Minecraft Education backup

About Minecraft Education

Minecraft is a popular online game. You can build your own digital worlds or complete tasks in pre-designed ones, individually or in groups.

Minecraft Education is a modified version of the game, specifically tailored for educational settings. It offers a captivating, open-ended environment where students can explore, create, collaborate and learn across a broad range of subjects.

Minecraft Education is available to all schools under the department’s Microsoft licence.

Why Minecraft is a gamechanger for education

The game is great for:

• engagement and student participation – you can tap into students’ interests when designing worlds or giving them challenges
• problem-solving – students must strategise and find creative solutions to challenges within the game.
• collaboration – projects encourage teamwork and communication – up to 40 students can work together in the same world
• cross-curricular learning – you can use Minecraft Education to teach anything from history and science to mathematics and English
• assessment and learning progress – students can record their work and reflect on their learning directly within the game.

What the research says: Minecraft Education White Paper: The Education Benefit of Minecraft | Microsoft.

How does it link to the curriculum

You can explore lesson plans aligned with the Australian curriculum or use the integrated game tutorials.

Minecraft Education allows you to instruct computational thinking and coding through the Code Builder, or delve into chemistry with the Chemistry Lab. The potential for curriculum integration is boundless.

(Section 1) How you could use Minecraft Education

Teaching strategies – how Minecraft can help you in the classroom

Minecraft Education offers a unique way to make learning more hands-on and exciting for students. It helps them see how their classroom lessons apply to a broader world.

When you bring Minecraft into your teaching, think about how it can support what you're already doing across subjects and year levels. Here's a breakdown to get you started.

• Project-based learning: Give students a problem to solve or a goal to achieve within Minecraft. They'll need to plan, research and build!
• Inquiry-based learning: Minecraft lets students test ideas, discover new concepts and learn from their successes and challenges.
• Collaborative learning: Building together within Minecraft worlds promotes teamwork, communication and problem-solving among students. It’s also a safe space to practise digital citizenship.
• Gamification: The challenges and rewards of Minecraft naturally keep students motivated and eager to learn.
• Storytelling: Enable students to write about their builds, explain the history behind a creation or act out scenes within their Minecraft worlds.
• Real-world connections: Use Minecraft to make abstract concepts more concrete. Students can build models to visualise maths problems, historical sites or scientific processes.

Find examples of Minecraft lessons for different subjects in the in-class learning resources section (on this page).

Links to strategy for public education

Wellbeing

Cognitive engagement – learners are stretched and challenged to demonstrate their learning in the safety of a game environment

Learner agency

Discernment and judgement - Learners can add Minecraft to their choices when selecting ways to demonstrate their learning.

Equity and excellence

Inclusion - Built in accessibility tools allow learners from all backgrounds and skill levels to learn through Minecraft Education.

Effective learners

Curiosity and creativity - The sandbox nature of Minecraft allowing students to create whatever their imagination lets them.

See it in action – case studies

[...]

Taking the stress out of learning maths: Minecraft at Marryatville High School

Marryatville HS has been using Minecraft Education since 2022. Find out what they learnt and how it’s impacted the students and school.
Read the full Marryatville case study

(Section 2) How to access Minecraft Education

Step 1 – check the minimum requirements

Minecraft Education doesn’t have special   requirements. It:

• is available for Windows, iOS (Apple), Android and Chromebook
• uses single sign-on (schools email address)
• works on most laptops, tablets and smartphones.

If playing on a laptop, having a mouse will be much easier than using the trackpad.

Step 2 – Ask your site leader to complete or review the cyber risk assessment

Minecraft Education has been endorsed as a whole of department enterprise solution available to all sites.
Before you start using this software, your site leader must have reviewed and accepted the cyber security risk assessment – Minecraft Education  and approved it for use. It includes recommended strategies on how to mitigate risks.
We’ve also prepared safety guidelines for you to consider in class (on this page).

Step 3 – consider procurement requirements

Minecraft Education is free for all schools and preschools as part of the department’s enterprise agreement with Microsoft (Microsoft Education A3 licence).

Step 4 – Talk to your site tech about how to install the software

Contact your school IT to organise the installation of Minecraft Education on all devices of students and teachers who will use it. You can play on more than 1 device at the same time.

To use the multiplayer option, all computers must be on the same network and running the same version of Minecraft.

If you have admin permission to install the software yourself you can download the correct Minecraft Education for your device.

Use central deployment where possible

If the Windows Store is blocked on your device download your browser: Minecraft Education

Step 5 – Log in

Students and staff can access Minecraft Education by logging in with their @schools email and password – Okta single sign-on may sign you in. (If working from outside the school network, you may need additional authentication as for all other Microsoft applications.)

To use Minecraft Education with students below year 1 who don’t have an @schools email, see: Minecraft - Log in for Reception students (on edIT)

(Section 3) Learn how to use Minecraft Education

Education features within Minecraft

The education version has useful features for teachers, including:

• classroom management tools
• assessment and collaboration tools.

Read the article on how to use the education features of Minecraft.

Tutorials, training and support

Other technology you can use with Minecraft

Make sure to prepare any additional tools that you’ll need to use for your lessons.

Collaboration

For example, you might wish to provide students access to collaboration platforms like:

• Frog
• Canva Whiteboard
• Microsoft Teams.

Recording

You might also consider using tools like:

• Paint 3D for capturing images
• Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint for creating digital notebooks that students can use to record their learning    .

Students can also use the camera and quill tool to record their work directly within Minecraft.

To record video while playing Minecraft you can:

• on a Windows computer, press the Windows key + G to record gameplay
• on a Mac computer, use Quicktime to record your screen.

