Training for Minecraft Educators
EXPLORE TRAINING ON-DEMAND OR WITH A LIVE COHORT
Our professional learning program equips you to incorporate Minecraft Education into your teaching practice, no matter your level of experience in game-based learning. We offer free, on-demand content via MS Learn, a vibrant online community of educators, and training cohorts where you can learn alongside others.
Minecraft teacher academy
This is our hero learning course, which incorporates Minecraft 101, 201, 301 and 401, and focuses on using Minecraft Education as a teaching and learning tool to support strong pedagogical practices in the learning environment.
101: Crafting a Game-Based Learning Classroom (1 hour)
This module equips educators with a foundational understanding of game-based learning, the ability to navigate Minecraft Education, and the skills to integrate it into their teaching, enhancing lessons with Minecraft's unique educational resources.
Take online or Join the next cohort
201: Making Assessment and Learning Mine
This module delves into integrating assessment within Minecraft Education, teaching educators to understand, compare, and apply assessment tools from the game to traditional methods, and to develop scenarios for employing Minecraft in various assessment formats including projects and presentations.
301: Programming Future-Ready Skills
This module focuses on advancing future-ready skills through computational thinking and coding, using Minecraft Education's unique tools like Code Builder. Educators will assess their coding knowledge, apply problem-solving skills in-game, and explore cyber skills lessons to determine the best fit for their students.
401: Building Towards Project-Based Learning
This module guides educators through the fundamentals of project-based learning within Minecraft Education, from understanding its pedagogical value to creating customized build challenges and developing strategies for effective multiplayer classroom engagement.
Minecraft Block Coding Academy
Block Coding Academy (6 hours)
The Block Coding Academy focuses on how educators may use Minecraft Education to teach programming skills and concepts to learners at all levels. The course is broken down into 2 sections: Block Based Coding in MakeCode, and a transition from MakeCode to Python. Most educators will start with the Block Coding course and come back to the Transition to Python course at a later time!
Pre-requisite: Ensure you have completed the Minecraft 101 module in the Minecraft Teacher Academy prior to starting the Block Coding Academy.
Minecraft Python Coding Academy
Python Coding Academy (6 hours)
The Python Coding Academy focuses on supporting students through their coding journey using the text-based programming language, Python. The course is broken up into 2 sections: Python in MakeCode, and a transition to writing Python in Azure Notebooks.
Pre-requisite: Ensure you have completed the Minecraft 101 course or equivalent training prior to starting the Python Coding Academy.
Minecraft Trainer Academy
Minecraft Trainer Academy (1 hours)
The Minecraft Trainer Academy walks educators through best practices for preparing and facilitating a Minecraft Education training for their organization, provides training materials, and inspires how to create a training environment that empowers all to use Minecraft Education. Great for technology coaches who will be supporting the implementation of Minecraft at their schools.
Pre-requisite: Ensure you have completed the Minecraft Teacher Academy before taking this course.
Microsoft Esports Teacher Academy (META)
Minecraft Esports Teacher Academy (1.5 hours total)
New to esports? The Minecraft Esports Teacher Academy (META) is a two-part series that covers the role of esports in education and career pathways, how to integrate esports in educational settings, and how to build a thriving esports program in a school through immersive exploration of Minecraft Education.
Minecraft Student Ambassador Program
Minecraft Student Ambassador Program (4 hours)
Do you have students at your school who are Minecraft fanatics, and want to provide them with a leadership opportunity to help other students or even teachers get started? By starting a Minecraft Student Ambassador Program, a school can connect with parents and the wider community by showcasing the positive impact of game-based-learning on student learning and development. At the end of this learning path, you'll become a Certified Minecraft Student Ambassador Sponsor.
Pre-requisite: Ensure you have completed Minecraft 101 and 201 before taking this course.
FAQ
How do I get set up and started with Minecraft Education?
