Minecraft EDU Takes Coding, STEAM Lessons Underwater

Minecraft EDU Takes Coding, STEAM Lessons Underwater 

A new update for Minecraft: Education Edition, called Update Aquatic, is adding underwater science to the educational version of the popular world-building game.

Update Aquatic adds new features and curriculum support, including 17 standards-aligned lessons in science, math, language arts and history. The update also adds:

  • Five template-based aquatic worlds: Shipwreck, Secret Reef, Lantern Shores, Monument Zone and Archipelago Town; and
  • Underwater coding adventures using Code Builder, which include hands-on student activities.

Microsoft, which owns Minecraft, is hosting a Minecraft hands-on workshop at ISTE 2018 June 24. (There will also be a Minecraft photo booth.) Details can be found on Microsoft's ISTE site.

The Update Aquatic for Minecraft: Education Edition is available now and can be downloaded directly from education.minecraft.net/get-started/download/. Additional details can be found at education.minecraft.net/aquatic.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • abstract agentic ai data streams

    Rubrik Brings Agentic AI to Its Flagship Cyber Resilience Platform

    Rubrik has introduced Rubrik AI, positioning the company's cyber resilience platform around agentic operations across data, identity, and AI infrastructure.

  • Futuristic glowing digital book

    AI Won't Replace Teachers — But It May Be What Makes Structured Literacy Work at Scale

    Purpose-built AI systems can analyze patterns in student performance, identify specific skill gaps, and connect those gaps directly to instructional recommendations. Done well, this doesn't remove the teacher from the equation. It sharpens the teacher's ability to act.

  • tool icons with variety of business icons

    SETDA Releases Free EdTech Quality Action Toolkit

    The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has put together a free K-12 EdTech Quality Action Toolkit that provides a framework for evaluating education technology products as well as guidance on regulatory compliance, templates for communicating with vendors, training resources, and more.

  • circuit patterns

    Anthropic Intros Lower-Cost Claude Sonnet 5

    Anthropic has launched Claude Sonnet 5, positioning the model as its most autonomous mid-tier offering to date and a lower-cost alternative to its flagship Opus 4.8 system. The company said the model can plan multi-step tasks, operate tools such as browsers and terminals, and complete agentic work at a level that previously required larger and more expensive models.