Getting Started Guide

The Coding in Minecraft Portal is your one stop shop for providing access to the credentials & curriculum to your students and to grade their submitted assessments.

To access the portal follow these steps:

1. Navigate to codingcredentials.com in your web browser
2. From the top menu bar click on the Login link and click Portal Login and you should be taken to the Portal login page
3. Log onto the Portal using the credentials provided in the welcome email

On first login you will be prompted to provide the answer to a security question which will be used if you need to use the forgotten password function.

The inital account provided in your welcome email is referred to as the Organisation Administrator account and can be used to add other Instructors to your Organisation.

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

To add additional teacher/instructors to you Coding in Minecraft organisation you can use the Manage Users page.

To add a teacher/instructor from the Manage Users page:

1. Click on the +User button on the top right of the page to open the Create User page
2. Complete all the fields on the Create User page
3. Select the Instructor and Proctor role and ensure any options under each role are also selected
4. Click Save to create the user

If you selected the send email box the user will be emailed their credentials.

Note: You can only create additional users using the Organisation Administrator account (the account supplied in your fulfilment email).

Any Instructor/Teacher user can create a class to organise students and assign them the Coding in Minecraft courses and capstone exam.

It is strongly advised to organise your students into classes on the portal as this can assist you in the grading process.

To create a class use the Classes page:

1. Click on the +Class button on the top right of the page
2. Provide a Name and Description for the class and click Submit
   
3. Next on the Edit Class page you can specify 1 or more Instructors for the class by clicking the +Instructor Button and then clicking the + symbol beside the Instructor you want to add to the class.
   Click close on the pop up when you are finished adding Instructors.
   
4. Click the Save button once complete to save the class
   

You do not need to add students to the class – we will use a process later which will allow students to enrol themselves in the class.

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

To provide students enrolled in the class with access to the Coding in Minecraft curriculum you can allocate 1 or more of the Coding in Minecraft courses to a class on the portal. All students enrolled in that class will then have access to the Coding in Minecraft course(s).

1. To assign content to a class click on the Assign menu option then the Courses option.
   
2. Click on the Assign Course to Class icon () beside the Coding in Minecraft course you wish to assign to a class
3. Type the name of the class into the Class box to select the appropriate class
   
4. Click Save

Repeat the above process to add multiple courses to the same class.

You can only assign content to a class which you are an Instructor.

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

Comprehensive Instructor Resources including Course Outlines, Lesson Plan and Sample Answers are provided for each Coding in Minecraft course.

An Instructor can download these by accessing the course in Instructor view which is detailed below:

1. Log onto the Portal
2. Click on the Assign Content Link then the Course link on the menu bar
   
3. Click on the Instructor View icon () to the right of the course you want to access the Instructor Resources for to open the course in Instructor View
   
4. Click on the Instructor Resources tab
   
5. Download the resources you require

The Instructor Resources includes Course Outlines, Lesson Plans and sample MakeCode files for the Assessments.

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

Solutions to the Assessments can be found in the Lesson Plans. If you want to run the code for the solutions you can download and import the Assesment Solution MakeCode files from the Instructor Resources and open in Code Builder by following the steps in the below video.

To provide access to the credentials & curriculum to your students you must generate an access code from the Portal which students can then redeem to gain access to the resources on the Portal. This access code is unique per class and will also enrol the student into the class on the portal.

To create an access code follow the below instructions:

1. Log onto the Portal
2. Click on the Codes link on the menu bar
   
3. Click on the +Access Code Class button
   
4. Enter the settings for the code:
   • Prefix – Enter a unique identifier for the code, this could be the class code or name
   • Duration of Licence – The number of days from the date the code is created that it can be redeemed by students
   • Term Days – The number of days you want students to have access to the curriculum from redeeming the code
   • Quantity – It is advisable to leave this at the default value of 1 which will result in 1 code which can be used by all students, alternatively you can change this to create individual codes
   • Use Limit – The number of students who can redeem the code, note that each redemption will reduce the quantity available on your licence
     
5. Click on the + symbol beside the class you want this code to enrol students in
6. Click the Save button to create the code
7. Your code will be displayed on the next page where you can copy it and distribute to your students
   

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

To provide access to the curriculum courses and capstone credential exam students can redeem the access code on the Portal.