Answer | First, you will need to have a valid Minecraft Education subscription. You can check if your school is already licensed by asking your IT administrator. If you are not, you can learn more about our free trial and licensing options here: Getting Started with Minecraft Education – Minecraft Education Support. After you have the product downloaded, we recommend going through Minecraft 101 on MS Learn to learn how to bring this tool into the classroom. If you have any issues or questions, reach out to our support team for help. |
Why should I take a Minecraft Education training course before delivering a lesson to my students?
Answer | A teacher who receives training on Minecraft Education will be able to navigate the platform with ease, understand the features available, and provide students with guidance and support. Training can help teachers understand how to design tasks, set objectives, and assess learning outcomes effectively. A trained teacher can also manage student behavior, set guidelines for appropriate use, and ensure that students stay on task. |
I’m a school leader in my organization and trying to map out a training plan for technology coaches or teachers in my district. Where should I start?
Answer | If you are just starting out, you’ll want to begin with our Minecraft 101 course and then add on what feels best for your teaching audience. We recommend having a group of teachers go through the Minecraft Teacher Academy together, either asynchronously or through a virtual cohort. This will be a great way to build community and support internally. If you have more advanced users, you might want to explore our 201 training to add on multiplayer and more advanced methods of assessment, or even explore our esports and coding courses. |
I am brand new to Minecraft Education and my students seem to know more about the game than I do. Where should I start so I feel confident to deliver a lesson to my class?
Answer | Don’t worry – we all have felt this way at some point! Harness that excitement from your students to your advantage – it’s one of the best benefits of teaching with Minecraft! Know that you do not have to be an expert gamer to teach with Minecraft – you simply have to do what you do best, which is design a learning experience. Minecraft 101 and its associated practice is designed to get you teaching your first lesson right away so you can sit back and reflect and design your next one to build more confidence. You got this! |
Some of my students have never played Minecraft before. How do I help them get started?
Answer | You are bound to have a few student experts in your class that can help! When introducing Minecraft for the first time to your class, ask students to raise their hand if they are Minecraft experts. Those students can be your class leaders and help other students if they get stuck or need guidance. We also have ‘How to Play’ tutorials on Movement, Breaking and Placing Blocks, Assessment Features, and more in our ‘How to Play’ category in the in-game library. Guide students here and they can get confident playing with a keyboard and mouse or a touch-screen device. |
Will I learn how to assess student learning as part of the Minecraft teacher training?
Answer | Yes! Minecraft 101, 201 and 301 are a spiraling curriculum – they model a real-life classroom lesson that you can directly teach your students, and models a teach – release – reflect method of instruction. In each course, you will demo how to build something, release students to build it, and then reflect with an assessment. That assessment can be very simple – take a screenshot of your creation – to more advanced, such as a screen recording walk through of the creation, a method that many students are very familiar with. |
I’ve completed the Minecraft Teacher Academy and am trying to figure out where to take the next step in my training journey to take my experience to the next level. What do you recommend?
Answer | Lucky you – the world is your oyster! Now you understand how your students can play and learn alone or with classmates, and that you have a variety of ways to manage lessons and assess. You may be ready to consider esports – designing a lesson where students compete and build with and against each other for fun – or our entire Coding Progression, or perhaps you want to start a Minecraft Student Ambassador program at your school. You can also check out if there are any upcoming training cohorts on our events page. |
How can I overcome any technical issues or glitches that might arise while using Minecraft Education?
Answer | We know that integrating a new technology can be daunting, especially when you are busy with just the basics of keeping your classroom running smoothly. Our Support Center has most issues documented so you can try to troubleshoot yourself, or drop a question in our Support Forums. If you can’t find the answer you are looking for, submit a ticket at https://aka.ms/fileaticket. |
What is the value for an educator to start a Minecraft Student Ambassador program at their school?
Answer | Your students love Minecraft and are extremely knowledgeable – we know that new teachers using Minecraft can be apprehensive. Taking the excitement of your students and giving them a leadership opportunity with it is a great way to build community and team-building at your school site. Our Student Ambassador course showcases the success of Atlanta Public Schools and details how you can recruit students, the activities they can do like being lesson helpers or throwing events at your school, and more. |