As novel coronavirus and the associated disease COVID-19 spread across the globe, more and more kids are being made to stay home for the safety of their families and communities. This has had the unfortunate impact of severely disrupting education and other plans they and their families had in place. Kids are being left to their own devices, and public and private schooling alike are struggling to adapt to the changing landscape to ensure that children get the education they deserve.
To that end, technology has filled in some major gaps in educational access and helped children stay connected in these trying times. The push for online schooling, directly involved educators and a more accelerated curriculum has led to some students feeling overwhelmed, and many parents feeling confused and lacking in direction.
Dealing with bored and angsty children is never easy, and it’s even harder amid a global pandemic putting major stress on everyone. To help ease the stress technology, and video game creators especially, have stepped in to aid in educating children. Mojang has just announced a new initiative aimed at helping to keep kids learning while they’re at home, but to have more fun while doing it.
The plan is to help kids learn by creating custom content for video games like Minecraft that can use video games to help keep them engaged. Mojang announced the news on its website. “We want to do our part to help keep young minds sharp and stimulated,” the company said in a statement.
The content is described as covering a wide array of historical, mathematical and scientific disciplines, and wants kids to develop some new interests as well. Gamifying the educational process is a great way to leverage the popularity of this game with kids to teach lessons about biology, renewable energy, history and so much more. The program is said to also include “creative writing activities, build challenges, and tricky puzzles” as an additional layer of gamification.
Microsoft and Minecraft for Bedrock platforms will also have the free updates. Those interested in installing the content can use the launcher for their version to grab the content from the official servers.
The educational content in Minecraft is available now and is free through June 30.
