Ireland-headquartered global education technology company, Prodigy Learning, and Minecraft Education are excited to announce the availability of ‘AI Ready Skills’, their new learning, assessment and credentialing product, bringing credentialing in AI skills into Minecraft Education.
Today’s announcement of ‘AI Ready Skills’ at BETT UK in London (one of the world’s largest education technology events) is the latest milestone for the partnership between Prodigy Learning and Minecraft Education announced in May of last year. It is the third product released under this partnership and builds on the successes of the two previous releases: ‘Coding in Minecraft’ which focuses on developing coding skills, and ‘Cyber in Minecraft’ which focusses on cyber security education. This collaboration brings together the immersive world of Minecraft, the best-selling video game of all time, with the innovative educational solutions of Prodigy Learning, offering new opportunities for educators and students alike.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming workforces and driving an explosive demand for AI skills. PwC 2024 Global AI Jobs Barometer report noted that "Postings for AI jobs are growing 3.5x faster than for all jobs.” The 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report by Microsoft and LinkedIn indicates that AI skills may become as important as job experience in the hiring process. 71% of leaders said they’d rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them. The ‘AI Ready Skills’ product will support education systems worldwide to prepare students for this AI-enriched future.
Delivered in Minecraft Education, ‘AI Ready Skills’ engages young and diverse learners through game-based learning and rewards their learning with credentials. It is an easy to teach solution, empowering educators with a comprehensive, future-focused curriculum that addresses the needs of tomorrow’s workforce, today.
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The ‘AI Ready Skills’ learning pathway is comprised of four units which cover core AI topics including Understanding AI, Generative AI, Machine Learning, and Responsible AI. At the end of the pathway, the ‘AI Ready Skills’ capstone credential exam provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate foundational AI skills. If successful, students receive their ‘AI Ready Skills’ certificate and digital badge.
Today’s announcement builds on the earlier successful releases of Coding in Minecraft and Cyber in Minecraft in partnership with Minecraft Education. School systems across the globe including in Alaska, North Carolina, Washington State, Northern Ireland and New South Wales (Australia) are already benefitting from introducing these programs to their educators and students.
Along with ‘Coding in Minecraft’ and ‘Cyber in Minecraft’, ‘AI Ready Skills’ is now available for licensing through Microsoft and channel resellers worldwide in addition to existing Prodigy Learning channels.
Commenting, Andrew Flood, Chief Executive Officer of Prodigy Learning, said:
“Today’s launch of the ‘AI Ready Skills’ credential product at BETT UK is a milestone addition to our educational offerings in partnership with Minecraft Education. Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing our world at an ever-increasing pace. Our shared vision for this product is to empower educators with the tools to prepare their students with the skills they need to thrive in this age of AI.
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Minecraft Education offers a unique learning environment for students to develop and prove these skills to understand and apply AI tools responsibly and safely. ‘AI Ready Skills’ will help prepare and build the workforce of tomorrow and, with it, economic opportunity.”
Commenting, Allison Matthews, Head of Minecraft Education at Microsoft, said:
"At Minecraft Education, we are committed to empowering educators and students with the tools they need to thrive in the age of AI. The launch of 'AI Ready Skills' is a testament to our dedication to providing innovative and accessible learning solutions.
By integrating AI education into the immersive world of Minecraft, we are not only making learning engaging and fun but also preparing the workforce of tomorrow with the essential skills they need to succeed in an AI-driven world."
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