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Minecraft Education Edition lands in SA

Lauren Kate Rawlins
By Lauren Kate Rawlins, ITWeb digital and innovation contributor.
Johannesburg, 07 Mar 2017
Stephen Reid, founder of ImmersiveMinds.
Stephen Reid, founder of ImmersiveMinds.

Minecraft Education Edition is now available in SA, says Microsoft SA. The popular game can be used in schools to teach various subjects, not only computing.

It is an open-world game that promotes creativity, collaboration and problem-solving.

"We need to embrace new technologies in education; we are still teaching for a world that does not exist, not preparing children for the actual world they will be entering," says Stephen Reid, founder of ImmersiveMinds and Minecraft ambassador.

The company has been around for almost 20 years and focuses on bringing technology into the classroom through games-based learning.

"The key to harnessing technology as an effective tool for teaching and learning is in recognising its place in the everyday lives of our young people. The tools they embrace and enjoy using are not the tools we tend to deploy in our school systems readily."

He says teachers need to meet leaners in their own world, "using the tools they use and bringing the learning to them in a fun and effective way. Technology should not be viewed as a standalone tool, but as a powerful part of any teacher toolkit, complementary to traditional tools."

In Minecraft, learners are able to replicate the authentic world in game to learn about environment and history, says Reid.

"It allows for experimentation with stuff you wouldn't normally be able to do, like cut a tree down or visit the pyramids in ancient Egypt."

The education edition of Minecraft is differentiated from the regular game by allowing the teacher to create a 'closed world' that only they and their learners can access. The teacher can also put up barriers in the world that do not allow learners to 'wonder off' into virtual reality.

The launch of Minecraft Education Edition saw Brescia House school girls teach attendees how to play.
The launch of Minecraft Education Edition saw Brescia House school girls teach attendees how to play.

The education edition is a more secure environment, runs on Windows 10, and is much easier to play multi-player, says Reid.

He says physical education is the only subject in which ImmersiveMinds has not been able to use Minecraft successfully.

Reid says that by using Minecraft and computer games in school education, children are being taught the common language used in technology. This will be helpful when they come to do things like code in the future.

Since its 2016 global release, the game has reached more than 75 000 learners around the world, says Microsoft.

Teacher training lessons will be held in Johannesburg and Cape Town, run by Reid and Microsoft.

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