As part of the "Good Trouble: Lessons in Social Justice" education project, Minecraft: Education Edition is offering two courses to commemorate International Women's Day 2021 and Women's History Month. The lessons are focused on two major female figures: Malala Yousafzai and Emmeline Pankhurst. The courses are titled "Malala: One Girl Among Many" and "Good Trouble: Women's Suffrage." Both lessons are designed to encourage students to think about the impact of women's activism and reflect on the importance of social equality.
Minecraft has been trying to support social awareness for kids through its education program. For instance, during Black History Month, Minecraft offered lessons about the Black Lives Matter and the United States' Civil Rights movements. Minecraft's education modules are designed in collaboration with experts such as Felisa Ford, a digital learning specialist who was a key contributor in the development of the "Good Trouble" project and has a 27-year background in education.
All of the lessons come with a lesson plan to help out educators that are downloadable through the Minecraft: Education Edition website. Both courses can be downloaded login-free and will remain available throughout March. Furthermore, students who already have Minecraft: Bedrock Edition can download the content for free, which makes it easier for them to access the content. In addition to these resources, Minecraft is offering a webinar with some of their staff to further explain how the worlds work and help educators familiarize themselves with the tools.
For the "Malala: One Girl Among Many" lesson, teachers will be able to provide lessons about Malala's activism to help girls receive education in Pakistan, and students will get to exercise their creativity by helping Malala build a school. The "Good Trouble: Women's Suffrage" lesson will focus on Victorian-era Britain and Emmeline Pankhurst's fight for women's ability to vote. This lesson has several in-game activities and will encourage students to research the suffragette movement in other countries.
So far, Minecraft: Education Edition has reached 115 countries according to its website. Because of current situations around the coronavirus pandemic, students, teachers, and parents have had to adjust to distance learning. So, it should not come as a surprise that new tools are being created to facilitate this process.
Aside from the webinars and the "Good Trouble" lessons, Minecraft has been offering ways to bridge people with innovative options such as the ability to host a digital event, have teachers join students through fun challenges, create activities for families to bond, and even offer coding lessons for teachers to make their classes more interactive.
Minecraft: Education Edition is available now for PC, Mac, iPad, and Chromebook. Minecraft is available for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
Source: Minecraft: Education Edition