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One of the most useful elements in Minecraft is the NPC, or non-player character.  They’re very resourceful for characters that can’t move and only do what you tell them.  (No jokes about husbands, wives, children or dogs here, please.)  Welcome to Day 95 of 365 Ideas for Office 365– NPC’s. NPC vs mob In video games, the term NPC can refer more generally to any entities that are not controlled by a player.  In Minecraft, the word for that is mobs, not to be confused with mods, which is short for modifications.  NPCs in Minecraft Education Edition are specific mobs you can place and programRead More →

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Last time we looked at different types of signage in Minecraft:EE– wooden signs, slates, posters and boards.  Previously we showed how you can use a camera in Minecraft and how your pictures get saved in a portfolio, which you can export as a PDF and save to your device or to the cloud, and share.  Pulling all of those pieces together, one of the things you can take a picture of, is those signs.  That way the teacher doesn’t have to go into any Minecraft worlds to get a (gradable) record of what the students wrote.  There is another way students can write, or saveRead More →

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Writing in Minecraft Education Edition (M:EE) can be done on several different surfaces, most of which can be edited. These chalkboard-like surfaces are much more user-friendly than “engraved” signs in other versions of Minecraft.  Welcome to Day 82 of 365 Ideas for Office 365– Minecraft signage. Signage in typical Minecraft In most versions of Minecraft, signage consists of precisely that- you can only write on signs.  These come in a variety of attractive wood options. They are typically mounted on a post in the ground, but can also be placed on a wall in a nice frame.  If you place them in the ground, theyRead More →

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Redstone is the material in Minecraft that makes circuitry possible.  Last time we explored natural mechanics in Minecraft.  Today we will check out the mechanics of Redstone circuitry.  Welcome to Day 81 of 365 Ideas for #Office 365. To complete a circuit, you need 3 things- an input, an output, and something to connect them.  There several tools in Minecraft that serve as inputs, several different tools for outputs, put only one item serves as that connector. Inputs Inputs are blocks that you can place in Minecraft that players can interact with to serve as a ‘trigger’ to cause an effect.  Input devices in MinecraftRead More →

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There are a great many ways teachers can engage students using Minecraft Education Edition.  Some require more knowledge of Minecraft from teachers than others. One of the features of Minecraft it is helpful to understand are the natural mechanics, including gravity, water and lava.  Welcome to Day 80 of 365 Ideas for Office 365, natural mechanics in Minecraft.  Gravity It doesn’t take long to realize that not everything in Minecraft follows the rules of gravity.  If you step off a block, you will fall.  You obey gravity, unless you are playing creative mode, and double-click the space bar.  Then you fly, but otherwise, gravity works,Read More →

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There are a world of Minecraft lessons and worlds already pre-made and ready for you to find and use with your students.  Education.minecraft.net is Microsoft’s hub for all things Minecraft Education Edition, including Worlds and Lessons to go with those worlds on a variety of subjects.   These Minecraft lessons are the subject of Day 79 of 365 Ideas for Office 365. Lesson Libraries Whenever I conduct training on tools like Nearpod or Smart Notebook, after participants learn the basics of the tool from both the teacher and students side, the next step to implementing in the classroom is using the existing libraries of content.  It’sRead More →

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Did you know Minecraft Education Edition includes a camera? Do you realize what that means? Anything your students build in Minecraft can be  captured in a picture and exported for the teacher (and/or class)  to view without having to personally enter that student’s Minecraft world!  Day 78 of 365 Ideas for Office 365 is all about using the Camera and Portfolio in Minecraft for formative assessment. Formative Assessment in Minecraft EE There are a number of ways that teachers can leverage Minecraft EE in the classroom.  Some require much more learning and experiencing Minecraft on the part of the teacher, but this is one ofRead More →

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I was not going to delve in to Minecraft Education Edition for another 50 posts or so, but it just can’t wait any longer. Partly because we are rolling it out in our district right now, and also since I just became a Certified Minecraft Education Edition Trainer this week, I can’t wait any longer to start the conversation.  Welcome to Day 77 of 365 Ideas for Office 365.  This is sure to be the first of many posts on using Minecraft in the classroom. To set the stage, today will just be about why Minecraft belongs in your classroom. Let’s start with the obvious.Read More →