Microsoft is set to launch the iPad version of Minecraft: Education Edition to schools in September, the company confirms in a statement.

On its official website, Microsoft said students can now use their iPads to build historic monuments, bring creative stories to life, and swim through coral reefs through its Update Aquatic.

Students can also experiment with chemistry and document their accomplishments with its camera and portfolio features. Minecraft: Education Edition can also discuss subjects like STEM, history, language, art, among others.

Minecraft: Education Edition is designed to help teachers incorporate the software into their curriculum, including their lesson plans and sources. Microsoft said teachers who are using Minecraft: Education Edition could utilize the beginner’s tutorial world and access the game’s official website for a number of free classes online.

Teachers can also seek help year-round onboarding and classroom support from a global community of “Minecraft Mentors” and from the growing community composed of 35 million licensed teachers and students in 115 countries.

According to Kyriakos Koursaris, head of Education Technology for PaRK International School, Minecraft: Education Edition on iPad will open new ways of collaboration between students and teachers to explore curriculum and projects.

“The features allow for deep and meaningful learning, and the values it promotes, from inclusivity to 21 century skills, empower everyone to use technology with extraordinary results,” Koursaris said.

How To Get ‘Minecraft: Education Edition’ On iPad?
Microsoft said that if a school is licensed through Microsoft 365 for Education (A3 or A5), it already has access to Minecraft: Education Edition and could download the app onto iPads in September. However, school administrators must assign the available licenses to the teachers who want to use it.

In addition, Microsoft has updated Intune for Education to help IT administrators manage student devices from a unified, streamlined console.

If a school is interested in introducing Minecraft: Education Edition on iPad to teachers and students, but has not purchased a license in the past, a volume licensing agreements is available through the Microsoft Store for Education and other resellers. Schools shell out for the annual subscription of the software, but they can try it out for free for up to 25 teacher logins and 10 student logins.

Update For ‘Minecraft’ Windows 10 PC And Xbox Users
Microsoft said that Minecraft players and families who play outside of school using Windows 10 PC and Xbox console could now use the Chemistry Resource Pack that was originally released for Minecraft: Education Edition.

According to Microsoft, the Chemistry Resource Pack package includes lab tables, element blocks, and items that are craftable only using the new chemistry features. Players can enjoy the Chemistry Resource Pack by going to Create New World option in the game and toggle the Education option under the Cheats menu.

4J Studios has finally released the long-anticipated Aquatic update for Minecraft today on Sony consoles. This update is available to download now on the PS3, PS Vita, and PS4 and will be released early tomorrow for the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii U.

4J Studios has confirmed on their official Twitter account that this update is available now for Sony consoles and will launch later today or tomorrow for the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii U. It was already available on PC, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One.

minecraft-update-aquatic-logo-1024×576

You can find out more details about the Minecraft Aquatic update from the official website. Here are the patch notes for this new update that should be available to download now.

Added the Update Aquatic! The oceans of Minecraft are now teeming with new life!
Added 6 new Trophies!
Added Shipwrecks, Underwater Ruins, Coral Reefs, Icebergs, Underwater Caves/Ravines, and Buried Treasure to world generation.
Added new blocks: Coral, Dried Kelp, Sea Pickles, Sea Turtle Eggs, Stripped Logs, Blue Ice, Prismarine Stairs, and Prismarine Slabs.
Added new Kelp and Sea Grass underwater flora.
Added Trapdoors, Pressure Plates, and Buttons for every type of wood.
Added Bubble Columns that are created by underwater Magma or Soul Sand. Bubble Columns push players and mobs to the surface, or drag them under!
Added the Conduit, a block that provides underwater players with a powerful Status Effect.
Added Tridents, and their unique enchantments; Impaling, Channeling, Riptide, and Loyalty.
Added other new items: Dried Kelp, Fish Buckets, Turtle Shell Helmet, Heart of the Sea, Nautilus Shell, Scute, and Phantom Membrane.
Added new Potions and Arrows of the Turtle Master, and of Slow Falling.
Added Buried Treasure Explorer Maps that will lead you to great wealth hidden under the sands!
Added Cod, Salmon, Pufferfish, and 2700 types of Tropical Fish!
Added the Dolphin, a friendly mob that helps players out!
Added the Phantom, a mob that hunts down tired players.
Added the Sea Turtle, a mob that travels the world but always returns home.
Added the Drowned, a monster that attacks players that enter their underwater domain.
Added new Warm, Lukewarm, and Cold Ocean biomes to hold all this new stuff…
…And a new Tutorial world to show you how to use it!
Minecraft: Console Edition is available on the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, and PS Vita.

