A beta program for Minecraft: Education Edition will begin next month, Mojang announced on Friday, giving more than 100 schools (in 30 countries!) a chance to experiment with a modified version of Minecraft intended to make the game a better teaching tool.
We still don’t know exactly how Mojang will differentiate Minecraft: Education Edition from the base game. The two companies obviously plan to optimize the game’s teaching potential, building upon the foundation created by MinecraftEDU, a repository of Minecraft-based instructional courses acquired by Mojang’s parent-company (Microsoft) earlier this year. But we can only assume new information will flood the web when thousands of teachers and students around the globe gain access to Minecraft: Education Edition next month.
Fortunately for those anxious to bring Minecraft: Education Edition into their own classrooms, Mojang says an early access program will launch in June. The studio says teachers will have free access to Minecraft: Education Edition during the early access period; however, it’s still not clear when we can expect to see MEE make its official debut. Given that support for MinecraftEDU will disappear after end of the current school year, its seems fair to assume Microsoft is aiming for a Fall 2016 launch. But the company has not confirmed that timeline.
For more information on Minecraft: Education Edition, and to see some of the courses available for download, check out the Resources and Frequently-Asked Question sections of the Minecraft: Education Edition website.
Minecraft: Education Edition is in development for Windows and OS X.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for additional Minecraft coverage throughout 2016 and for however long Mojang continue to support Minecraft in the years to come.
