The innovative building-block sanbox game, Minecraft, had been used as a learning tool by many educators these past few years, due to its simplicity and popularity with the younger generations. Now, Mojang has taken it a step further by announcing that they plan to release a special edition of Minecraft for this specific purpose.
On Tuesday, January 19, 2016, Mojang released an announcement on their blog about the new Education Edition they're developing, based on the MinecraftEdu software released for educational purposes back in 2011. Microsoft has acquired the rights of MinecraftEdu, and plans on expanding it into the new Minecraft:Education Edition, which will be available as a free trial this summer 2016. According to the blog post, the Minecraft: Education Edition will be a collaborative effort between Mojang and a community of educators and teachers who sign up for the program.
In the extended version of the announcement, which is available in the main Minecraft website, Vu Biu, current COO of Mokang, elaborates on why Minecraft became so popular for educators, saying that it's a "common, creative playground" and that "(..)Minecraft transcends the differences in teaching and learning styles and education systems around the world. It's an open space where people can come together and build a lesson around nearly anything." Minecraft and MinecraftEdu had allowed teachers and student to create and explore worlds, and to teach topics ranging from STEM to art and poetry. With Minecraft: Education Edition, they plan on optimizing the engine to create an engaging environment for students while teaching them about various topics and subjects.
Anyone who has questions about the project, or wishes to sign up as a contributor can do so at education.minecraft.net. Signing up as a member of the educator community is free, and anyone can subscribe to the online newsletter for the game.
The game is set to be released on the PC worldwide, with a projected $5 yearly subscription, for schools and other eligible educational organizations on Office365. Anyone who already bought the MinecraftEdu will also be given a 1-year free subscription once the game is released. More data will be released in the following months.
