news | Stone Marshall-Author

Minecraft: Education Edition now available for iPad on the App Store

by Stone Marshall | Sep 20, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Microsoft has made its Minecraft: Education Edition available for iPad for the first time. Designed for ages K-12, the special edition features over 400 lesson plans, assessment features, and much more.

Previously teased last month, Microsoft has now made its popular Minecraft: Education Edition available globally for iPad.

Schools will need a Microsoft 365 licensing agreement to get access to Minecraft: Education Edition, which is available from the App Store now.

Microsoft offers a slew of tutorials and other free resources on how to implement and best use the education edition in the classroom.

For teachers who aren’t sure if their school is set up to use Minecraft: Education Edition, Apple recommends getting in touch with their IT administrator.

The game’s release notes share more details about the special education edition:

DESIGNED FOR CLASSROOMS EVERYWHERE

Designed for students of all learning styles, ages K-12 and higher education
Supports development of key 21st century skills including STEM
Over 400 free lessons and tutorials available on our website
Special features allow for formative assessment, teacher controls and classroom collaboration
Online educator community provides peer support
SPECIAL LESSONS & WORLDS

Chemistry features allow students to build an in-game periodic table
Update Aquatic introduces marine life to the Minecraft oceans
Treasure Island and Roald Dahl worlds bring novels to life
In-game features like camera, book and quill, and chalkboards help students document their work
3D export tool for mixed reality and 3D printing
WHAT IS MINECRAFT?

Minecraft is so much more than just a game about breaking and placing blocks – it’s an adventure where players work together to create and explore wonderful, imaginative worlds. Now, Minecraft is transforming how people teach and learn in over 120 countries with over 100 million players worldwide.
Minecraft: Education Edition brings the creative and immersive environment of Minecraft to classrooms around the world. Educators are empowered to use game-based learning and inspire students to express their ideas, explore and build amazing worlds and write their own stories. The possibilities for learning are endless!

Fastest time to build a castle in Minecraft Creative mode

For console and PC players

To get our challenges up and running, we’ve let “SeaPeeKay” have a go at this one already. He set a time of 4 minutes 20 seconds, but we know you can do better! Your task is to build the same castle as in our main picture. It must have four walls, four turrets with battlements, an opening to the castle with a portcullis, a water-filled moat and a wooden bridge. Your last act before the clock stops is to make the castle your own by placing a coloured banner (any colour will do) at the top of it.

Fastest time to build a rocket in Minecraft Survival mode
For console and PC players

To prepare for this one, create a superflat world in Creative mode, then stack blocks of ice into a tower until the coordinate readout says Y: 50 – this is the point your rocket has to reach.

Break all the blocks (except the one at Y: 50), fill your hotbar only with the material for your rocket, then switch to Survival mode. Start timing and build a rocket of any design (the one pictured is just an example). With the rocket built, get in and launch it. Stop the clock after you reach the ice block and break it with your fist.

Fastest time to saddle and stable 10 horses in Minecraft Survival mode
For console and PC players

Howdy, pardners! Before you can channel your inner cowboy or cowgirl, you’ll need to prepare. To start with, create an enclosure of 50 x 20 blocks. Use fence blocks at the four corners of the enclosure and create a fence gate wall every 12 blocks (to create three jumps). Finish the structure by building 10 stables at one end of it.

Next, spawn 10 horses and tame them using golden apples. Once that’s done, empty your inventory of everything except for 10 saddles and then switch to Survival mode. Start the clock, grab the first horse and bring it back to your stable – leaping the three fences as you go. The clock stops once all of your horses have been stabled.

astest time to build an igloo in Minecraft Survival mode
For console players only

Before you build your very own igloo, you’ll need to create a superflat world with layers of snow, oak wood, cobblestone, coal ore, white wool, black wool and bedrock (make sure you create them in that order). Once you’re done, load the world in Survival mode. Then, with the clock ticking, mine the necessary resources to create your igloo, which must include a bed, a crafting table, a furnace and four torches.

Your igloo must be 7 blocks wide x 5 deep x 4 high. Once it’s built, cover the floor with black carpet and add the bed, crafting table, furnace and torches.

How to attempt the records
If you think you’ve set a new record, you’ll need to submit your evidence to Twin Galaxies.

