written by Microsoft Learning Consultant, Liz Wilson
Minecraft Education Edition is an amazing, immersive tool for the classroom and just keeps getting better and better. This time with the Aquatic update.
If you have used Minecraft Education Edition before, you will know how immersive this digital world is. Students can lose themselves in carefully curated story settings, engage with mathematical and scientific models and explore key historical and geographic concepts. They can use CodeConnection to code directly into their world and they can even explore chemical elements. What more could you ask for? The answer lies in the Aquatic Update…
So what is this new update?
The Aquatic update for Minecraft Education Edition brings with it a whole host of new features to the worlds we use. There are now new ocean and underwater biomes for our students to explore and the water has a new look, allowing increased visibility. This will make it far easier for our learners to explore the vast range of new fish, coral and underwater plant-life that is now found beneath the surface. If they explore thoroughly, they may event find shipwrecks and buried treasure!
Here is the full lists of new mobs, items and biomes added to Minecraft: Education Edition:
- Fish (salmon, cod, pufferfish, tropical fish)
- Bucket of fish
- Coral (coral, coral fans, coral blocks)
- Kelp, Dried Kelp, Kelp Block
- Dolphins (follow boats, get a boost swimming next to them)
- Icebergs
- Blue Ice
- Nine Ocean Biomes including frozen ocean
- Underwater Ravines & caves
- Sea grass
- Sea pickle (with illumination!)
- Shipwrecks
- Treasure chests (in ruins, shipwrecks)
- Ruins
- Swimming
- Treasure Map
- Buried Treasure
- Heart of the Sea in buried treasure chests (non-active)
- Trident
- Trident enchantment
- Stripped Logs
- Buttons, Trap Doors, Pressure Plates with variation
- Carved Pumpkins
- Floating Items
- Boat Polish (smoother control)
- Water has a completely new look and increased visibility while underwater
- Prismarine Stairs and Slabs
- New swimming animation while sprinting in water
How can I use this in my lessons?
The Aquatic update for Minecraft Education Edition gives educators so many new possibilities for learning activities. There are countless new environments and situations for our students to engage with, be it to inspire story telling, explore ecosystems or work on global issues such as plastic pollution. If you aren’t sure where to start, check out the 17 aquatic activities from education.minecraft.net.
Are there any pre-made worlds I can use?
YES! Head over to education.miencraft.net where you will find 5 brand new worlds that you can download and use with your students. These are all focused on making the most out of the new aquatic update and supporting the curriculum.
How do I get it?
All Windows 10 users will receive the update automatically when they next login. If you use MacOS, you will have to reinstall Minecraft: Education Edition to access the updated version. Download the Update Aquatic here.
New to Minecraft? Get trained on the Microsoft Educator Community by completing the ‘My Minecraft Journey’ course and earn a new badge!