MinecraftEdu is an alternate version of Minecraft in development by Aleksi Postari, designed specially designed for use in classrooms. It offers features like pre-selected skins, teacher-customizable building goals, information blocks, and other additions that make it easier to use for students and easier to learn for teachers. Technically MinecraftEdu is a mod, but thanks to Mojang it can be purchased by schools pre-applied to Minecraft.
MinecraftEdu 1.5.1 is now available for schools to purchase or upgrade, and it has a host of new features that appeal to teachers and students. The biggest change is the Minecraft game is now updated to 1.5.1, up from the 1.4.7 is was running previously. Next is Forge mod support, which allows for most mods to work with MinecraftEdu and no issues. Other minor additions include better Macintosh support, updated WorldEdit functionality, the ability to upgrade or downgrade, and experimental Online World Template support. The full changelog and more information is available at the source link below, and let us know if you have experience with MinecraftEdu (as a student or even a teacher) in the comments!
Source: MinecraftEdu