Once registered, follow the steps to upload your attempt under the relevant challenge, making sure you detail significant moments in your video (e.g. time stamps for when the attempt starts and finishes).

Please make sure direct capture footage is uploaded as that is required for evidence review, however you can support that with other videos such as Twitch stream links and photos.

Then sit back and relax while the Twin Galaxies community will now adjudicate your record attempt. Keep checking the challenges leaderboards to see how the adjudication is getting on and to see if you could potentially be a record holder!

There's also more detailed information about how the Twin Galaxies process works.

Good luck!

Microsoft Introduces ‘Minecraft’ Collections and Bundled Xbox One S Controllers

by Stone Marshall | Sep 19, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Microsoft is making it easier than ever for players to enjoy “Minecraft” together with the announcement of the “Minecraft Master Collection” and “Minecraft Starter Collection.”

The “Minecraft Starter Collection” is a $29.99 bundle that includes the “Minecraft” base game, along with 700 Minecoins, that opens up the ability to purchase various skins, texture packs, mash-ups, and other items from the game’s marketplace. It’s aimed at new players looking to jump into the game in an expedient fashion who aren’t looking to spend extravagantly, but want a taste of what’s on offer.

The “Minecraft Master Collection” is $49.99, and offers all the content of the “Minecraft Starter Collection” along with 1,000 Minecoins and various content created by “Minecraft” Marketplace partners. You can select experiences like the PureBDcraft Texture Pack by BDcraft, the Winter Mini-Games Festival by Noxcrew, and several others. This set is meant more for players who have already dabbled in the game and want a bit more to play around with.

Additionally, Microsoft has announced the new Xbox One S Two-Controller Bundle to make it even simpler to round up other players to jump into “Minecraft” with. These special sets are geared toward facilitating “Minecraft” gaming nights, but an extra controller on hand is useful for a variety of different things, especially with the various couch co-op experiences out of the box out there on the system at this time.

Incidentally, Xbox One is one of the platforms that supports cross-play with “Minecraft,” so these sets can also help players connect with friends on the Nintendo Switch and PC for fun-filled nights of building and crafting. Unfortunately, the game is still not cross-play compatible on Nintendo Switch.

Minecraft EDU Now on iPad

Minecraft: Education Edition is now available on the iPad platform.

The iOS version shares many features found in other versions of Minecraft EDU, including the Update Aquatic package for underwater STEM activities and the Chemistry Resource Pack. It includes a touch interface that is “functionally equivalent to the standard control scheme for the game,” according to Microsoft, which owns Minecraft.

Licensing is being handled through the Microsoft Store, third-party resellers and volume licensing agreements. An Office 365 for Education account is required for deployment. A free trial version will also be available for teachers (maximum of 25 logins) and students (maximum of 10 logins).

A deployment guide and other iOS-specific resources are available on the Minecraft site. Teacher resources can be found here.

Minecraft Minefaire Takes Place In Schaumburg This Weekend

by Stone Marshall | Sep 18, 2018 | Awesome Book News, Free, Intro, Minecraft News, Minecraft questions, news, parent-news, State of Stone, Stone Marshall Book News, Stone Marshall Books, Stone Marshall Club, Stone Marshall Minecraft Adventures, Uncategorized | 0 comments

CHICAGO (CBS) — Calling all cube creators!

Thousands of families are headed to Schaumburg this weekend for Minefaire. It creates the ultimate Minecraft experience.

The video game allows players of all ages to create and play in their own world.

Popular YouTubers from all over the world are expected to attend. You can fully immerse yourself in the world of Minecraft with a virtual reality experience and Minecraft escape room.

The event takes place Saturday and Sunday at the Schaumburg Convention Center located at 1551 North Thoreau Drive.

Visit the site Minefaire.com for more information on tickets, events and schedules.

YouTube star Stampy Cat sets new Minecraft record for Gamer’s Edition 2019

Joseph Garrett, a.k.a Stampy Cat, is one Minecraft's most well-known gamers and now he has two Guinness World Records titles to his name.

The 27-year-old has set a new record for the Fastest time to make and display 10 cakes in Minecraft (PC Edition) with a time of 3 minutes 51 seconds to go with his record for Most viewed Terraria video (9,593,008 views as of 24 April).

