G2A Launches Teacher-Training Course to Bring Gaming Into Classrooms

Apart from their therapeutic nature, video games afford an extensive array of benefits in the education sector, and recent findings show that there’s no denying that now.

We have been in conversation exclusively with G2A and promising stuff from the Netherlands-based company is up-and-coming. According to a survey conducted by Censuswide on behalf of G2A, 49% of the teachers in the UK implement video gaming in online classes to keep students engaged and fully attentive.

Out of that figure, 88% of teachers have positive things to say about this. They affirm that video gaming has helped them boost interactions in class as several subjects such as English Literature and Mathematics are now covered by gaming comfortably.

Let us share some key results of the survey.

• A colossal 86% of teachers who have used gaming to teach before say that gaming is tremendously beneficial for students and their learning.
• 50% have no idea how gaming can be used as an educational tool. Therefore, they do not implement this technology.
• 59% of the consensus says that some sort of formal training would make go leaps and bounds in making teachers feel comfortable about introducing gaming in the class.

These findings have urged the company to launch a dedicated system of their own – the G2A Academy: Video Games in Education. This is a course that G2A has launched on Udemy and it already has 18 students at the moment.

The course will follow a specialized format of teaching, one that will particularly involve three sections. Let’s give you a brief breakdown of those.

• The first unit focuses on the reason why one should use video games in education and how if it was to come to that afterward. G2A also concentrates on clearing some common misconceptions about gaming in this section as well.
• The second unit explains how video games can be used to teach humanities subjects and how this phenomenon can be utilized as a sure-fire method to memorize history lessons.
• The third and final unit is concentrated on teaching mainstream STEM subjects in the light of gaming.

Dr. Szymon Makuch and Dr. Adam Flamma are the teachers that will teach this course. They are currently employed at the University of Lower Silesia in Wrocław, Poland. Being seemingly well-versed in this domain, both of them have developed a multitude of exercises and helpful materials that will explain the essence of gaming in education and learning.

G2A has told us that all profits will go to digital exclusion charities and that the course is free of cost for teachers. Company CEO and co-founder Bartosz Skwarczek says, “Young people around the world are facing the biggest crisis in education in living memory. Teachers are having to completely rethink their approach to schooling and find new ways to keep students engaged and motivated. Video games – and the transferrable skills they offer – are a vital tool in bringing online learning to life and we want to do everything we can to help unlock those benefits for teachers and young people. The G2A Academy equips teachers with the techniques, resources and confidence to incorporate gaming into lessons and help safeguard the education of the Covid generation.”

A Comment From a Teacher

The report has also included a few words from Leon Hady – a teacher working in the gaming industry to make this asset popular and commonplace.

Leon says, “Gaming is more than just a hobby, it’s a way into the brain and thus a key avenue to learning. It’s one of the most relatable and accessible methods to get into any topic.”

“We need to move away from thinking of computer games as an issue hindering education, and instead utilise the features to add a third and fourth angle to blended learning.”

“We’ve always done face to face live delivery, are progressing with online delivery and we could have the same again through video game opportunities: live learning online worlds (think Fortnight with science experiments instead of guns) and solo adventure games in the vein of Mario to better understand history, sociology and so much more.”

COVID-19 has caught everything off-guard, but this philanthropic effort from G2A appears to be encouraging the world to fight back in its own unique way. By incorporating video games in classrooms, learning will appeal to students much more profoundly, since entertainment is something that connects well with the youth and G2A has struck right in the difference-maker.

Let us know what you think of G2A Academy down in the comments section.