Minecraft: Education Edition Visits Australia & New Zealand
Kia Ora: This is one of the phrases that the Minecraft: Education Edition team learned while visiting educators and customers in New Zealand and Australia last month. Kia Ora is an expression in the Māori language meaning ‘hello.’ Literally translated it has a meaning of ‘be well or healthy.’
Last month, our team traveled to Australia and New Zealand to learn how educators and members of local government are using Minecraft: Education Edition. The two-week trip began in Australia where learning manager Meenoo Rami keynoted the Education in Games Summit 2018 for Melbourne Games Week. “It was so inspiring to see and meet educators from so many different places come together and continue to engage in their #MinecraftEdu journey,” says Meenoo.
It was easy to see that Australia places great value on the quality of services provided to their citizens including education, infrastructure, and social services. One of the best parts of this trip was when two young women presented a game that they made in Minecraft addressing different ways to recycle and care for the environment.
We saw firsthand how many Australian educators are passionate, thoughtful, and committed to evolving their practice to meet the needs of their students. This just goes to show that no matter where you are in the world, educators are all working towards the same mutual goal.
Our team then ventured off to Auckland and Christchurch where they learned about New Zealand’s rich Māori heritage traditions. We visited several schools and led Minecraft: Education Edition trainings for educators and partners. Newlands Intermediate School in Wellington, NZ really stood out thanks to their warm welcome. We loved experiencing this moving Māori tradition!
We met with several press outlets on the trip to talk about the impact that Minecraft: Education Edition is making in schools across these countries. Here’s a recap of some local coverage:
Radio 3RRR Byte Into It
Live to air in-studio interview with Meenoo Rami
Interviewers: Vanessa Toholka and Warren Davies
Interview Link
ABC Radio Melbourne The Conversation Hour
Live to air in-studio interview with Meenoo Rami
Interviewer: Jon Faine
Interview Link
Both Australia and New Zealand were full of natural beauty and amazing people. Thank you to everyone we had the honor of meeting with, we look forward to coming back soon and can’t wait to continue to support educators in their #MinecraftEDU journey.
