Minecraft: Education Edition – Helping Teachers get started

Minecraft: Education Edition – Helping Teachers get started

Minecraft: Education Edition can be difficult for adults to understand why it would be used in Learning.

For many it appears as just a game where students can build things. So the connection people make is something along the lines of “My class is studying Ancient Egypt, so I’ll get them to create Pyramids in Minecraft….”.  While this might be great for you as you get started in using Minecraft with learning you shouldn’t stop there.

If you are teaching and have heard something about Minecraft in the classroom, check out this video lesson from Stephen Reid which introduces you to starting to play but also shows you some of what is possible by creating and using Minecraft Worlds built for learning experiences.

 

Minecraft: Education Edition – How to set up a Multiplayer World

Minecraft: Education Edition – How to set up a Multiplayer World

Minecraft: Education Edition enables multiplayer worlds to staff and students who are in the same Office 365 tenant – so as a Teacher this means you can Host a World that your students can play in. This can be in the physical classroom or when your students are located remotely.  What a great way to encourage collaboration and communication at a time when learning has expanded beyond a physical room all over the world.

Now once you’re setup as a Host, your students simply open Minecraft:EE and enter the Join code to join your world.  But as the Host you have to get technical with your computer and home modem/router.
The two things you will need to do are:

  1. set a static IP address on your computer hosting the Minecraft world
  2. forward port 19132 on your router to that same static IP address

Here are the official requirements and advice that Microsoft recommend to successfully setup and host multiplayer worlds (but remember it’s basically those two steps above you need to make):

Multiplayer Requirements for Minecraft: Education Edition

  • Multiplayer is possible for players within the same Office 365 tenant.
  • It is recommended that the host computer has at least 1.5 Mbps of bandwidth.
  • Players need to be running the same version of Minecraft: Education Edition to be able to host and join worlds together.
  • Your network needs to allow communications with https://meeservices.azurewebsites.net (the URL needs to be “white listed” by any systems in your network that block access to the internet such as router settings, anti-virus or your firewall software).
  • To enjoy a successful multiplayer game, be sure the following connections are open on all networks involved:
    • Meeservices.azurewebsites.net (used for login)
    • Port 19132 TCP AND UDP (this carries Minecraft multiplayer traffic)
    • https://portforward.com/ has instructions for many routers and can help you open the ports
    • If playing across different internet connections these ports must be open on all networks involved
    • This site can provide guidance on ensuring your antivirus or firewall is not blocking the multiplayer connection.
    • Review the Troubleshooting section if you are having issues with your Multiplayer game.

Summary of the Setup Process – Minecraft: Education Edition Hosting a World

  1. Decide which computer you will Host the M:EE World on
  2. Give that Computer a Static IP address
  3. On your Router – forward Port 19132 to that static IP Address
  4. As the Host start a Game and share the Join Code with your players

If so far that all sounds too technical – it really isn’t too bad, so let’s get started…

The Host Computer is the device which the Minecraft: Education Edition world will be run and accessed by others.

Setup your Host Computer

Start by finding the computer’s current IP address assigned by your Home router

    1. click the Windows start icon and type CMD, press enter
    2. type ipconfig, press enter
    3. if your computer is on wifi then use the Wireless IPv4 address  (here’s what my computer on wifi gets, I need the 192.168.0.98 address to become static so it always is attached to that computer)minecraft education edition multiplayer port forwarding
    4. You most likely have a different router to mine, so you will need to do a search on How to setup a static IP address on [insert the make and model of your router]
    5. My router is from Telstra Australia, made by Technicolour, and in the modem admin settings it looked like this:
      Minecraft education edition port forwarding router settings
    6. OK so now your Host computer will have a Static IP Address – this means when a request is made to Join your multiplayer world it is directed to that computer hosting the world.

Set a Port Forward rule on your Modem/Router

Start by logging in to your Home router

  1. Search online for How to Port Forward on [insert name of your modem/router]
  2. follow the guide to setup TCP and UDP forwarding on Port 19132, to the static IP Address for your host computer
  3. For me the settings on my Technicolour modem/router were:
    minecraft education edition multiplayer port forwarding

That’s it. Once you have given your host computer a static IP address then setup Port Forwarding you can Host a Game and send other people in your Office 365 tenant the join code to multiplayer in Minecraft: Education Edition

Just start a new Game, choose a World, pause the game and choose Host – share the join code and that’s it!

