Stride and Ocean Visions Building Ocean Sustainability World Project in Minecraft
- By Kristal Kuykendall
- 05/14/23
Digital learning provider Stride has announced a partnership with nonprofit research network Ocean Visions to build instructional content for Minecraft: Education Edition to teach students about the science of oceans and support the goals of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, according to a news release.
Ocean Visions selected Stride to be its lead education partner as it ramps up efforts to introduce students around the globe to the nonprofit’s Global Ecosystem for Ocean Solutions Decade Programme, or GEOS, through Minecraft. The new content will also be embedded within Stride’s curriculum.
Endorsed by the U.N. in June 2021, GEOS is “establishing a global community of researchers, investors, and decision-makers to design and deploy scalable ocean sustainability solutions,” and GEOS’ mission is founded on “educating, empowering, and training the next generation of ocean leaders, scientists, and innovators,” the organization said.
Stride said it will work with Minecraft developers to create an Ocean Decade Sustainable World Project, where students will be able to “contribute solutions to the very real challenges facing our oceans,” the announcement said. The new content will include educational games focused on renewable energy, marine biology, eco-tourism, food systems, and engineering, Stride said.
Within the new Minecraft Ocean Decade Sustainable World, students “will engage in three challenges within the platform: building an offshore city powered by renewable energy; reducing marine vessel pollution; and raising public awareness about the global crisis of plastic pollution,” said Stride. “Along the way, students will engage with educational content and will be invited to revisit their projects throughout the year as they encounter new challenges.”
“With Stride’s support, GEOS will introduce students around the world to real-world issues, technologies, and resources that are grounded in cutting-edge science and engineering,” said Emanuele Di Lorenzo, chairman of Ocean Visions and Director of Ocean Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech.
Stride said it will also embed the new Minecraft challenges and oceans sustainability content into its K–12 curriculum, “establishing a foundation for students to understand environmental sustainability issues and hone problem-solving and critical thinking skills through real-world STEM application.”
Stride’s Minecraft Ocean Decade Sustainable World will be released later this year, the company said. Learn more at OceanVisions.org/geos and StrideLearning.com.
About the Author
Kristal Kuykendall is editor, 1105 Media Education Group. She can
be reached at [email protected].