After a summer of test runs the full version of Minecraft: Education Edition will officially launch on the 1st of November. When it goes live, the service will require a yearly $5 membership per user or a district-wide licence, however, the Early Access edition is still free until November.
According to the MinecraftEdu team, more than 35,000 teachers and students have played in the sandbox of Minecraft since the program first launched at the beginning of summer. With the official launch, the team has added a number of new education-focused features like the "Classroom Mode" that offers a top-down look at the Minecraft world via a companion app. minecraft servers The app lets teachers manage the settings of the world and interact with their students in game as well as give them items and move their children around the map using a single interface. The educational edition will be updated as the main Minecraft world evolves. Teachers are encouraged to give feedback and feature suggestions.
Finally, for any teachers who haven't stepped into Minecraft's blocky world yet, education.minecraft.net offers some starter worlds, tutorials, free lesson plans in subjects ranging from storytelling to city planning, and a mentoring program to connect them with other educators. Minecraft: Education Edition requires OS X El Capitan, Windows 10, and a free Office 365 account.