During Microsoft’s #MicrosoftEdu event in New York City today,
During Microsoft’s #MicrosoftEdu event in New York City today, Code Builder was revealed as part of Minecraft: Education Edition’s latest update. As a result of Minecraft’s impact on classroom environments, Microsoft says teachers are already using it in over 100 countries.
It takes this a step further by teaching children how Minecraft is created. Students are able to navigate, create, and build in a Minecraft world using basic coding commands. The player is transported into the coding environment by the “/code” command.
A robot avatar known as “the agent” guides students in Code Builder. This avatar can build on its own, based on commands given to it by code. It is similar to the traditional “turtle” games used to teach code since the 1960s, in that teachers will help learners build simple programs that are executed by the avatar.
To make sure advanced students won’t be stuck with the basics, Microsoft has also added underlying complexity that can be used to create more accomplished scripts. Coders with pre-existing experience can put their skills directly to use by giving Code Builder raw JavaScript commands. In this mode, the guiding avatar is also removed, giving the student more independence and flexibility when creating. And this is not the only option, as companies such as Codakid offer elaborate coding classes for kids with up to 15 Minecraft coding courses.
To integrate Code Builder with existing systems, Microsoft has partnered with popular interactive code tutorial platforms, including Tynker and ScratchX. A new open source initiative called MakeCode has also been announced by the company. There are several ways to customize Code Builder so it runs alongside the tools teachers already use.
A number of “learn-to-code” initiatives are trying to engage younger people in programming, including Minecraft: Education Edition. It is Microsoft’s intention to use Minecraft’s success, particularly with younger audiences, as a tool to convince learners to learn how it’s made. We hope to inspire the next generation of programmers to write apps that are capable of surpassing Minecraft in the future.
Code Builder for Minecraft: Education Edition will expand the appeal of the game further, said Microsoft. This new feature is intended to inspire students to learn the basics and the power of coding by combining the open worlds of Minecraft with popular learn-to-code platforms like Tynker, ScratchX and a new open source platform from Microsoft called MakeCode.
Schools and other eligible education institutions can get started with Minecraft: Education Edition and Code Builder by starting a free one-year trial in the Microsoft Store for Education starting today. As Microsoft develops Code Builder, more features and tutorials will become available.
Press Release Distributed by The Express Wire
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