They can log onto the Portal following these steps:

1. Navigate to codingcredentials.com in your web browser
2. From the top menu bar click on the Login link and click Portal Login and you should be taken to the Portal login page
3. To log onto the Portal students can either:
   1. Create an account on the Portal by clicking the Sign Up link and following the instructions or
   2. Click on the Microsoft icon to sign in using their Microsoft Account (the same account they use to log onto Minecraft: Education Edition)
      • Upon first logon they may be asked for further information
      • This is the preferred method of logging onto the Portal

Once a student has logged in they can redeem the access code to join the class with the content you generated earlier by entering the class access code in the Enter your code box near the top left corner of the page and clicking the button

Once they have entered the code and clicked redeem the courses allocated to the class will be shown in the Courses section.

When students log in again they do not need to redeem the class access code.

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

Once students have redeemed the access code to gain access to the curriculum on the Portal they can access the associated course and download and import the Minecraft world for the credential.

1. Log into the Portal and click on the Courses menu link
   
2. Click on the relevant course to open the Course Overview page
   
3. Click on the Start button to start the course
   (Next time you access the course this will become a continue button)
4. Click on the link to download the Minecraft world for the course and save the downloaded file
   
   NOTE: If you are using an Apple iPad the download and import process is slightly different – please see the below instructions
5. Open Minecraft: Education Edition, log in and click the Play menu option
6. Click on the Import option
   
7. Browse to where you saved the downloaded world file to and select it and click Open
8. Once the import is complete click on the View My Worlds option, click on the world and click Play

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

Downloading a world using iPad

1. Follow the above steps 1-3 to navigate to the Portal page to download the Minecraft world
2. Tap on the world download link to download the file
3. Tap on the Downloads icon on the toolbar
4. Tap the magnifying glass icon beside the downloaded world to open your Downloads folder
5. Long press on the downloaded world file to bring up the context menu and tap on Share
6. Scroll across the list of Apps and click on the More button
7. Tap on Copy to Minecraft: Education Edition to open the world in the Education Edition version of Minecraft

You only need to download and import the world once – when you open Minecraft: Education Edition the world will be in your Library.

The below video demonstrates these steps:

When you enter the Coding in Minecraft world follow the instructions to get started.

Interact with all the Non Player Characters on your journey and make your way around the learning activities of each lesson following the directions.

Once you have completed all the learning activities you are ready to take on the assessment challenge at the end of the lesson.

Read the assessment challenge carefully and complete the required tasks. Once you have completed the tasks gather the evidence required – typically by saving your MakeCode/JavaScript/Python to a file – for guidance on how to do this please see the video at the end of this step. Some assessments will require you to complete a worksheet or take a screen grab of the Code Builder window showing the code and a screen grab of the result of the code running in the Minecraft game. You can use the camera tool to capture images in the game or you can use the screen grab features of your computer:

• How to take a screen capture on Windows
• How to take a screen capture on iPad
• How to take a screen capture on MacOS
• How to take a screen capture on Chromebook

Once you have captured your evidence upload it to the Portal by following the below instructions:

1. Log onto the Portal
2. Click the Courses menu option and click on the course you are submitting evidence for
3. Click on the Lesson which you are submitting evidence for
   
4. Click on the Upload link to choose a file to upload as evidence
   • Repeat this process to upload multiple files if required
5. Once you have uploaded all your evidence you can provide some further information which the teacher can see when grading by entering text in the Notes area
   
6. Click the Send button when you are ready to submit your assessment

Once you have uploaded your evidence you can move onto the next lesson.

We strongly recommend backing up your world after every class as the world is saved locally on that computer and it can be easily lost.

For further information on how to do this by exporting your world please see https://minecrafteducation.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360001427948-Importing-and-Exporting-Your-Worlds-

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

How to save your code:

Once your students submit assessments on the Portal you can grade their work.

You can choose when you do this – whether when students submit or at the end of the class or once every week or so.

