Minecraft: Education Edition will start rolling out on November 1

Minecraft: Education Edition, the block of the popular crafting game aimed at classrooms will arrive in full force on November the 1st. We already know quite a bit about this version considering that, months before the official release, Microsoft offered an extended testing and free trial period that began this summer.

Microsoft acquired the learning game MinecraftEdu, which is built upon Minecraft and provides educators with an environment to promote learning, earlier this year. After this, the Redmond giant has since brought its own flavor to the service, adding a bunch of new features and services, left and right.

According to the game developer, Majong, since its launch as a trial in June, Minecraft: Education Edition, over 35,000 students and educators have used the software and provided the company with valuable feedback to make it even better. These free trials, according to the firms, will be available up until the official launch of the full version of the game takes place.

Come November 1, educators and organizations will be able to buy the software at $5 per user, per year. Getting the software is quite simple, but the tech giant is providing customers with two options here as well. You can chose to either buy the game directly or through Microsoft’s Enrollment for Education Solutions volume licensing arrangement.

The final release build of the educational version of Minecraft will include a whole bundle of new features. The most exciting of these is the Classroom Mode, which is a companion application for teachers that lets them change world variables, offer up items and transport students virtually. In short, this is like a GMod or God Mode for the instructors — letting them craft educational experiences for their students.

Also, the tech giant says that all the new features from the actual Minecraft platform will also be added to the educational version in order to offer students similar experiences at home and school.

The overall approach of using Minecraft for educational purposes is quite intuitive and many organizations around the globe have already started trying out this service. In case you are a teacher and want to experience the whole package, just sign up for the trial. You can even log on to the official MinecraftEdu website for lesson plans and other tips and tricks.

And yes, your students are probably going to love you for bringing Minecraft to the classroom!