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Minecraft: Education Edition coming to iPad in September

Even more students will be able to explore the blocky video game.

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Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter
Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.
Marrian Zhou
minecraft

Minecraft: Education Edition is coming to iPads.

Microsoft on Monday said Minecraft: Education Edition is coming iPads next month.

The education-focused version of the popular video game, which was previously available on Windows 10 and MacOS devices, helps educators teach everything from science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to language, history and art. Currently, the program has been licensed by 35 million teachers and students in 115 countries, Microsoft, which owns Minecraft, said in a release.

Students on iPads will be able to build historic monuments, swim through coral reefs, experiment with chemistry and document their learning with the camera and portfolio features, said Microsoft.

Minecraft first made an appearance on iPhones and iPads back in 2011 -- back before Microsoft acquired Minecraft developer Mojang for $2.5 billion in 2014. The blocky video games  remains one of the top-paid apps in Apple's App Store.

"Our goal is to empower every educator and learner with Minecraft as a platform for immersive learning and creative exploration. Many of our existing customers tells us they use a mix of devices with their students, and we're excited to extend the use of Minecraft: Education Edition to a platform many students and teachers are already using," said Deirdre Quarnstrom, general manager of Minecraft Education, in an email statement. "We're expecting a lot of early usage from schools already using Minecraft: Education Edition to start using it on iPad right away."