Prodigy Learning US launch

Prodigy Learning comes to US with mission to teach coding through Minecraft

Rollout follows successful trial in more than 100 schools in the US and UK
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Pictured: Mark Reid, Billy Breen, Andrew Flood, Aisling Ni Cheallaigh, and Andrew Griggs, Prodigy Learning

29 July 2019

Dublin-headquartered Prodigy Learning has announced its entry to the US market with Coding in Minecraft – a science curriculum, skills assessment and credential programme from children aged nine to 16 delivered through Minecraft: Education Edition.

The programme consists of three game-based courses. By earning evidence-based credentials, students are prepared for industry-recognised certification programmes such as Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA).

The first two courses use block-based coding in MakeCode and progress learners to the third course using text-based coding in JavaScript with courses in additional popular coding technologies in development.

Coding in Minecraft is hosted on the GMetrix platform which leverages the power of Microsoft Azure. The GMetrix platform makes it easy for educators to manage student progress, provide feedback and award the credential upon successful completion of all assessment objectives.

“With the growing skills gap in computer science globally and the challenges facing teachers and students in accessing effective learning opportunities, our vision for Coding in Minecraft is to break down barriers for both students and teachers and transform the uptake of computer science in US schools,” said Prodigy Learning CEO Andrew Flood.

“These challenges are all the more stark in a US K-12 student population (kindergarten to 12th grade) of 56.6 million (2018) with 35.6 million attending from pre-kindergarten through to grade eight and 15.1 million attending from grades nine through to 12.”

“Coding in Minecraft captures the imagination of young learners through one of the most popular computer games in the world and supports them in learning to code, design and problem solve.”

According to Microsoft, Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time and 51% of US children age 9 to 11 play the game.

Certiport, a Pearson VUE business will distribute Coding in Minecraft initially in the United States and then through the 12,000 Certiport testing centres worldwide.

Coding in Minecraft has been piloted among 114 schools, 200 teachers and 4,000 students in the UK and US over the past 12 months.

TechCentral Reporters

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