As part of its ongoing commitment to empower students, Microsoft is releasing Minecraft: Education Edition in an early access edition for educators around the world. The early access version of Minecraft: Education Edition is available now, and gives educators a chance to install and try an early version of the experience for free throughout the summer.

In May, the company hosted a Beta programme, collecting feedback from more than 2,000 students and educators representing more than 100 schools in 26 countries around the world. Their detailed feedback helped fine-tune the experience across a diverse set of learning environments.

The early access version of Minecraft: Education Edition that is releasing today includes several key features from community feedback on the importance of enhancing the learning environment, including easy classroom collaboration, Non-Player Characters, and camera and portfolio features that allow students to take screenshots of their work and document the development of their projects.

Microsoft is also releasing updated classroom content and curriculum to help educators get started quickly using Minecraft: Education Edition. Sample lessons range across subjects and age levels, and include “City Planning for Population Growth”, “Exploring factors and multiples”, and “Effects of deforestation.”