Microsoft recently announced a new immersive educational experience coming to Minecraft. Windows announced this new Minecraft experience, titled Active Citizen, at a launch event held at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.
Dignitaries worldwide attended the launch, including His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Wanjira Mathai, Chairperson of the Wangari Maathai Foundation, and Vidar Helgesen, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation. Showing just how much support the project has gathered. Many of the participants were also given a chance to try out the immersive experience for themselves.
This learning experience takes the player on an interactive journey to learn more about what it takes to make a positive difference in the world. During the journey, the player will get a chance to meet Alfred Nobel and learn more about what the Nobel prize is and how people can receive one of these coveted titles.
Players will also meet four other Nobel Prize laureates and can help them on their journey to make the world a better place. The four laureates included are Malala Yousafzai, Wangari Maathai, Fridtjof Nansen, and the 14th Dalai Lama, and players can interact and learn from their virtual characters in Active Citizen. After helping the laureates, the player will have to identify a need within their community. Then they need to create a unique Minecraft build that represents their vision of peace for their community.
Active Citizen is available on Minecraft: Education Edition for students between 8 to 16. It also includes additional resources such as lesson plans, discussion guides, and more for teachers to use in the classroom. A free demo version will also come later this month for other Minecraft players.
Compassion and empathy are critical skills that all children should learn. This immersive experience teaches children good values and how they can make a positive change in their communities. Good on Microsoft for thinking outside the box and making learning fun and immersive on the popular Minecraft platform. In the meantime, gamers are still enjoying the new snapshot update to the Minecraft: Java Edition.
