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FAQ Hour of Code 2021
The 2021 Hour of Code tutorial, TimeCraft, will take place in Minecraft: Education Edition. This lesson will be available to all users, even those who don't currently have a Minecraft: Education Edition license. Below are some frequently asked questions that we hope can provide clarity on any issues you might be having.
If you don't see your questions answered below, please feel free to submit a request to the Help desk.
Do I need an Office 365 Education account to play?
- No, you do not need an Office 365 Education account to play the Hour of Code lesson.
- If you have a O365 Education account, you can access the lesson via the in-game Library.
What version of Minecraft Education Edition do I need?
- You must be updated to the latest version of Minecraft Education.
Do I need to make any changes to my network?
Minecraft: Education Edition is built on a services-based architecture that requires communication from the application to external services on the internet. This architecture allows students to access new features such as Immersive Reader and new lesson content. In order to allow communication with these external services, your school network will need to allow traffic between Minecraft: Education Edition and a set of service endpoints.
For info on allowing network access to our services that are integrated into the experience, go here.
What age is the Hour of Code Lesson for?
- The Hour of Code Lesson is suitable for students aged 7 and up.
What is the theme of the 2021 Hour of Code?
- This year’s theme is TimeCraft. This Hour of Code adventure travels through time and space and explores the concept of building a better future through code. Players will experience a choose your own adventure game, exploring diverse key moments in human achievement. Traversing the ages, players will connect with innovators and inventions, learn about the impact of advances in art, architecture, music, engineering, science, math and computer science, and practice critical thinking and deductive reasoning. Using their coding super powers, players will save the future by solving mysterious incongruities in the past, collecting clues and connecting patterns to identify the mischievous time culprit.
- Computer science skills are truly everywhere and for everyone, no matter where, who or when you are!
What teacher materials do you provide to support the Hour of Code Lesson?
- You can find the Educator resources here:
How much does the Hour of Code Lesson cost?
- It is free to play the Hour of Code Lesson.
Do I need the internet to play the Hour of Code Lesson?
- An internet connection is required.
- If you don't have reliable internet, we recommend downloading the offline version of the Minecraft Adventurer tutorial on Code.org.
What are the system requirements for the Hour of Code Lesson?
- Standard system requirements for Minecraft are required. Please review our Supported Platforms page for the full details.
Does the Hour of Code Lesson work on Chromebooks?
Yes! As of our latest Minecraft: Education Edition release, you can now play the Hour of Code lesson on a Chromebook.
What coding languages does the Hour of Code Lesson teach?
- The Hour of Code lesson uses Block-based coding in MakeCode or Python in our notebook-style interface, Azure Notebooks. If you're new to the Hour of Code, we recommend starting with Blocks.
Can I use Scratch with the Hour of Code Lesson?
- No, you cannot use Scratch with the Hour of Code Lesson.
Is the Hour of Code Lesson a multiplayer experience?
- No, the Hour of Code Lesson is designed to be a single-player experience.
- If students sign into Minecraft: Education Edition and access the Hour of Code lesson from the Library, it is possible to play in multiplayer, but this is not recommended. The lesson was designed to be single-player.
Can students chat with each other from within the Hour of Code Lesson?
- Students cannot chat with one another in the Hour of Code Demo Lesson.
- If students sign into Minecraft: Education Edition and access the Hour of Code lesson from the Library, it is possible to play in multiplayer and access chat, but this is not recommended. The lesson was designed to be single-player.
What happens when I finish the Hour of Code Lesson?
- After students complete the Hour of Code Lesson, they are free to explore the current world or continue replaying for additional coding challenges, known as Time Splits. If they choose to replay, students can choose to play again in the same coding language or try the other language. Full game features are not available in the Demo Lesson, and progress will not be saved when students exit the world.
- If students sign in to Minecraft: Education Edition and access the Hour of Code lesson from the Library, they can save their progress and resume the lesson from their My Worlds list, or restart it at any time from the Library.
What accessibility features are available in the Hour of Code experience?
- The lesson supports Immersive Reader, UI screen reader, keyboard and mouse hints, and ability to remap and adjust keyboard, mouse, and touch controls.
Which languages is the Hour of Code Lesson available in?
- The Hour of Code 2021 (TimeCraft) will first be available in English (United States) and English (UK). Shortly thereafter, Hour of Code 2021 will be available in German, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), French (France), French (Canada), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Turkish, Polish, Indonesian, Ukrainian, Greek, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Slovak, Czech, Dutch
What should I do if I'm coding in Block and my coding window will not load, or the code is not running?
- Close the coding window
- Open https://minecraft.makecode.com in a browser
- Select the gear icon at the top right side of the page
- Select Reset, as shown in the image below.
- Return to Minecraft: Education Edition and try the coding activity again.