Lesson 0 - Getting Started

Course Materials

  • Desktop or laptop computers meeting the system requirements specified below. One laptop per participating student. The instructor should also have a computer.
  • Classroom with whiteboard or chalkboard. This activity would be best realized in a computer lab.
  • Internet connection will be needed for set up only. Minecraft and the latest version of Java will be need to be downloaded.
  • Local Area Network. Students will be playing in multiplayer worlds. This is done by hosting worlds on a local area network (LAN). Internet connection is unimportant for this. Most Wi-Fi networks will suffice. Mobile hotspots can also serve as local area networks.
  • Minecraft education accounts for students and teachers.

System Requirements

In order to run Minecraft, the machines you are using will need to meet the standards specified below. This will allow the game to run smoothly. The most important specifications are RAM and CPU. Video cards come in many makes and models so it won’t be a problem if your video cards don’t match the specifications below, as long as they are equivalent or better.

Minimum

  • CPU: Intel Core i3-3210 3.2 GHz / AMD A8-7600 APU 3.1 GHz or equivalent
  • CPU SPEED: Info
  • RAM: 2 GB
  • OS: Windows 7 and up
  • VIDEO CARD: Integrated: Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Ivy Bridge) or AMD Radeon R5 series (Kaveri line) with OpenGL 4.41Discrete: Nvidia GeForce 400 Series or AMD Radeon HD 7000 series with OpenGL 4.4
  • FREE DISK SPACE: At least 1 GB for Game Core and Other Files
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz / AMD A10-7800 APU 3.5 GHz or equivalent
  • CPU SPEED: Info
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • OS: Windows 10
  • VIDEO CARD: GeForce 700 Series or AMD Radeon Rx 200 Series (excluding integrated chipsets) with OpenGL 4.5
  • FREE DISK SPACE: 4 GB
  • DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 256 MB

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Set up and Downloads

  1. Purchase or start a free trial of Minecraft Education Edition.
  2. Download Minecraft on the computers of all participating students.
  3. An updated version of Java will be necessary to run Minecraft.

Initializing Activities

  1. Before getting starting the Minecraft portion of every lesson, make sure students have had a solid introduction to the topic of the lesson.
  2. Create a world for the project. Set Gamemode: Creative. If you are concerned about distraction, set World: Superflat. If students are working in pairs, have one student create a world, and the other open to LAN. Alternatively, the instructor can host a world by creating it and opening it to LAN. Then all students will connect to the single world. This option is better for supervising the students, but will be more taxing on the host computer.
  3. When you are finished, simply closing the Minecraft app will shut down the LAN server.