Minecraft To Educate

Microsoft is set to launch an education edition of Minecraft.

18:29 20 January 2016

An education edition of Minecraft, which will offer teachers new ways to use the world-building video game in a range of subjects, will be launched by Microsoft.

 

In 2014, Microsoft bought Minecraft from Mojang, the Swedish creator for a $2.5bn. It also bought the four-year-old MinecraftEdu version of the game from Finland-based independent developer TeacherGaming last year.

 

"Teachers are using Minecraft to do so many things, including teaching maths, science, religion and poetry," Anthony Salcito, Microsoft's vice-president of worldwide education.

 

"Once we make the tools easier for schools to get access to and employ, I think you'll see that number [of classrooms] grow quite quickly."

Deirdre Quarnstrom, director of Minecraft education, added: "We believe we are bringing added value,"

 

"On top of having a persistent identity, they will also have access to the most current version of the game.

 

"MinecraftEdu, along with other Minecraft mods, was one to two releases behind by nature of the development process.

 

"We are also replacing the need for schools to have and maintain separate server hardware."

 

New features were welcomed by Leigh Wolmarans, the head teacher of Lings Primary School in Northampton. He said: "Technology can lead to exceptional learning, but it has to be used in conjunction with other tools.”

 

"If all you are doing is sitting them down and leaving them to experience Shakespeare through Minecraft, you would be doing something wrong.

"Dance, art, drama and music remain the best ways to teach kids.

 

"But technology can add to that as an additional tool."