Back in February, Dr. Susan Keim and Zac Jarrard from Park University in Missouri shared their story of how the Hauptmann School of Public Affairs is using Minecraft: Education Edition to teach public administration.

Since schools and universities had to make the unexpected move to remote learning earlier this year, education leaders, faculty, and teachers from all over the world have been innovating and adapting to ensure quality learning for students.

At Microsoft, we are inspired every day by the impact that dedicated educators and thoughtful leaders are making on innovative teaching, ultimately improving student outcomes.

When COVID-19 disrupted traditional classroom instruction and forced system and school leaders, IT professionals, educators, faculty, and students to pivot to remote learning, it also prompted re-examining education more broadly.

When Tracy Tindle asked one of her Year 5 students, who often struggled with written assignments, to instead use Minecraft: Education Edition to complete a project, the transformation was immediate and important.

With students around the world taking part in the 2020 Minecraft Education Challenge, we’ve seen amazing solutions for some of the world’s toughest issues.

Leaving a familiar education setting and moving to a new grade or campus is a common back-to-school challenge.

As we head toward a new school year that will be largely remote or hybrid, educators are faced with new challenges: creating safe and healthy learning environments and designing welcoming, engaging experiences that are accessible for all students.

The world has changed over the past six months, including our education environments. As many schools shift to the “new normal” of remote and hybrid learning, basic classroom protocols have turned upside-down.

A new school year is upon us, and so are Microsoft Teams updates that will make learning even more collaborative, engaging, and secure.

As schools around the world prepare for Back to School and transition to remote, hybrid, and in-person learning models, educators are using Minecraft: Education Edition to keep learners connected and engaged.

This spring, students and schools around the world took part in the 2020 Minecraft Education Challenge, engaging in local competitions to develop solutions for the world’s most pressing issues. This story comes to us from Joy Mentzing from the Xbox Germany, Austria, and Switzerland team.