Why use Minecraft Education
This 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
Considerations for use
- Age
- Minecraft Education is age rated for students 10 years and older.
- Classroom Mode
- Classroom Mode is a downloadable feature for Minecraft Education that provides teachers with access to additional settings and functions. It is encouraged for use when hosting a multiplayer world. More information: Classroom Mode | Minecraft Support
- SACE
- The platform contains content that extends well into high school curriculum. It is important to review the content thoroughly for students undertaking SACE courses, as language and detail may differ.
- Learning design
- Minecraft Education is a valuable tool for designing lessons aligned with the goals and principles of your school pedagogy and the Department for Education. It is important to note that many of the resources and lesson plans provided on the platform are not aligned with our curriculum or pedagogy.
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.
Use central deployment where possible.
If you have admin permission to install the software yourself you can download the correct Minecraft Education for your device.
If the Windows Store is blocked on your device, download Minecraft Education from the Microsoft store through your browser.
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)
Education features within Minecraft
The education version has useful features for teachers, including:
Read the article on how to use the education features of Minecraft .
First time user
Start here: Minecraft 101: Craft a game-based learning classroom - Training | Microsoft Learn
Built-in resources, online tutorials and self-help
Make sure to get hands-on with the tool before your first lesson. You don’t need to know everything, but it would be useful to have some basic knowledge of how things work in the Minecraft world.
Minecraft offers key resources to help you get started, including:
- sample lessons and starter worlds
- Learn how to play: from the home menu > play > view library > how to play > choose keyboard or touchscreen pathway (depending on which device you’re using).
- Basic controls in Minecraft Education – video tutorial (2:43)
- Camera, portfolio and book and quill video tutorial for Minecraft Education (6:29) – this is best viewed together with the Minecraft in-built lesson: go to How to play > Start Here > Keyboard lesson library > Lesson 4 Camera and Portfolio.
- How to create lessons in Minecraft: Education Edition video (1:30).
Learn how to use non-playing characters (NPCs) in Minecraft Education – you can use these to give guidance to your students within the game.
Training and professional development programs by external providers
Microsoft offers training for teachers, including:
- Minecraft Education teacher training – professional development resources available either as self-paced courses or live courses that may be taken with a cohort. They include:
- Teacher Academy
- Block Coding Academy
- Python Coding Academy
- Trainer Academy
- Esports Teacher Academy
- More self-paced learning on Microsoft Learn.
- Minecraft Education: Teacher Academy (3 hours 23 minutes) – all the courses together (you’ll get a badge for completing them).
In-house training programs by the department
Register for instructor-led training for Minecraft Education on plink. Sessions are available throughout the year and topics include getting to know Minecraft Education, lesson ideas and coding.
Teacher professional development events (events on edSpark, if available)
Community support and forums
Connect with other Minecraft educators: You can join the Minecraft Education community to learn from fellow educators and share resources. This is an international forum.
For support from the department join the Minecraft Education support team (on Microsoft Teams).
Troubleshooting tips
Here are some tips on how to address technical issues that may arise while using Minecraft Education in your classroom.
- 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.
Find additional troubleshooting ideas on the Minecraft website.
Classroom management tips
You can also check out classroom management tips for Minecraft Education.
Support Resources
- Official support via the Minecraft Education website support section
- Minecraft Education online community forums
Classroom management
Minecraft Education is considered a low-risk application however, the actions that students take within the worlds are not curated or actively monitored by anyone except the staff member who controls the world and can only be acted upon by this staff member. No one else is watching the students or curating anything that is created, spoken about or actively completed in ANY worlds.
This opens up the door for malicious use (trolling) of other students in the world which may be counterproductive in a classroom environment. Additionally, students may be exposed to chat features of the product and should be educated on the risks that come with online gaming. It is recommended that educators consider this lesson (https://education.minecraft.net/en-us/lessons/privacy-prodigy) as a pre-requisite learning activity to ensure students are aware of cyber risks and best practices to apply when using this product.
Any licencing of students should be very carefully considered as they can create their own worlds and use this product away from the school environment very easily.
School responsibility
Creating worlds at a school and inviting students into them within the school environment means the school takes on responsibility for making sure the users of this service within their site are trained appropriately, the service is used within standard Department policies and any actions are appropriately monitored.
Classroom management tools
Minecraft Education provides teachers with enhanced control over the in-game environment. This includes key features such as:
- Ability to teleport students. This enables teachers to make sure students find the right places in case they get lost within the world.
- Freeze or restrict student movement. This helps to make sure students stay on task and practise correct procedures.
- Direct in-game chat with students. This environment is protected within the classroom setting only.
- Non-player characters (NPCs): Minecraft Education makes use of NPCs to give instructions, provide hints or offer background information to students.
Chalkboards: Teachers can add chalkboards for displaying information, writing lesson objectives or posing questions within the Minecraft world.
Portfolio feature: Students can document their creations using screenshots and text for assessment purposes.
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.
Resources within Minecraft Education
You can choose from a wide variety of Minecraft Education resources, including lessons, challenges and worlds and esports. There are over 600 lessons plans and subject kits to adapt and use.
Subject kits may contain:
- lessons
- challenges
- worlds
- environment
- biomes (ecosystems)
- build plates (specific for education) – help you organise your class.
Other education related resources
- Extensive lesson library: Minecraft Education has a vast library of pre-made lessons aligned with various subjects and standards. These are sample lessons in Science, Maths, Digital Technologies (Computer Science), English (Language Arts), HASS (History and Culture), The Arts/Design Technologies (Art and Design), Digital Citizenship, Health and Wellbeing (Social Emotional), Equity and Inclusion, and Climate and Sustainability.
- Computer Science: There are a number of resources that help to introduce students to coding concepts through block-based programming and integration with languages like Python, as well as other technologies like AI and cybersecurity. They also have recommended activities for initiatives like Hour of Code.
- Esports: Minecraft Education has a number of esports options, resources and training available.
- Build challenges: There are several design challenges available to help build students’ skills and knowledge.
Collaboration and assessment features
- The ability to promote collaborative projects and use the tools for assessment are key features of Minecraft Education.
- Enhanced multiplayer: Minecraft Education uses secure servers and provides features specifically for classroom collaboration.
- Assessment tools: There are forma
