NOW – School IT departments need to get set up with free M365 accounts and prepare for how to use Minecraft: Education Edition in the fall.
Play Minecraft: Education Edition on a Chromebook
On @playcraftlearn Twitter handle an invite to beta test Minecraft: Education Edition on Chromebooks was posted. I logged into my Chromebook, went to the Play Store and sure enough… I was able to find Minecraft: Education Edition (Early Access) no problem. I didn’t have to sign up for the beta or anything. Now mind you, I have permission on my personal Chromebook to install Android apps. This may require approval from your school and to be pushed out to school Chromebooks.
This is Beta Access
The tweet did not say how long this will be in Beta before it’s widely released but this is very exciting. NOW is the time to start preparing for using Minecraft: Education Edition with students in the fall.
Need an M365 Microsoft Tenant
Here is the rub. If your school has Chromebooks you are most likely a Google School. You have Google logins. Minecraft: Education Edition is owned by Microsoft. They require a Microsoft login to enter Minecraft: Education Edition.
You can install the beta no problem on your Chromebook but your’e not able to access the program without an M365 Microsoft login.
Tenants are free!
Microsoft Education accounts are free. However, as an individual teacher you can not set this up. The tech department at your school will need to go through the process of verifying that your school is an educational institution and getting logins set up. This is a separate username and account for each student than the Google logins. Note: There is a beta program to get “single sign on” where you can log into Minecraft: Education Edition as well as other Microsoft products using your Google login. This will have to also be set up by the IT department.
In the meantime, start playing Minecraft on your phone or PC
If your school does not yet have a M365 logins start now getting ready for when it does. Install pocket edition on your phone and start playing there to familiarize yourself with some Minecraft basics. Alternatively, download the PC version of Minecraft to get started before you have access to Education Edition.
Student Engagement Matters
There are many reports of students who were disengaged during remote learning. Minecraft: Education Edition is no magic bullet but certainly is one tool with proven student engagement. NOW is the time for school districts to start setting up the O365 Microsoft Tenants to be ready for when Minecraft: Education Edition comes out of beta.
education.minecraft.net Website
Now is the time to start investigating how you can use Minecraft: Education Edition on a Chromebook for remote learning. Start with the “Learn to play” tutorials on the site.
Investigate Pre-Made Lessons
Minecraft: Education Edition is for LEARNING! There are over 600 ready to go, many standards aligned, lessons for all content areas on the website.
Start Thinking Education Edition
As we are moving towards fall, start thinking about how Minecraft: Education Edition can be a part of your classroom. Talk with your administrator about getting a site license and having it deployed to student devices. Minecraft: Education Edition is for teaching and learning.