Stampy set his Minecraft record when he visited Guinness World Records' London HQ on 3 April ahead of the launch of Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2019, a book that features records from games such as Dragon Ball FighterZ,Fortnite and FIFA, and for which he has also written the introduction.

StampyCat – Fastest Time to Make 10 Cakes – article 2
After receiving his title for Fastest time to make and display 10 cakes in Minecraft, Stampy was delighted.

“It feels fantastic to be a Guinness World Records title holder! I grew up reading all of the books and it was always something I was aware of, and I never thought I would actually be in the book with my very own title.”
In his introduction, Stampy shares some of his favourite records from the book, as well as some of his thoughts about gaming and record-breaking.

But on the day of his record attempt, Guinness World Records talked to Stampy about his story and asked what compelled him to become a YouTube gamer and record-breaker!

StampyCat – Fastest Time to Make 10 Cakes-3
While Stampy now enjoys more than 9 million YouTube subscribers, and has racked up almost 7 billion (6,795,708,273) views, it took him a while to achieve success on the platform.

“I did YouTube for a really long time with almost no-one watching! The time people really started watching was when I started doing Minecraft videos. People must have liked something that I was doing because a lot of people started watching,” he said.

The origins of Stampy's channel stemmed from his creativity and desire to make and edit videos.
“When I first started doing my YouTube videos they were actually a bunch of videos I'd made; just little animations, short films with my friends at school. I was making YouTube videos before I had a YouTube channel – and then finally I had a place to share them!”

In fact, even the name, Stampy, came from one of his earliest creations.
“I decided to call myself Stampy because a really long time ago when I was at school I made an animation with a character called Stampy,” while the cat element to his name came from a skin he just never changed.

StampyCat – Fastest Time to Make 10 Cakes -article3

Stampy's channel took off when he started creating Minecraft videos, just as the game was launch on the Xbox 360.

The game has grown rapidly, and holds the record titles for Fastest-selling Xbox Live Arcade videogame, Best-selling videogame on non-console formats, Highest grossing indie videogame, and Most wins of the Children's BAFTA “Kids' Vote” award for a videogame.

But what can Minecraft attribute its phenomenal success to?

Stampy believes it's a combination of accessibility and diversity within its virtual world.

“I think the reason why Minecraft has become so popular and stayed so popular for so long is basically because it's a platform that you can do whatever you want in.

“A lot of people say ‘aren't you bored with Minecraft?' and it's like saying ‘aren't you bored of drawing – or writing?' It doesn't really matter what you're using, you're always doing something new.”

Stampy Cat with Gamer's Edition Editor Mike Plant
Stampy Cat with Gamer's Edition Editor Mike Plant

After seven years and hundreds of videos on YouTube, Stampy still likes to seek out something new to do with the game to keep his subscribers entertained.

“I keep myself motivated by always trying to do something new, and then, when I do do something new, seeing the reactions and the comments from everyone that watches my videos.”

Though Stampy spends the majority of his time on YouTube creating and managing his own content, he also tries to watch his other favourite gamers when he gets the chance.

“Along with a lot of other people I really like watching Ninja. I'm actually really big into Halo!”

One of Stampy's main pieces of advice for breaking a record title is doing something you love and enjoy.

“If you want to break a record title, make sure you're doing it in something that you enjoy. Don't just look to the games that other people are competing in – look at what you love doing. If you're enjoying yourself you're not going to worry about all of the dedication you're going to need to break your record title.”

If you want to try your hand at record breaking, take a look at our Minecraftreader challenges in Gamer's, which come with instructions from fellow gamer Callum Knight, a.k.a SeaPeeKay.

Callum Knight, aka SeaPeeKay
Callum Knight, aka SeaPeeKay
It includes something for everyone, and covers all types of gaming from retro to virtual reality. Whether your thing is action RPGs, brawlers, strategy or shooters, you’ll find it in Gamer’s Edition 2019.

In the words of Stampy himself:

“We all share a love of gaming. This is the chance to celebrate the people that make gaming officially awesome!”
Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2019 is out now! Find out where you can buy your copy
gamers cover

« Older Entries

Next Entries »