Microsoft is upping its STEM game by introducing new chemistry and computer science options for Minecraft: Education Edition. Plus, the tech giant is adding more “mixed reality” products and offers for educators, including an academic HoloLens discount, to its edtech mix.

All of this news (and more) is being rolled out by Microsoft in advance of the largest education technology trade show in the world, Bett, which begins Wednesday in London.

Minecraft may be the biggest news for its legions of K-12 teacher and student fans. Starting in early February, a free Chemistry Update will be available to licensed users. The update uses game-based learning to introduce chemistry concepts.

Jay Paulus, senior director of Windows education marketing, said, “The chemistry add-in actually adds some new kinds of components to Minecraft” including a full periodic table and a “compounding table” which is similar to Minecraft’s crafting table. Students can move from building compounds to hands-on understanding of more difficult concepts, like stable isotopes.

Minecraft: Education Edition is also getting new Microsoft MakeCode for Minecraft computer science curricula which, similar to learn-to-code packages ScratchX and Tynker, can be used in Minecraft’s Code Builder.

Paulus said the continued emphasis on Minecraft is a key part Microsoft’s overall education strategy in light of interest in STEM education.  “I think it’s super important, especially for those age group of kids for which Minecraft is an excellent hook,” Paulus said. “We’ve got 250 lesson plans online already in Minecraft.”

Another area of edtech emphasis — albeit nascent, more pricey, and skewing toward older students — is virtual reality. Microsoft said starting today, it’s offering academic institutions HoloLens commercial and developer models at a 10 percent discount through the end of May. In addition, Microsoft says curriculum for Windows Mixed Reality and HoloLens headsets will be released by educational publisher Pearson starting in March, and Microsoft has a new mixed reality curriculum partnership with WGBH and NASA’s “Bringing the University of America’s Classrooms” initiative.

Among the many other Microsoft education announcements tied to the Bett event:

• Office 365. Microsoft says dictation is coming to Office in February so students can write with their voice, and OneNote Class Notebook pages can be locked by teachers after they provide students with feedback (which Microsoft said is the top teacher request).
• Teacher training. Free teacher training, in-person or virtual, will be available on how to use Microsoft tech in the classroom after schools purchase certain Microsoft 365 Education software licenses, not including the still-free version of Office 365 Education.
• Classroom devices. Four new sub-$300 Windows 10 devices from Lenovo and JP (the latter better known in international markets), two of them under $200, are being announced at Bett to add to more than 40 different school-friendly devices available for Windows that start at $189.

Paulus said this last is important as Microsoft works to counter Google’s influence in K-12 classrooms. Recent market research has shown that while Windows is relatively strong in other countries, inexpensive Chromebooks with Google’s free G Suite for Education are dominant in the U.S., accounting for more than half of new computing device shipments into schools.

With the latest hardware announcements, Paulus said, “I would say we’re at critical mass now” in countering Google.

And what of Apple, one-time edtech darling? “We’ve added the ability to use some of the tools from mobile in Apple” iOS devices, Paulus said. But despite that nod to Apple, Paulus asserted that, “Schools more and more are choosing the Microsoft platform.”

Previously: Microsoft apps to be embedded into edtech powerhouse PowerSchool’s ‘Unified Classroom’

Minecraft gets free chemistry update, schools get HoloLens discounts as Microsoft ups edtech game

Minecraft developer Mojang will join us on-stage at the PC Gamer Weekender to discuss future updates for the game, as well as offering insight into how features for the game are conceived and developed. The studio’s lead creative designer Jens Bergensten will present at 16.00 on Sunday, 18 February at the Olympia in London. Come along, and learn more about what they’ve got in store for 2018.

Minecraft, of course, just had its biggest active month ever with 74 million users. Hell, you know what it is. This is a great opportunity to go behind-the-scenes with the developer, and while you’re at the Weekender, you can check out many more speakers, games and booths.  Tickets are available now from £12.99, and you can save an extra 20% with the voucher code PC-GAMER20.

Mojang will talk about 2018 Minecraft updates at the PC Gamer Weekender

9 cool bikes if you’re looking for an upgrade:

#1 Manta5 is a hydrofoil water bike. It uses the same technology used by sailboats to help you cut through water with ease.

#2 Sno-Go is for a different type of terrain. This easy-to-use bike combines skiing and cycling. 

#3 This vertical bicycle offers an alternative to the elevator. Vycle is a good workout that doesn’t require much effort.

#4 Don’t have the cash for an electric bike? The GeoOrbital Wheel makes your bike an electric one. 

#5 This bike looks more like an electric car. The ELF bike is powered by both pedaling and the sun. 

#6 Twicycle has moving handlebars. It gives both your arms AND legs a workout. 

#7 The Cardigo bike provides an even more complex workout. Just turn the knob and push and pull the handlebar while you ride. 

#8 (Snowboard bike): You ride this bike sideways. It works on a front and back balance like a snowboard.

#9 It looks like a scooter, but it’s actually a bike without a seat. Halfbike fills the gap between riding a bicycle and running. 

Check out these unique bikes if you’re looking for an upgrade

“Minecraft” continues to be one of the most popular games ever made.

