RESOURCES FOR PARENTS 
& FAMILIES

Minecraft Education is an educational version of the popular game Minecraft, tailored to enhance learning experiences for students. It provides tools and features that promote creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration in an immersive and safe environment.

Welcome Parents

Young people are passionate about Minecraft and learning through games. We want to make sure you have everything you need to support their educational journey—and keep things fun along the way!

Read parent's guide
Kids and the agent look at machines and a model of DNA constructed from blocks

Get Started

Use Minecraft Education outside of the classroom. Your child may already have access through their school account.

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Learn the basics of Minecraft Education

Explore the basic game mechanics of Minecraft: environment, controls, building blocks, characters, and popular mobs.

A family sitting around a laptop

Home School Learning

Keep students engaged by incorporating Minecraft Education in homeschool learning.

Minecraft characters stand outside a computer center

Cybersafe Family Toolkit

Support young learners as they navigate the digital world using this resource that accompanies the CyberSafe series of Minecraft worlds.

TRY THESE IMMERSIVE WORLDS AT HOME OR IN SCHOOL

Two blocky characters celebrate, holding a gray elephant plushie in a colorful stadium with purple, orange, and green banners.

CYBERSAFE SERIES

Learn about how to be safe online, protect personal data, and use AI tools responsibly. Supported with free parent resources.

Minecraft coding interface showing a task to move a clay golem forward 6 blocks.

HOUR OF CODE

Practice coding with a fun, immersive lesson that builds computational thinking skills.

A wheel with Minecraft movie characters on it. Steve runs around in the background near a village and portal

WHEEL OF STEVE

Spin the wheel for a creative challenge that will test your collaboration skills in this adventure inspired by A Minecraft Movie.

An ancient-themed room with geometric patterns.

MUMMY MAYHEM

Math has never been more fun in this geometry lesson set in a blocky Ancient Egypt. Solve puzzles and learn key skills.

The Minecraft agent and a chicken are looking at a stack of computer components in the shape of the letters "AI"

AI ADVENTURERS

Learn about AI with the help of Agent and Chicken in this video series, fun for the whole family.

A group of wolves stand on a rocky hill under a clear blue sky in a Minecraft landscape

PLANET EARTH III WORLDS

Venture through Earth’s habitats and play as a series of animals in these astounding worlds inspired by BBC Earth’s nature documentaries.

EDUCATION COLLECTION ON MINECRAFT MARKETPLACE

Does your family play Minecraft Bedrock Edition at home? Minecraft Bedrock offers tons of free-to-play educational worlds on the Minecraft Marketplace. Browse these worlds for exciting, at-home learning opportunities.

Go to the Marketplace
A collection of Minecraft Marketplace content is seen through a glowing portal. Text in the center reads: Minecraft Marketplace.

FAQ

Minecraft vs. Minecraft Education: What's the difference?

Answer

Minecraft is the popular sandbox game loved for its open-ended play, while Minecraft Education is a special version designed specifically for classroom use. Licensed through Microsoft 365, Minecraft Education includes exclusive features that support learning, collaboration, and curriculum integration.


Key differences


Purpose

Minecraft: Focuses on entertainment, creativity, and exploration in open-ended worlds.

Minecraft Education: Built for learning environments, with a content library that supports all school subjects like math, science, history, and coding.


Licensing and Access

Minecraft: Purchased as a one-time game license or subscription via personal accounts.

Minecraft Education: Requires a Microsoft 365 education license and is deployed on school-managed devices.


Classroom Features

Minecraft: Standard game features, no built-in classroom tools.

Minecraft Education: Includes classroom management and assessment features, Immersive Reader integration, an in-game lesson library, and Code Builder tool that allows coding in MakeCode.


Gameplay Environment

Minecraft: Players join public or private servers, often hosted independently.

Minecraft Education: Students play with classmates on school-managed devices, not public servers, ensuring a safe and structured environment.


Learning Outcomes

Minecraft: Encourages creativity and problem-solving in a freeform way.

Minecraft Education: Builds skills like creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving through structured educational challenges.
Answer

Minecraft Education combines the power of play with purposeful learning outcomes. Here are the key ways it supports education:


  • Engaging and motivating: Game-based learning inspires students with meaningful, relevant learning and intrinsic motivation.
  • Safe, interactive environment: Provides a space where students can explore and take risks without real-world consequences.
  • Learning through experimentation: Encourages students to learn by trial and error, building problem solving skills and creativity.
  • Project based learning: Helps students build cross-curricular connections, resilience and confidence through real-world learning and build challenges.
  • Alignment with educational goals: Integrates gameplay with curriculum objectives to ensure purposeful learning and standards alignment.

Read more stories about Minecraft Education in the classroom and beyond!
Answer

Minecraft Education integrates with educational goals and curriculum areas by incorporating elements such as competition, collaboration, and active participation. Teachers can customize the in-game experience to match specific learning objectives.
Answer

Minecraft Education typically requires a license purchased by schools or educators. Parents should check with their child’s school to see if it is already included in their educational program.
Answer

Homeschools, families, and other organizations can purchase and manage Minecraft Education through our commercial offer. Our guide will walk you through the process of setting up an account for your homeschool group or organization
Answer

We offer a guide designed to assist parents who are supporting learners of all ages using Minecraft Education.
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