It is critical however that you grade their work for the teacher graded micro-credential to be awarded on successful completion of each course.

To grade students work follow the below instructions:

1. Log onto the Portal
2. Click on the Review Activities link in the menu
3. All ungraded submissions for the classes which you are an instructor for will be shown – use the filters to filter down to the work you want to grade
   
4. Expand the course and student you want to grade by clicking the > symbol
   
5. Click on the icon in the Action column for the activity you want to grade to open that submission
   
6. To grade the submission analyse the evidence submitted in the Student Evidence section – you can click on an item to download it. If these are images you can hover over the image and click the icon to view an enlarged version in the browser
7. Analyse the students submission to check it is correct
   Note: You can sample solutions to compare against in the lesson plan for each lesson
8. For each piece of evidence in the Student Evidence section mark it as either:
   • Pass – If it passes the assessment
   • Needs Work – If it does not pass the assessment
9. Add some feedback to the student in the Notes section. This can be suggestions to improve if the submission needs further work or positive reinforcement if the submission is passed
10. If the student has successfully completed the assessment check the Completed and Passed box. This locks the submission and prevents any further changes
11. If the student has not successfully completed the assessment check the Requires Further Submission box and the student will be able to submit further evidence for the assessment and submit for re-grading
    
12. Click the Send button to submit the mark

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

Once all assessment sumissions have been graded as Completed and Passed by the teacher the student can return to the course on the Student Portal and download their certificate by clicking the link

The Practice Test for the Capstone Credential is a great way to get your students ready to sit the Capstone Credential exam. There is a practice test for each of the Capstone Credentials – JavaScript or Python.

Students can take the practice test as many times as they want.

When your students are ready you can add the Capstone Exam Practice Test to the class using the Portal – this will provide students enrolled in the class with access to the exam.

1. Login to the Portal as an Instructor
2. Click on the Classes menu option
   
3. Click on the View and Assign Test () icon in the Options column for the class you want to assign the test to
   
4. Click on the + Add More Tests button
5. Click the + symbol beside the Coding in Minecraft Practice Test (JavaScript) or Coding in Minecraft Capstone Practice Test (Python) test you want to allocate to the class
   
6. In the Test Settings pop up enable only the below settings:
   • Random
   • Allow Retakes – set to 999
   • Save and resume – set to 999
   • Show feedback
   • Show answers in summary
7. Click Confirm to allocate the test to the class

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

The Capstone Credential Exam proves students skill in the objective domains for all 3 micro-credentials.

Once students have completed all 3 micro-credentials they are ready to sit the Capstone Exam.

When your students are ready you can add the Capstone Exam to the class using the Portal – this will provide students enrolled in the class with access to the exam.

1. Login to the Portal as an Instructor
2. Click on the Classes menu option
   
3. Click on the View and Assign Test () icon in the Options column for the class you want to assign the test to
   
4. Click on the + Add More Tests button
5. Click the + symbol beside the Coding in Minecraft Capstone Credential Exam (JavaScript) or Coding in Minecraft Capstone Credential Exam (Python)  test you want to allocate to the class
   
6. In the Test Settings pop up enable only the below settings:
   • Full Screen
   • Allow Retakes – set to 5
   • Is Pooling – set to 30
   • Timed Test – set to 50
   • Proctor Authentication
7. Click Confirm to allocate the test to the class

A video walkthough of this step is available below:

The Capstone Credential Exam is a Proctored online exam which should be delivered under exam conditions.

To start the Capstone Credential Exam follow these instructions:

1. Have students Log onto the Portal
2. Click on the Tests option
3. Click on the Coding in Minecraft Capstone Exam option
   
4. Read the instructions and click Start
   
5. When prompted for proctor information the teacher will need to enter their username and password and click Verify Proctor to start the exam
   
6. The student will then follow the onscreen instructions to take the exam question by question
7. After answering all questions the student is presented with a review screen where they can select to go back to any questions to review their answer
8. Upon completion of the exam the student is presented with a score report which details if they passed or failed, their score and their strengths and weaknesses in the objective domain
   
9. Upon passing the student can download the Capstone Credential Certificate