The educational system is always looking for ways to modernize, engage students meaningfully, and make the classroom experience more convenient for the students and the teacher. COVID-19 saw an increase in this as the pandemic meant teachers and students were interacting digitally, which, while difficult, has been opening new doors for teachers to use the digital space in their classes. One English teacher took this to its extreme by turning to video games, teaching their classes with the use of 20 Xbox Series S consoles, a handful of Nintendo Switch systems, and a PlayStation 5.
Reddit user AnonymousCerealBowl is the teacher in question who shared their console haul and their early plans for the video game-centric class. As mentioned, the haul largely consists of Xbox Series S systems, most of which are the standalone systems and at least 2 Fortnite bundles connected through Xbox Game Pass, along with multiple Xbox controllers and battery chargers. AnonymousCerealBowl's haul also included four Nintendo Switch consoles with multiple Joy-Con and wired controllers and a Horzion: Forbidden West PS5 bundle, alongside a DualSense controller and charging station.
AnonymousCerealBowl was open with commenters, many of whom asked what the intent of the class is, how the class was approved, and how everything was paid for. Regarding the class, the teacher said it is a senior-level English class effectively teaching video games as literature and will see students play games and analyze the narratives of said games. As for the other two questions, Bowl said the school is a Title 1 public school in Oregon with grant money used to help pay for the consoles after the school board was convinced by AnonymousCerealBowl that they can teach literary concepts like the hero's journey and unreliable narrators through video games to try and improve student engagement.
Most of the comments to AnonymousCerealBowl's post, other than questions, were largely positive about the idea of the class and encouraging. Some added the teacher may want to reach out to Microsoft and personalities like Xbox's Major Nelson about promoting or supporting the class, though AnonymousCerealBowl hasn't gone into detail about doing either.
As mentioned above, teachers are always looking for new methods to engage their students in ways that are new but still reinforce the class' teachings. Narrative, in particular, is an area of games that has improved over time thanks to better technology and more creative storytellers entering the space to create games like 2018's God of War or It Takes Two, both of which feature narrative themes commonly seen in literature and film. Only time will tell, though, about whether the class proves to be a success or not.