Excitement amongst your students over the Minecraft movie? Young people across the world have been loving Minecraft for over a decade now. And as teachers, we love it too – Minecraft Education Edition is a safe sandbox for teachers to collaborate with their students to build, create and problem solve. Not a day goes by when we go into a school or talk to young people about what they love to do online and they tell us “play Minecraft”.
As the Minecraft Movie hits our screens, and Minecraft memorabilia hits the shelves even harder than usual, we take a moment to share other recent developments in the world of Minecraft.
What is Minecraft?
Traditionally, Minecraft is what’s known as a ‘sandbox’ style game – the virtual equivalent of playing in a sandpit, building and creating anything your heart desires. The (Minecraft) world is your oyster. From building a tower, creating art, or recreating a LEGO build, Minecraft Bedrock Edition allows you to work individually or collaborate to create anything your heart desires. Hey, you could even build an oyster or collect them from the bottom of the Minecraft ocean!
Similarly, Minecraft Education Edition provides a safe platform for students to create, collaborate, problem solve and think critically. It has been designed specifically for use in schools, with tools and features to enhance learning in all curriculum areas. But it is also a popular choice of Minecraft in homes, where parents have peace of mind that their child is playing in a safe and educational online space.
What’s New in Minecraft?
In the last few years, two new versions of Minecraft have been released – Minecraft Dungeons in 2020 and Minecraft Legends in 2023. Unlike more traditional Minecraft play spaces, these spin-off versions have less focus on building and creativity and more emphasis on role-play and strategy.
What else is different and how can we keep our kids safe while playing them? Let’s take a look.
Minecraft Dungeons
Set in the Minecraft universe, Minecraft Dungeons is an action-adventure game where a player finds themselves thrown into one of six dungeon adventures. As a dungeon crawler, players have to brave the dungeon worlds, battle enemies, collect loot, and complete levels. Minecraft Dungeons follows a storyline, with clear, linear challenges and levels – as opposed to the open-map world of the original Minecraft game.
Minecraft Legends
Defend your village against the Piglin invasion! Players lead armies of Minecraft mobs, gathering resources and building bases, to defend the Overworld. Instead of the traditional free creation style game, Minecraft Legends is story driven and encourages strategy and tactics to succeed. Players will enjoy the familiar style and mobs from the original Minecraft, with a new, unique experience.
Minecraft Movie
What we love most about Minecraft is the way it encourages creativity and imagination. And this is exactly what is embraced and exemplified in the Minecraft movie.
As four misfits work to survive in the Minecraft world, they need to use their unique skills and creativity, rediscovering their strengths and purpose. As in the Minecraft game, they need to be bold, creative problem-solvers to thrive in the Minecraft movie.
Stay Safe and Balance Game Play when Playing Online
- Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Legends can both be played solo or cooperatively with up to three other players. Check and adjust your settings for who your child can play with, how they can communicate with others, and what content they can share. Have an open conversation with your child and talk about strategies for staying safe online. Support your child to play only with people they know and trust in the ‘real world’. Learn how to block or mute players in the case of your child being exposed to inappropriate language or behaviour.
- Remind your young people to keep their personal information safe. Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Legends are online games, so it is important not to share personal information and be cautious if interacting with people they don’t know in real life.
- Keep a healthy balance. Online games develop strategies to keep us playing for extended periods of time, for example loot boxes and gear upgrades. Talk to your young person about healthy digital habits, decide together on an appropriate length of play time and stick to it.
- Familiarise yourself with the platform’s reporting tools and the eSafety Commissioner. Talk to your young person about what to do if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable online, and support them to report inappropriate behaviour if necessary.
- Set up or review your family’s Digital Use Agreement. Keep the whole family on the same page with agreed household protocols for a healthy, safe and balanced use of technology for everyone.
Author: Jaclyn Tasker | Strategic Content Creator, Cyber Safety Project
April 2025
