{"id":863,"date":"2019-11-12T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T14:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2019\/11\/12\/whats-new-in-edu-introducing-a-new-minecraft-hour-of-code-tutorial-with-ai-and-the-discovery-stem-careers-coalition\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T14:06:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T21:06:40","slug":"whats-new-in-edu-introducing-a-new-minecraft-hour-of-code-tutorial-with-ai-and-the-discovery-stem-careers-coalition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2019\/11\/whats-new-in-edu-introducing-a-new-minecraft-hour-of-code-tutorial-with-ai-and-the-discovery-stem-careers-coalition\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s New in EDU: Introducing a new Minecraft Hour of Code tutorial with AI and the Discovery STEM Careers Coalition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s a good chance the students you\u2019re teaching today will enroll in university courses that haven\u2019t yet been created and enter jobs that don\u2019t exist. And they\u2019ll be called upon to solve some of the world\u2019s most pressing environmental, social and economic issues. We know that can feel like a lot on your shoulders, but there is plenty you can do to prepare students for success and we\u2019re here to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this month\u2019s What\u2019s New In EDU, we\u2019ll point you to free, high-quality STEM resources<\/strong><\/a>. Thoughtfully designed and well implemented STEM instruction builds subject-specific knowledge and fosters a growth mindset, collaboration, critical thinking and computational thinking \u2013 all vital skills for jobs of the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have tips to share about fun ways to participate in Hour of Code<\/strong>, available in Minecraft: Education Edition as a free coding lesson<\/strong><\/a>. Use game-based learning to build digital skills, learn about artificial intelligence (AI), and help connect the classroom to careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn to code and explore AI in a new, free Minecraft Hour of Code lesson<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Computer Science Education week is December 9-15, and schools around the world will be organizing an Hour of Code. Plan an Hour of Code for your school or classroom using Minecraft Hour of Code<\/a>,<\/strong> a new coding lesson in the game-based learning platform that students know and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Maina Gachugu, who teaches fifth- and sixth-grade students at George T. Daniel Elementary School in Kent, Washington explains in the video above, Minecraft makes coding highly accessible for students. He\u2019s used the platform before and plans to use it this year during Hour of Code. He says he\u2019s excited to use Minecraft during Hour of Code because it takes away any intimidation students might feel when it comes to coding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Minecraft Hour of Code lesson teaches students coding with MakeCode, and introduces the basics of Artificial Intelligence<\/strong> (AI). The lesson is based on a real-world example of AI used for forest conservation, inspired by a Microsoft AI for Earth project. Students will write code to prevent forest fires and save a village in an immersive Minecraft world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lesson is available to anyone on Windows, macOS, or iPad<\/strong> as a login-free demo, so you don\u2019t have to worry about having a subscription to try it. Just download the app straight from the Minecraft: Education Edition website. If you are licensed through Office 365, you can sign in with your school account. Minecraft Hour of Code is available in 20 languages at: aka.ms\/minecrafthourofcode<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We also are updating and improving the library<\/strong> in Minecraft: Education Edition. Now hundreds of lessons, worlds, build challenges, and tutorials are available in-game via the Library menu. Lessons are categorized by subject to make it easier to find and load content, and you won\u2019t have to leave the game. If you navigate to the Computer Science lessons, you\u2019ll see the Hour of Code lesson ready to play!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And remember our You can in :90 video series<\/strong><\/a> is always a great place to go for quick, how-to advice on getting started with Microsoft Education Tools, including using Minecraft: Education Edition and Code Builder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New STEM Partnership<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With technology driving a massive shift in the workforce, it\u2019s estimated that 85 million jobs worldwide will go unfilled by 2030 due to a skills gap. As part of our effort to tackle the problem, we partner with educators like you and organizations like Micro:bit, NASA, Code.org, and others, who see STEM and digital skills development as an empowering pathway in our evolving, digital world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we\u2019re thrilled to share that we\u2019re gaining new partners in this effort and are joining the Discovery Education STEM Careers Coalition<\/strong><\/a>, which is bringing industry leaders together with schools to help educators teach STEM effectively and help students envision and prepare for STEM careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll work with our coalition partners to provide classrooms, particularly those in underserved communities, with free, high-quality STEM resources. These materials will be aligned to rigorous educational standards and mapped to career pathways across industries. We hope to reach 10 million students within the first five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of this collaboration, we will be integrating Microsoft resources like Teams and Flipgrid into Discovery Education resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional resources: Microsoft MakeCode<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Computer Science is a new subject for many teachers. And it\u2019s important to remember that sometimes it\u2019s about learning with <\/em>your students, as Ann Wieland, a third-grade teacher at Lafayette Elementary School in Seattle shows us in this month\u2019s episode of What\u2019s New in EDU. She explains that she hasn\u2019t had a lot of experience leading digital lessons, which makes it especially inspiring to see how much fun she and her students have coding using lessons from the Microsoft MakeCode for micro:bit <\/strong><\/a>curriculum. Want