(Section 4) Prepare your first Minecraft lesson

Here are some tips to help your lesson using Minecraft go smoothly and efficiently.

Before the lesson

Plan a proactive response to ‘griefing’: In Minecraft, ‘griefing’ is the act of irritating and angering people through the use of destruction, construction or social engineering.

It’s important to have a plan aligned with school policies in place to address disruptive or destructive behaviour within the Minecraft environment. Find tips on how to manage ‘griefing’.

Guiding your students in class

Start with an orientation: If students haven’t had the opportunity to use Minecraft in the classroom before, consider running some introductory lessons to help orient students. Refer to the previous section on learning how to use Minecraft for some basic topic ideas that may be covered in orientation sessions  .

Getting started: Once students are familiar with some of the basic controls and features of Minecraft Education, start by encouraging students to build their own worlds. You can set a simple, open-ended task such as ‘build a house’ or ‘design a garden’. Some tips to consider:

• Show students how to access the onscreen keys (type Function 1 / Fn + F1, then type H). This will help guide them on how to move around the Minecraft world. Here’s a list of useful keyboard and mouse controls for your reference.
• To pause the game at any point and/or bring up settings, just press the escape key (Esc).
• To bring up the chat or code builder. Just press the ‘Enter’ key.
• Make sure to let students know that there is no ‘undo’ function in Minecraft. If they destroy something, they have to build it again. And, if they added something that they no longer want, they have to destroy or delete it.

Emphasise purpose: Frame each Minecraft activity in the context of learning objectives. Clearly articulate what students should gain from the experience and let them know what you expect at the end of every lesson, for example to complete a page on their digital notebook, a screenshot recording of their creation, a reflection or similar.

Classroom norms in Minecraft: Collaborate with students to create specific rules for interacting within the Minecraft world. Emphasise:

• respectful behaviour – communicate how you’ll respond to ‘griefing’
• responsible interactions
• the connection to real-world digital citizenship (Australian curriculum).

Safety guidelines

The nature of this space necessitates specific safety considerations. Here are key guidelines to protect your students and foster a positive learning environment in this digital space:

• Monitor online interactions – make sure to supervise multiplayer mode, especially if students are interacting on shared servers. Make sure students are aware of behaviour expectations.
• Time management – establish designated time limits for Minecraft to prevent excessive screen time .
• Content restrictions – consider disabling in-game features that might distract from the learning objectives or pose risks. Refer to the game settings.

Note that students can change game settings in worlds that they import. Restrictions are only possible when you invite students to a world for collaboration. When they build or import a world, you’re not able to add restrictions.

Troubleshooting tips

Here are some tips and ideas on how to address any technical issues and classroom management challenges that may arise while using Minecraft Education in your classroom.

Technical issues

• Slow performance: Close background apps, lower graphics settings, check network.
• Login issues: Check credentials and network connection.
• Crashes or glitches: Update the software and check the Minecraft Education website support section to see if there’s known downtime.
• Multiplayer issues: Make sure everyone is connected to the same network and uses the same version of the app to join the world.

Support Resources

• Official support via the Minecraft Education website support section
• Additional troubleshooting ideas on the Minecraft website
• Classroom management tips for Minecraft Education
• Minecraft Education online community forums

Minecraft articles

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More Minecraft Education content

Cyber risk rating by the department – moderate

The department has prepared a cyber risk assessment report for [tech name] for your consideration. Before you start using the technology, we recommend your site implement the mitigations noted in the risk assessment report. Your school may also do their own risk assessment. You need to reassess the risks regularly.

Ultimately, your school or preschool owns the risk if you’re using this technology.

Learn more about managing cyber security risks when using third-party vendors and technologies.

Proposed original copy:

ICT Cyber Security has prepared a risk assessment report for your consideration. The risk assessment highlights whether the product's benefits are balanced with necessary security measures, safeguarding staff and student data, and maintaining essential learning tool availability. The department recommends schools implement the mitigations noted in the risk assessment register.

Please Note: this is advice only and schools wishing to perform an independent risk assessment are encouraged to do so as ultimately the risks is owned by the school implementing this product. Site leaders should read and accept the outlined risks identified during the assessment prior to using PRODUCT. For advice please see: Completed risk assessment.

Cyber risk rating by the department – low

The department's Cyber Security Unit has deemed [tech name] as low risk. No formal risk assessment is required.

Note that:

• risk ratings may change in line with future changes to [tech name] or how it can be used
• this is advice only
• you may still choose to do your own risk assessment.

Ultimately, your school or preschool owns the risk if you’re using this technology.

Read more about managing cyber security risks when using third-party vendors and technologies.

Cyber security advice – moderate risk

The department has prepared a cyber risk assessment report for [tech name] for your consideration.

Before starting to use the technology, we recommend site leaders read the report and:

• accept the outlined risks
• implement the risk mitigations.

This is advice only. Your school may also do their own risk assessment. You need to reassess the risks regularly.

Ultimately, your school or preschool owns the risk if you’re using this technology.

Learn more about managing cyber security risks when using third-party vendors and technologies.

ICT Cyber Security has prepared a risk assessment report for your consideration. The risk assessment highlights whether the product's benefits are balanced with necessary security measures, safeguarding staff and student data, and maintaining essential learning tool availability. The department recommends schools implement the mitigations noted in the risk assessment register.

Please Note: this is advice only and schools wishing to perform an independent risk assessment are encouraged to do so as ultimately the risks is owned by the school implementing this product. Site leaders should read and accept the outlined risks identified during the assessment prior to using PRODUCT. For advice please see: Completed risk assessment.

Review the cyber risk assessment report for Minecraft Education.

Some of the risks identified by the department:

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