Minecraft’s old, outdated (but still more featured) Java version still exists, but it’s largely being supplanted by the Bedrock edition of the game, thanks to its ubiquity. It’s the version that’s now on PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, phones, tablets and to a lesser extent, the PlayStation 4 – because that version doesn’t have that “Better Together” functionality that lets people from across platforms mine and craft with friends.

That Bedrock Edition is getting a little better now, because it supports dedicated servers, that you can run at home.

“Similar to what has been available for players of the Java Edition, dedicated bedrock servers allow Minecraft players on Windows and Linux computers to set up their own server at home, or host their server using a cloud-based service.”

“You can think of this as a server hosting tool which gives you the creative power to configure your world to whatever Minecraft experience you want. Whether it is tinkering with all of the settings, modes, server life cycle, whitelisting, or anything else!”

That’s neat! There are a few caveats though. Dedicated servers aren’t supported on the Switch version at this time (though players can host their own servers on Realms). The Xbox One version supports dedicated servers, but only on LAN. Small concession, but it’s nice to have the functionality.

I’m going to set up a server at home, have my kids build grand structures – and then use it as blackmail. Sorry, what’s that? You don’t want to do your chores? I’m deleting the server, you little bastards.

You can download the Minecraft Bedrock servers for Windows and Linux here.

Last Updated: September 12, 2018

A “Minecraft” add-on, or game mod, added climate-change weather effects to show gamers negative impacts similar to the real world.

The aptly named “GlobalWarming” game mod, made by developer Nick Porillo, attempts to simulate the real-world effects of climate change into “Minecraft” as a way to educate gamers about caring for the environment, reports Motherboard.

The game mod added several concepts into “Minecraft” such as the idea of rising carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the game’s atmosphere. Things like smoke from burning, cooking or smelting ores would increase CO2 levels and trigger various weather phenomena. Some of these weather changes can also be observed in the real world.

Porillo got inspiration from a course on climate-change science, technology and policy last spring at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

“[The course] really educated me on the topics at hand. Last week I was just playing the new Minecraft 1.13 update after a multi-year hiatus from Minecraft. I was shocked at how much things have changed, and the ocean biomes updates really introduced the ability to make this idea happen,” said Porillo.

He added, “The (Minecraft) community believes there is potential educational benefit, so I’ve been working on developing cool ideas to make the gameplay fun and informational.”

Not all is doom and gloom for the game add-on. Players who install the “GlobalWarming” may also practice saving the environment by planting trees and other activities to offset in-game emissions. This in turn will help stop environmental damage on a large scale.

Porillo warned, “If the majority of players don’t agree to be near-carbon-neutral in how they play, then the carbon score will only continue to rise in-game. Once the damage negatively impacts the players, they will begin paying back that ‘debt’ they accrued.”

On the other hand, if players put effort in preventing the rise in emissions, then they can avoid the negative consequences altogether.

Porillo is still adding more features to the 5-days-old “GlobalWarming” mod such as a carbon scorecard where names players with the highest emissions can be put up for all to see. Alfred Bayle /ra

Memes with Toto’s hit “Africa” are all the rage right now and Minecraft player and Youtube user grande1899’s latest video is the cherry on the cake. It’s just under three minutes long, so short enough for you to have a quick sing along wherever you are.

Dr. Grandayy 🏥
@grande1899
I finally made Africa by Toto with Minecraft note blocks
Watch the full version on my note block channel ⬇️https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKli-d8QMLg …
(yes it’s a bubble upload today!)

5:40 AM – Sep 5, 2018
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1,765 people are talking about this
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The creator described the making of the video as:

“I made it all by ear using only note block sounds. The audio in the video is not the exact in-game audio as due to Minecraft’s limitations the in-game version doesn’t sound as good. The video is also sped up so the tempo is the same as the original song. The note block structure was generated using Minecraft Note Block Studio.”

Fans of the account are happy to see this latest edition to grande1899’s repertoire as they’ve covered everything from Dua Lipa to John Cena’s entrance music.

