billion last year took many of us by surprise and left us feeling dumbfounded as to what they were thinking and where they would be going with the idea.

It looks like the blocks are finally starting to settle following the new announcement of Minecraft Education Edition launching later this year for use at home, and even in schools around the world.

Microsoft is quick to emphasize that its keeping the changes minor because it doesn't want to make Minecraft into a straight educational product; it's still a game first a foremost and therefore something kids want to use in the classroom and at home.

It would appear the foundation of the new product is of an education mod that Microsoft seems to have acquired as the basis for their team to work with. Either way, expect to see and hear more about Minecraft Education Edition in the coming months.

SOURCE

 

Something similar, I heard one particular school is replacing gym class with esports, and will have classes later on. Can't find the article atm tho.

 

And that is exactly the reason why I thought Microsoft has acquired Minecraft initially.
Not surprising in the least, I even thought they could implement Minecraft with VR for education purposes.

That said, it is a fantastic idea.

 

The big news imo is the fact that it's going to be mainstreamed into everyday education. And in mainstreaming it, there's the possibility of beginning to utilize gaming in new ways that isn't just an entertainment medium.

Seeing this happen and be taken seriously is a big step in looking at gaming as more than just mindless brain dimming entertainment.

 

This is actually Microsoft stealing another idea that's already well-founded. I'm the computer lab EA for an elementary school and I can say that at least 3 of our elementary schools use the current system "MinecraftEDU". There's ALREADY a vibrant community of educators sharing resources and creating a lot of content and lesson plans. Currently, it's a one-off expense unless you pay to have your world hosted on their servers (Our schools use our tech dept or host them locally at the school). What I'm getting from this is that Microsoft intends to start charging everyone who already bought MCEDU a yearly fee instead of paying once.

As far as if Minecraft has a place in schools, yes, it certainly does! Aside from the creativity and problem-solving inherent to the game itself, there are a number of worlds and angles you can use the game for education targeting pretty much any subject such as math, social studies, geography, biology....because MC is such an open world with so many complex parts, it can be tailored to a vast array of different uses.

 

Well, the article actually mentioned MinecraftEDU, but it just sounds like Microsoft is pretending it was all their idea..though that could just be how the article is written.

 

I got the same vibe from it too. I feel there wasn't enough credit to the already-well-established project that they will or did buy it.

Ah, I understand. Great way to make money is just to bundle things. It's easier to look for a bundle than it is all the individual parts.

Anyhow, I highly doubt they'll have lesson plans or anything of the sort. As someone who's worked indirectly with Mojang (Prior to Microsoft's purchase), they aren't the type of company to go beyond developing for the game. Unless they create a department at Mojang specifically to work on MCEDU (Which is very unlikely) and 'the classroom', it won't be much more than modifying the base game.

 

you now what? we should just get rid of schools and homework all together. fuck it while we at it... get rid of gravity, sun, the moon, atoms, numbers, internet, technology, trees, water... cause none of those things are helpful for every day world stuff and fill it with Minecraft.



to be a dumb
or not to be that is the question.

 

This reminds me of that Minecraft Teacher guy. Wouldn't be surprised if this is a legacy dedicated to him.

 

Well, foregoing the obvious "game" arguments...there are numerous maps and worlds created by the EDU community on many different subjects. A LOT of these have disabled building altogether and are more exploratory showcasing Minecrafted versions of historical sites and architecture. There are also specialized building sites that give students limited and/specific resources and they have to solve specific problems as laid out by their teachers. Minecraft can also be used to model various ecosystems or different types of landmasses or layers.

It's a sandbox..it can be molded to do anything you want it to, really...there's even mods to let you learn basic computer programming.