G2A.Com has announced the findings of a recent survey conducted by an independent research company which revealed that more teachers are turning to video games to engage and educate students. Since the COVID-19 lockdowns and everything shutting down including classrooms and school trips, 48% of the educators across the UK and USA have responded to the survey by saying that they have increasingly looked to gaming to boost interaction in their lessons.
The survey details that 91% of teachers who currently use gaming as an education tool say that it has helped them better engage with students as games are now being used across a wide range of subjects, from maths to physics to literature. Some of the key findings of the survey include:
- 77% of UK and US teachers say that the introduction of virtual learning has changed education forever
- 76% of teachers are concerned about the way they can engage students in a remote environment
- 89% of teachers say using gaming in class has already been beneficial for student’s engagement with subjects
- 47% of those who don’t currently use gaming as an educational tool would like to try this method
- 50% don’t currently use gaming as an educational tool because they don’t know how to
- 62% of them claim they would feel more comfortable doing so if they received formal training
- 69% of teachers believe their students would be more likely to do their homework if gaming was involved
- 68% of teachers believe that gaming will have an important role as a resource in the future of education
This research was conducted by Censuswide with a sample size of 505 teachers in the UK and US in February 2021. The results of the research arrive just in time when G2A.Com has announced that is launching its new teacher-training course called G2A Academy: Video Games in Education on Udemy which is currently the world’s biggest platform for learning and teaching online. The course is divided into three sections that share the techniques that teachers can use to effectively introduce gaming into their classes:
- Unit 1: “Why you should use video games in education and how” focuses on the benefits of videogames. Why do we play games? What are the most common misconceptions around gaming? What is gaming’s true value today?
- Unit 2: “How to use video games to teach humanities,” tells the tale of how gaming can bring humanities subjects to life. How can games be a time capsule of historical information? Or a literary paradise of Shakespearian dialogue?
- Unit 3: “How to use video games to teach STEM subjects” unearths the magic of using gaming for subjects like maths, science, physics, and more. How can we bring mathematic formulas into the world of gaming? Which scientific theories lie behind character physics?
G2A Academy was started by Dr. Szymon Makuch and Dr. Adam Flamma, two up-and-coming gaming academics currently teaching at the University of Lower Silesia in Wroclaw, Poland. Both of them have developed a series of sample exercises and interactive materials for all three units in the course complete with example gaming titles that can be used to assist the teacher on their gaming journey.
Bartosz Skwarczek, CEO and co-founder of G2A.COM said:
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.
Dr. Szymon Makuch, a co-creator of the course and academic at the University of Lower Silesia added:
Myself and Adam are delighted to be able to collaborate with G2A to bring this course to life. We both actively use gaming as a teaching resource and have seen first-hand the benefits it can bring to the classroom. The true power of gaming has yet to be realised in society, and we believe that education is the perfect platform to show it’s worth. We look forward to seeing how teachers adopt the G2A Academy teachings to effectively bring gaming into their classes.
The complete course is free-to-access for all teachers around the world. Any teacher that wants to access the course can simply head over to G2A Academy’s website and follow the instructions for completing their signup. The course is not strictly restricted for teachers only and even if you are not a teacher, you can get access to this course however you must pay a fee for the full course. The full course costs $49.99 however if you sign up right now, you can get it for just $11.99 at Udemy. All profits from the G2A Academy will be donated by G2A.Com to digital exclusion charities.
