The original version of Minecraft is extremely helpful in teaching, but Minecraft Education Edition has worlds already created explicitly for teaching various subjects. Previously this was only available to those with a verified educational email such as a school, but it is available now for homeschool families.
For homeschoolers to access Minecraft Education Edition, they need to purchase a commercial account as if they were the administration of an organization. In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, users will need to be created for each child and teacher for an additional cost.
Getting started can be a little complicated, but there are some great resources inside Minecraft Education Edition to teach your children at home and in the classroom.
Who Needs A Minecraft Education Edition Account
Access to the regular Minecraft, known as Minecraft Bedrock or Minecraft Java, is available to anyone with a free Microsoft account for a one-time fee. Minecraft Education Edition has been restricted to educational institutions, and homeschool families had difficulty getting access.
Microsoft has now created another option for homeschool families or families wanting to utilize the educational options to support after-school learning.
To access Minecraft Education Edition, each user needs their own account. Homeschool families will want to ensure they have purchased enough accounts for each child in addition to at least one teacher account.
A student needs an account to use the preloaded worlds available such as the coding program, which was a big hit in our home. This account will measure their progress in each world and save what they have done. Each student should have their own account to avoid confusion.
A parent or teacher needs an account to load worlds and assign students to their worlds. If you would like to assign your students particular activities to do, you will need a teacher account. This account differs from a student account as they may create, add, and assign projects.
A student account may work for your family in the short term, but a teacher account is required to design their education on Minecraft.
Minecraft Education Edition For Charter School Students
If you school your children at home by using a charter school, there are more options than traditional homeschoolers may have access to.
Since you are already working with an educational institution, they may already have this available for students. Even if they do not, you may want to work with the administration to gain access. Depending on how tech-savvy they are and how willing they are to listen, this is likely an easier option than going the traditional homeschooling route.
If the school already has an account, you simply need to request access for your child. The teacher account may be tricky, but a student account will get you started and let you see what Education Edition is all about.
It is very simple if the school is not yet set up with Minecraft Education Edition. They need to request access using the Microsoft website, which will verify if the website is indeed an educational institution. After the verification process, they need to assign licenses to each student. The cost is very low and has traditionally been around $5 per year.
Click here
for more information about educational institutions.
Minecraft Education Edition For Traditional Homeschoolers
Homeschool students didn’t always have access to Minecraft Education Edition. The process that is now available is complicated, but at least there is now access to this great resource.
Before you start, consider if you might have access to Minecraft Education Edition through another source. It will almost certainly be less expensive if you do.
If you are part of a homeschool co-op, private school, or other educational organization, check with them to see if they have access and can grant you access. If they are a registered nonprofit that provides educational services, it is possible for them to gain access as well.
Homeschool families will need to set up an account on Microsoft 365 as an organization. Once you have access, you may create and add users in the Admin panel and then purchase a license for each person.
There is a monthly per-user cost for an account in addition to a yearly license expense.
For updated instructions and directions, click here to go to the Microsoft website for instructions.
How Much Minecraft Education Edition Costs For Homeschoolers
The cost for Minecraft Education Edition is more complicated than a simple number.
In the simplest terms, Minecraft Education Edition costs about $12 per user per year. But that doesn’t give you the whole story.
The license is $12 per user and sets up automatic billing each year, but in addition to this, you will need a Microsoft 365 Business account. The cost of this will vary, but it adds a significant expense in order to access Minecraft Education Edition. You may not cancel the user accounts and keep access, they must be currently active.
I’ve created a chart below to give you an idea of the yearly cost depending on how many students you want to use Minecraft Education Edition. I have made the assumption that you will have 1 teacher account and included it in the amounts.
| Students | Microsoft 365 Account Cost Minimum | Minecraft Education Edition Cost | Total Yearly Cost |
| 1 | $144 | $24 | $168 |
| 2 | $216 | $36 | $252 |
| 3 | $288 | $48 | $336 |
| 4 | $360 | $60 | $420 |
| 5 | $432 | $72 | $504 |
| 6 | $504 | $84 | $588 |
| 7 | $576 | $96 | $672 |
| 8 | $648 | $108 | $756 |
I chose to use the lowest cost option available at the time. If you want to add more services that are offered, expect at least a $30 per year increase, but as much as $200 additional per user each year.
How To Set Up Minecraft Education Edition For Homeschool
I set up Minecraft Education Edition for homeschool, and I’ve included the screenshots and links to help you.
Go To Sign Up Click here to get started on the first screen. It should open on a new tab so you can put both windows up and follow along or toggle between both.
Enter Your Email. Enter your email in the box to check whether you need to get it through an educational institution or go the commercial license route. If you are a homeschooler, you will likely be doing the commercial route and not through a school.
Click Set Up Account. Your email will come back as not eligible for educational access, which is expected. Go ahead and click on the button to set up a new account.
Fill Out Your Information. Complete the boxes for First Name, Last Name, and Country. Make sure the box at the bottom is not clicked if you don’t wish to receive emails from companies that Microsoft will give your information.
Fill Out The Business Information. They know people are homeschoolers and signing up for this. Enter your personal phone number in place of the business phone number. Enter your name in place of the Company Name. For Company Size select 1.
Verify Your Information. They need to verify the phone number provided belongs to you. Use either text or call to receive the code.
Enter Verification Code. Use the code they send you through text or phone calls.
Choose Username And Domain. Choose a username. For the domain, it may be anything you’d like as long as it’s available. This will be the email address you use. How it will look is “username@domain.onmicrosoft.com” with your own username and domain in the spots of those words.
Choose And Enter A Password. Don’t forget to confirm it and write it down somewhere so you can access it again. Trust me from experience – you don’t want to have to reset a Microsoft password! I once lost access to an account for 30 days when I tried.
Choose The Number Of Licenses. Choose the number of licenses to add. You can add more later once you complete the setup. I’ve selected 1 for now, and I recommend only choosing the number of teacher accounts you want.
Now you are ready to add your payment details and confirm your order. Pretty simple!
Once you have completed the order, you will be able to assign to people, add user accounts, and more in your admin panel.
It is extremely important to follow the link above and not change it to the home version. It must be a Microsoft 365 Business account for this process to work.
Minecraft Education Edition Access For Homeschool Families Through Outschool
Another option to get the Minecraft Education edition is to take a class on Outschool from a teacher that offers to set your children up with access.
It is important to look at the class descriptions and check the teachers’ websites to see if they offer this.
Squircle Labs is one such option. They have many options on their site and great offers for rural, low-income, or students with disabilities.
I highly recommend giving them a look to see if this would be a good option.
This teacher has taught my son, so I can personally recommend them. Still, I do not get a commission or any reward for recommending this teacher or nonprofit company.
Minecraft Education Resources
I have no association with Minecraft, Mojang, or Microsoft. I am sharing my experiences with this game only.
Below is a list of pages on this website that you may want to review for more information about using Minecraft to teach, whether it is homeschooled, charter school, public school, tutoring, or other programs.
- How to use Minecraft for Education
- Which version of Minecraft should you use?
- How to get Minecraft Education Edition if you are a homeschooler
- Minecraft writing prompts
- Free Minecraft Education account
You may want these resources for teaching Minecraft as well: