While we’ve been stuck at home over the last week, I’ve been coming up with ways to keep my 11-year-old entertained. I started a Google Doc of educational but fun websites that he can visit and he’s been doing those for at least one hour a day, then it’s on to his favorite game. Yup, it’s Minecraft!
This morning, he was thrilled to learn that the Minecraft: Education Edition is now available through June 2020 for anyone that has a valid Office 365 Education account. This version is specifically for educational use and is used in classrooms worldwide. Students are able to work together to build projects and solve problems together.
While I will be the first person to admit that I still don’t understand the appeal of Minecraft, I know that it’s the one thing that has been a consistent love for my son for as long as I can remember. While he goes through phases and gets tired of video games, TV shows and even toys, he never gets tired of playing Minecraft. Seeing that it can be fun and educational is a huge plus for me!
Want to use this as a part of your homeschooling? There is a remote learning toolkit where you can find lessons in math, science, language arts, history and more. Along with that, you can have your child try one of the Classroom Build Challenges.
One challenge is called “Block Biography”, which tells them to “Research a famous figure and create a quiz to convey this information in Minecraft”. Another challenge called “Mapping Our World” says to “create a map of your region in Minecraft.”
Not sure how to do anything in Minecraft (like me) but want to learn so you can help your child? There’s a great playlist of videos on Youtube that can teach you things like how to teach coding and how to create lessons in Minecraft.
Head on over to Minecraft:Education Edition and see if your school account is eligible. It’ll be available for free through June 2020.
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