As Minecraft has become more popular, Mojang has been branching the property into different experiences. Minecraft Dungeons is an action RPG based on Minecraft's mobs and art style, while Minecraft: Education Edition is an alternate version of the sandbox building game meant to facilitate virtual lesson plans for students to learn more about STEM, history, art, and more. Today, the first Global Build Championship for Minecraft: Education Edition was announced during Minecraft Live 2020.
To try and encourage remote learning at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic this March, certain modules from Minecraft: Education Edition were made free to download, including a virtual tour of the International Space Station. The content in this "Education Collection" has been downloaded over 63 million times since, according to Mojang Studio Head Helen Chiang in a press release, and the Global Build Championship is another extension of this mission.
Starting today, parents or educators from around the world are able to sign up teams of one-to-three students between the ages of 8 and 18 to participate in the competition. These teams will all be provided a Minecraft: Education Edition world template to build a project based around letting nature and humans co-exist before November 6, 2020. Those who are able to incorporate one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals will receive extra credit.
Any group that competes and submits its build with a short recording and voice over will receive a certificate of completion, but Mojang will also be announcing winners on December 4, 2020. One winning team and six other finalists will be eligible to win prizes including Minecoins that can be used to purchase goods like skins, as well as the chance to talk with Minecraft developers. Education Edition was released on Chromebook in August, making it more widely available as part of Google's Chromebooks for Education program.
Mojang also announced its intent to expand Minecraft: Education Edition with a new lesson category dedicated to equity and inclusion. A free map called "Good Trouble: Social Justice Movements Around the World" will be released "soon" that explores historic civil rights movements based on the teachings of Congressman John Lewis, who died from complications due to cancer in July.
Setting up free opportunities for students to engage in remote learning through the medium of Minecraft is an admirable pursuit for Microsoft and Mojang, and it will be interesting to see what kinds of projects come out of this international competition. However, Minecraft Live 2020 also focused on purely recreational titles under the Minecraft umbrella, including introducing a major update for the main game and a new DLC expansion for Minecraft Dungeons.
Minecraft: Education Edition is available now on Chromebook, Mac, and PC.
Sources: Minecraft Live, Minecraft: Education Edition, United Nations, Google