to give it a try? Check out some short Microsoft MakeCode tutorials you can do for Hour of Code here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition to all this exciting news around STEM instruction, we have plenty to share with you when it comes to Microsoft Education tools that can save you time, help you personalize instruction, and create more inclusive and accessible learning environments. Let\u2019s start with Learning Tools<\/strong><\/a>, free tools that support reading, writing, math and communications. They are available in the products you use every day in the classroom, and we have updates that we think you\u2019ll love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have begun rolling out parts of speech and picture dictionary for Arabic in the Immersive Reader. And we\u2019ve integrated Immersive Reader with some new partners, including Canvas by Instructure<\/strong><\/a>, a cloud-based learning management system, and Nearpod<\/strong><\/a>, a student-engagement platform. If you use those popular education resources, you\u2019ll love them even more with this integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To support student writing globally, we have new language support for Office Dictation (speech-to-text) and PowerPoint captioning and live translation. Specifically, Norwegian is rolling out in public preview for Word, OneNote and PowerPoint web, and Outlook Desktop. Dictation will be rolling out in public preview for Danish, Dutch, Finnish and Swedish soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Office 365 Education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Office 365 news, we will soon be rolling out voice recording and transcription in Word for the web. <\/strong>We\u2019ve heard you say you spend a lot of time recording audio on your phone, from class discussions to professional learning sessions, and then transcribing those audio files into Word. With this change, you\u2019ll be able to record and upload your audio, and Word will display a written transcription in a side panel. You can then easily bring relevant snippets or the entire transcript into a document to edit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Natural language query in Excel.<\/strong> Plenty of people know the power of Excel for organizing data, whether that\u2019s for looking at student outcomes or analyzing scientific data, for example. But formulas can be intimidating. With our new, natural language query, currently available through Microsoft Office Insider<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> you don\u2019t have to know how to write a formula to gain insights from your data. The new feature uses the intelligence that powers Ideas in Excel<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> So, all you do is type a question in the query box, and Ideas will provide answers supported by formulas, charts, or pivot tables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For quick tutorials on how you can use free Office 365 resources in the classroom, check out the latest season of the You can in :90<\/strong> video series<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also check out this blog<\/strong><\/a> from the recent Microsoft Ignite Conference to learn about AI-related innovations within Microsoft 365, the cloud-powered productivity service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More on OneNote<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve heard you say how well Microsoft OneNote works in your classrooms and schools and, in response to your feedback, we\u2019re going to continue mainstream support for OneNote 2016. Teachers and students who love OneNote 2016 can keep using it and expect to see new features. For example, we\u2019re rolling out a new feature for OneNote 2016, Dark Mode. It changes the app\u2019s interface elements from light to dark. Using OneNote in this mode can improve readability in low-light environments, provide greater contrast, and reduce eye strain. Read more<\/strong><\/a> about this announcement!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We\u2019ve created a custom OneNote Class Notebook<\/strong> wizard that delivers the CS Discoveries computer science curriculum<\/strong><\/a> created by the nonprofit Code.org. Geared towards 6th-10th graders, the curriculum empowers students to create apps, games, and web pages and engage with computer science in ways that foster creativity and problem solving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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With the Code.org Class Notebook, I now have an online textbook, workbook, and notebook for my coding students. Thanks Microsoft and Code.org<\/a><\/strong> for putting this together<\/em>.<\/p>\nEileen Lennon, an educator from New York City.<\/em><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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To learn more about how to create your own Code.org Class Notebook, visit our recent blog<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global TweetMeet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll be talking more about future-ready skills and computer science during a global TweetMeet on Tuesday, November 19 at 10 a.m. PST. We love hearing from you, so please join us at @MicrosoftEDU and follow our tweets through the hashtag #MSFTEduChat. To get the full details and all you need to prepare, visit the blog post here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hands-on with Minecraft Earth at Microsoft Stores<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This holiday season starting November 15, play the exclusive Minecraft Earth augmented reality build and get prizes for your participation at Microsoft Store<\/strong><\/a>. Plus, you can invite your students to connect with others on Minecraft Mondays, where Minecraft fans can participate in mini-games, build new challenges, and other creative activities only at Microsoft Store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For IT Decision Makers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We have some news about Intune Education<\/strong><\/a>, which allows school IT leaders to deploy and manage classroom devices and apps from a web console in just a few steps. School IT administrators will now be able to manage Windows Autopilot<\/strong><\/a> in Intune for Education. Windows Autopilot is a cloud-based provisioning technology that provides a streamlined device setup process with little IT intervention required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Intune for Education portal, you\u2019ll be able to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n