ashecitism
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http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/...ol-puts-e-sports-and-gaming-on-the-timetable/
http://dotablast.com/first-public-high-school-in-norway-include-esports-core-curriculum/
more at the links
Garnes Vidaregåande Skole, a public high school in the city of Bergen, Norway, is to start teaching e-sports to its students starting in August. The elective class puts e-sports on the same footing as traditional sports such as soccer and handball at the school. 30 or so students enrolled in the program will study five hours a week during the three-year program.
Folk High Schools—boarding schools that offer one year of non-examined training and education—have already offered some e-sports training, but this will be the first time that e-sports find a place in a regular high school.
Students on the program will not simply spend five hours a week playing games at school. While gaming skills are important, the classes will include 90 minutes of physical training optimized for the games in question, with work on reflexes, strength, and endurance. Each class will be split; 15 students will play while the other 15 perform physical exercise. In an interview with Dotablast, Petter Grahl Johnstad, head of the school's science department, says that the students will have their performance graded, with game knowledge and skills, communication, co-operation, and tactical ability all being assessed.
http://dotablast.com/first-public-high-school-in-norway-include-esports-core-curriculum/
DotaBlast: Will the esports subject be elective or mandatory?
Petter Grahl Johnstad: The esports subject will be offered on an elective basis, in the same way as we currently offer sports specializations in handball and football (soccer).
DotaBlast: Are there any precedents in Norway, or is Garnes Vidaregåande Skule the first public school to introduce esports into its core curriculum?
Petter Grahl Johnstad: We are the first school at the upper secondary level in the country to offer esports as a specialization program. There are, however, two folk high schools* in the country that do offer esports.
*Norwegian folk high schools are one-year boarding schools based on the idea of learning for life, not only for occupations and degrees.
DotaBlast: According to an article published by gamer.no, the esports classes will also involve physical training, lifestyle and nutrition advice. Could you please go into more detail?
Petter Grahl Johnstad: In addition to the obligatory physical education subject, the student will have 90 minutes of training orientated towards their specific sport, for example training of reflexes, general body strength and endurance. This training will focus on enhancing the student’s ability to stay focused over a long period of time whilst performing their sport.
DotaBlast: Since three of the games you’ve shortlisted – Dota 2, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike – are team sports, it might be difficult to assess students individually. How would the students’ competencies be assessed and graded?
Petter Grahl Johnstad: Assessing and grading sports skills is always challenging. At our school we already have two team sports – handball and football – with the same difficulties in this regard. Examination will be based partly on theoretical knowledge and partly on gaming skills, ability to cooperate, ability to communicate, mastery of tactics, mastery of strategy, and so forth.
DotaBlast: Like you’ve mentioned before, you have launched a survey and your students can express their choice of game by March 1st. Do they have to choose between the school’s options (Counter-Strike, League of Legends, Dota 2, and Starcraft II) or are they free to come up with their own proposals? What happens if a vast number of students suggest games that are not suitable for study in a high school?
Petter Grahl Johnstad: We aim to offer classes in the two most popular games among our applicants. When people suggest new games to include on the list, such as Smite and Call of Duty, we have included them. These proposals have not been very popular so far, so I do not believe that the scenario you are suggesting will manifest in reality. If many people suggest something that will not work, we will of course take charge of the situation and find a solution that works.
more at the links