The creation/survival indie game that Microsoft purchased back in 2014 for $2.5 billion has now sold 144 million copies, and enjoys a monthly userbase of 74 million players. The latest numbers were revealed in an interview with Helen Chiang, the new head of Microsoft’s “Minecraft” group, at PopSugar.

Those numbers are exceptional, even by “Minecraft” standards.

The game has been a notoriously explosive phenomenon since early in its life; “Minecraft” started as a work-in-progress game, made by a single man (Markus “Notch” Persson). It had rudimentary graphics and controls. It was only available on PC. It was prone to breaking, because it was an unfinished game being made by a single person.

And yet, millions of people bought and played that early version of “Minecraft.” When Microsoft bought the game back in 2014, the tech world was surprised and confused by the purchase. Persson did not join Microsoft.

But clearly that early success has persisted under Microsoft’s care. Just to compare, more people play Minecraft on a monthly basis than the populations of France, UK, Italy, or South Korea.

But why is it so popular? We’re talking about a game that looks like this:

“Minecraft” is available on nearly every game platform available, including the Nintendo Switch.Nintendo

Think of “Minecraft” as virtual LEGO.

It’s a system for fitting pieces together to create something — sometimes amazing somethings — from nothing. “Minecraft” provides endless building blocks and a blank canvas. It’s up to you to create something incredible, or silly, or referential, or whatever, using the tools it provides. The tools are blessedly user-friendly, as are the systems for employing those tools.

With that in mind, it’s not hard to understand why “Minecraft” has been such a hit. That it’s graphically rudimentary and simple to play just makes it all the more accessible to a large audience — nearly 75 million people every month, apparently.

‘Minecraft’ is still one of the biggest games in the world, with nearly 75 million people playing monthly

Mojang will talk about 2018 Minecraft updates at the PC Gamer Weekender

Minecraft laughs at PUBG and Fortnite with insane player count

As the AFC Championship Game between the 5x World Champion New England Patriots and the Jacksonville Jaguars continues, Warner Bros. has released an awesome new TV spot for their upcoming video game movie adaptation/reboot of Tomb Raider. The film stars Alicia Vikander as the daredevil extraordinaire Lara Croft, who finds herself on the adventure of a lifetime, searching for the truth behind her father’s disappearance.

On another note, it looks like Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life are both getting the 4K Ultra HD treatment ahead of the new film’s release. Both titles are due out on February 27th and are currently available to pre-order on Amazon (1, 2).

Watch the new “Adventure” TV spot below:

Lara Croft is the fiercely independent daughter of an eccentric adventurer who vanished when she was scarcely a teen. Now a young woman of 21 without any real focus or purpose, Lara navigates the chaotic streets of trendy East London as a bike courier, barely making the rent, and takes college courses, rarely making it to class. Determined to forge her own path, she refuses to take the reins of her father’s global empire just as staunchly as she rejects the idea that he’s truly gone.

Advised to face the facts and move forward after seven years without him, even Lara can’t understand what drives her to finally solve the puzzle of his mysterious death.Going explicitly against his final wishes, she leaves everything she knows behind in search of her dad’s last-known destination: a fabled tomb on a mythical island that might be somewhere off the coast of Japan. But her mission will not be an easy one; just reaching the island will be extremely treacherous. Suddenly, the stakes couldn’t be higher for Lara, who—against the odds and armed with only her sharp mind, blind faith and inherently stubborn spirit—must learn to push herself beyond her limits as she journeys into the unknown. If she survives this perilous adventure, it could be the making of her, earning her the name tomb raider.

TOMB RAIDER: Lara Croft Embarks On The Adventure Of A Lifetime In A New TV Spot

Monster Gorilla… Dinosaur Crocodile… Flying Wolf… Oh, My!

This April, get ready for Rampage, the video game movie adaptation that will finally see The Rock (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) meet his match as he takes on three genetically engineered monster animals that will wreak all kinds of havoc on modern-day Chicago.

The upcoming Brad Peyton-directed feature also stars Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Malin Åkerman (Watchmen), Joe Manganiello (Justice League), Jake Lacy (The Office), Marley Shelton (Scream 4), and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Supernatural), amongst others.

Watch the new 60-second extended TV spot below:

Primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson), a man who keeps people at a distance, shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent, silverback gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry mutates this gentle ape into a raging creature of enormous size. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered animals. As these newly created alpha predators tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.

Video Games Headlines Videos RAMPAGE Gets A Crazy New Trailer As The Rock Fights A Monster Gorilla, A Dinosaur Crocodile, & A Flying Wolf

After the 5x World Champion New England Patriots punched their ticket back to the Super Bowl, Just Jared has released brand new set photos from “an upcoming Marvel project,” which, considering Captain Marvel doesn’t begin filming until late March, is undoubtedly referring to the top-secret set for the highly anticipated Avengers 4, although they could also be from Avengers: Infinity War reshoots, which were scheduled to begin following the end of principal photography on the 2019 sequel.

The latest batch of snapshots features Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) and Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill) looking quite bewildered as they gaze upon something potentially massive entering Earth’s atmosphere. There’s also some intriguing shots of Jackson without Fury’s trademark eyepatch, but those were probably just taken in-between shots rather than something we’ll see realized in the movie.

Check out all of the photos at the link below:

An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.