Minecraft: Education Edition free for PC, Mac, iOS

Playing video games can be a very efficient way to learn, and Minecraft: Education Edition has understood that. In this edition, teachers can use the Minecraft world to deepen their students' knowledge and make them learn about lots of different things in a more efficient and pedagogical way.

What is Minecraft: Education Edition?

Welcome to a world of endless possibilities, where you can learn how to survive in the wild, create and shape your own universe and teach in innovative and refreshing ways. Minecraft: Education Edition has been designed to provide all the tools of the original Minecraft experience, whilst also providing advanced tools for teachers and students to collaborate. So make your students discover this new world, full of exciting learning moments.

Gameplay

• Collaborate: Teachers and students can collaborate and build projects to teach, learn and solve problems in infinite ways. A whole classroom of up to 30 students can play together in a world without needing to set up separate servers, or they can work in groups by joining their classmates' world. Also, the students and teachers can chat in real-time.
• Build: Thanks to all the different game modes, you will also be able to experience the original Minecraft journey, from surviving in a wild world with limited resources to creating whatever you want and thriving in an infinite territory.

• NPCs: Teachers can create non-playable characters (NPCs) as guides for the students. They are handy as they can give instructions and provide information. They add more depth to the world and strengthen the immensity of the experience.
• Teach and learn: Using the camera and portfolio, students can provide evidence of their learning by taking screenshots in the game, and teachers will be able to consult the progression of everyone quickly. Additionally, chalkboards will be of great help as they can be used to display text and provide additional pieces of information and instructions. There is no limit to what you can teach and learn in Minecraft: Education Edition (math, computer science, art, history, languages, social skills...).
• Shape and control: As a teacher, you can build and control your students' experience from A to Z, including the limits of the world using the Border, Allow and Deny blocks to make specific areas buildable or not.

• Code: To make students feel more comfortable with programming, the code builder lets them write code in a dedicated editor and make agents execute the routines. For real, you can create advanced and complex logic using conditions, loops, functions and events, and design whatever you want.
• Account and identification: Don't worry about server setup anymore, as multiplayer games can easily take place just by logging in with your Office365 education account.

Graphics and sound

To be honest, Minecraft: Education Edition pixelated and simple graphics are just lovely and endearing, just like they were when the game was released. They give a unique cube-shaped look to the game, and all the ambient sound and audio feedback make the whole experience surprisingly immersive.

Duration and game modes

You can play Minecraft: Education Edition for as long as you want, as there are no limits to what you can do with it. In addition, multiple game modes are available:

• Survival mode: This is the same Survival mode as in the classic version of Minecraft. You will need to learn how to hunt, craft, build shelters and survive in a wild world full of monsters when the night comes. You can pick a pre-created world or create a randomly generated one.
• Creative mode: In Creative mode, you have access to all the resources and blocks the game has in stock, and you cannot die. That way, you can learn many mechanics without caring about dying.
• Classroom mode: This mode allows one or several teachers to build and control students' experiences in various ways. Teachers can be considered full-privileged administrators and students as simple users. There are lots of possible scenarios you can build from scratch as you will be able to add NPCs with stories and instructions, define the limits of the worlds, set up objectives (and be able to know which students achieved them), chat in real-time, and much more.

What do the reviews say?

Minecraft: Education Edition has not been officially rated, but it contains almost all the features of the original Minecraft game while emphasizing the teachers' and students' experience, so we can safely assume it deserves the same rating, an impressive 93/100 on Metacritic.

"Minecraft is by far one of the most fascinating and progressive games ever made, both in terms of its leanings towards procedural generation and emergent gameplay, and the way it has been so openly developed. In an era where the development of most games is a closely-guarded, PR-managed secret, millions were invited to buy and play Minecraft years before it was even finished." (Telegraph)

Age rating

Minecraft: Education Edition has been classified as PEGI 3, so it can be considered suitable for all audiences.

How to play Minecraft: Education Edition?

• Once launched, you can start creating your world and choosing the game mode you want.
• You can also consult plenty of resources online, like the basics, lessons, coding tutorials, and more.