Minecraft education edition port forwarding router settings

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Minecraft: Education Edition – How to export structures to 3D

Minecraft: Education Edition – How to export structures to 3D

Why would you want to export a structure from Minecraft: Education Edition?

Well, anything students create in Minecraft:EE can be exported by using a special block called a Structure Block.  The student can place this block anywhere in their world, then change the dimensions of the area that the Structure Block will capture by modifying X, Y and Z coordinates (length, width and height).

The exported 3D object is saved, and can then be opened with Windows 3D Viewer or 3D Paint apps and even added to PowerPoint slides. Actually – added to any app which can read GLB files. Some webpages enable you to drag and drop the file onto them and they will let you view your exported structure, manoeuvre it and maybe even record the moves (check out – https://gltf-viewer.donmccurdy.com/ and https://sandbox.babylonjs.com/)

Being able to export objects from Minecraft – especially in 3D – enables students the opportunity to present their learning and work richly with movement and action. Their Minecraft world is dynamic and a 3D export brings that ability into a place or tool where they can fully present their work.  Their structure could be rotating in a PowerPoint slide as though its on a turntable, or animated.

If you have wanted to test out the Merge Cube – then this could also be a way to bring AR (Augmented Reality) into your classroom. 

So the 3D Export Steps in text:

  1. Add a Structure Block to your world
  2. Modify the X, Y, Z fields so it captures the area you want to export
  3. Export and Save the file
  4. Open the File in 3D Viewer or Paint 3D or import into PowerPoint as a 3D Model.
Minecraft:Education Edition place a structure block to export object to 3D
Minecraft:Education Edition export structure to 3D

Place the Structure Block in your World then modify the length of the X, Y and Z axis to capture the area for export. 

 

 

You use the Offset range to stretch the capture area towards the opposite side of the Structure Block.  To capture an area below the Structure Block for example you enter a negative number for the Y Axis corresponding to how far below the Structure Block you want to capture.

Minecraft:Education Edition export structure to 3D

 

 

 

 

Teams – Give a colleague Praise

Teams – Give a colleague Praise

Using the Praise cards in Microsoft Teams gives you an easy way to acknowledge a colleague’s work or just highlight who they are and something they’ve done.

The very fact that you know it’s available hopefully promotes more people to acknowledge others and build them up.  Praise cards are seen by members of the Team in which you are Posting it.

Here’s how to give Praise:

  1. Start by clicking he Praise icon beneath the Post box in Teams
  2. choose the type of Praise Card you are sending
  3. search for the Team member
  4. add a message to your card
  5. Preview and Send the Praise
Teams give Praise with Praise cards
Remote Learning from Erub Island, Great Barrier Reef

Remote Learning from Erub Island, Great Barrier Reef

Class Teams supporting Remote Students

St Augustine’s College Cairns is one of our schools working with SDS created Microsoft Class Teams. These Microsoft Teams are created and managed with a daily sync between the college’s student administration system and our Office 365 Tenant so that Microsoft Class Teams are created and managed for each timetabled class.

The SDS sync continues to manage the class from the timetable so if students or teachers move between classes their access to the correct Class Team continues.

Microsoft Class Teams provides the class (Teacher and Students) with a discussion section, shared (and Read only) file section, a Class Onenote notebook to distibute pages, an Assignments tool and also the ability to integrate other apps such as Flipgrid, SharePoint Portals, Wakelet and many others.

The other Teams features such as Chat, video meetings, video and audio calls are also able to be initiated by the teachers.

A new Insights tool also provides the Teacher only with a look at when the students are working on documents and how they are engaging in the Class Team Posts section and Assignment progress.

Here’s Cyril, a Year 7 student at St Augustine’s College Cairns engaged in remote learning from his home of Erub Island near the Great Barrier Reef in the Torres Strait.

This looks to be the best desk in the world to me right now!  I chatted with Cyril using Teams Chat today and his feedback on Teams – “it’s working and easy to use”.