“Although the game was simulating an environment from 1989, urban planners these days still run into problems trying to get officials to think about their city in the long run. Climate change and sea level rise is a very crystalline example of the way city officials get in their own way and set themselves up for larger obstacles later on […]

Playing SimCity 2000 nowadays is a strange but wonderful way to realize what defines a city is not what it currently is, but what it could be. — inverse.com

More on simulations and gameplay for city planning:

SimCity and beyond: the history of city-building games
Three guiding principles for a fine fake metropolis
“Cards Against Urbanity,” the hilarious and surreal urban planning game
California Water Crisis? Now there’s a board game for that!
As It Lays: The New L.A. Game
The theory of everything in sandbox city: Will Wright’s keynote at ACADIA 2014

“Tate Worlds are exciting Minecraft ‘maps’ that present virtual environments inspired by artworks from Tate’s collection. The maps allow players of Minecraft to explore a range of paintings and sculpture, undertaking various activities and challenges that relate to the themes of the artworks, or exploring how they were made. Tate has teamed up with some of Minecraft’s best known mapmakers to create these virtual artworks, offering a unique combination of art, history and adventure. — Tate.org

The first two maps were released by the museum on November 24th and were based on two famous paintings of urban settings: Andre Derain’s 1906 painting of London, The Pool of London, and Christopher Nevinson’s 1920 painting of New York, Soul of the Soulless City.

André Derain, the influential Fauvist painter, depicted the bustling port of the Thames at the turn of the century. In the new Minecraft version of the painting, the bright colors employed by the painter are reproduced on an immersive scale. Gamers can wander the imaginary city and explore such historic sites as the Tower of London.

Christopher Nevin’s futurist-influenced painting Soul of the Soulless City depicts New York in the 1920s, as it began to emerge both economically and architecturally as a modern metropolis. Fittingly, the experience of the corresponding Minecraft maps begins on a train that hurtles you into the city, just as Nevin’s painting utilizes train tracks to convey its convoluted sense of perspectival motion.

In 2015, Tate Worlds will release maps based of John Singer Sargent’s Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose from 1885-6, Peter Blake’s The Toy Shop from 1962, John Martin’s The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum from 1822, and Cornelia Parker’s Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View from 1991.

The BlockWorks studio proves, yet again, that architects can use Minecraft as a design tool to produce rather magical results with impressive detail. The team of architects, designers, and animators envision mystical cubic worlds in response to what they refer to as “Briefs”, which include commissions from YouTube personalities, gaming networks, museums, and film studios as well as original submissions to actual Minecraft design competitions.

Although the designs are largely fictional, BlockWorks draws inspiration from real-world buildings from throughout history and even structural details by today’s starchitects. As expected, the team’s growing portfolio is pretty spectacular, and surely retains one’s attention for a good amount of time.

You can check out more of BlockWorks’ projects in greater detail on their website. Also, sneak a peek at some their project trailers below or on their YouTube channel.

All images via. H/T Kotaku Australia

Introducing BlockWorks: Cinematic Trailer

Aeternium – Minecraft Cinematic by BlockWorks

Tomorrowland – Minecraft Cinematic by BlockWorks

“In this extended short, City Beautiful takes on the old school classic SimCity from the perspective of a professional planner 20 years later. Along the way, City Beautiful provides pertinent observations of game play versus reality. — theurbanist.org

Urban Design Ph.D student Dave Amos circles back around to the game that sparked his passion as a kid playing computer games. An advocate for sustainable living and diverse cities, Amos plays through the old school SimCity game providing relevant insights learned over the years in his career.

While normally used by online gamers to create a generated world for exploration and combat, the world-building computer game Minecraft has been noted for its architectural capabilities. BlockWorks, a design studio in the UK, uses the game as a design tool to create materials for marketing, media, and education; a competition in Australia a few years back invited students to design a national park using the block-building program; and Bjarke Ingels has proselytized at length that the architecture field should become more like the game as well.

Providing an online platform to build the world we want to inhabit, Minecraft’s great distinction is its offer of complete freedom from real world constraints—there’s no clients, no engineers, and no financial restrictions. Testing those limits, architect and designer Andrew McClure of Nomad Design set out to build something using Minecraft. Educated on the program by his young cousin, McClure picked a site in the desert, laid out a foundation, and built his contemporary dream home, cantilevers and all.