Microsoft launches Minecraft: Education Edition

A new version of Minecraft targeted and schools and educators is now available to buy.

Minecraft: Education Edition isn’t radically different to the vanilla game, but does come with some extra tools for teachers, such as student positional tracking, the easier allocation of resources and some additional in-game items.

However, anyone that has kids will know of the game’s extraordinary popularity with youngsters, and considering the game’s creative appeal it does seem like an excellent opportunity to engage kids in the classroom.

Examples of its use include the construction and exploration of historical or even biological structures – kids can just as easily tour Canterbury Cathedral as they can, say, a human eyeball – although of course teachers themselves will have to conjure up the creations.

The hope is that the wider education community will rub heads and come up with ideas and creations that can be shared.

Minecraft: Education Edition is available on Windows 10 and Mac OS. It’s available now with a US price of $5 per student. More details can be found here.