Chrisland Schools, UK firm partner on game-based learning

As part of efforts to revolutionise education, Chrisland Schools Limited has partnered a United Kingdom-based firm, eStars, through the innovation of game-based learning for students in junior and senior levels.

The Managing Director of Chrisland Schools, Ibironke Adeyemi, said the initiative would help address the challenges of critical thinking skills.

While lauding the enduring legacy of the school since its establishment 47 years ago, Adeyemi reassured of their readiness to introduce new innovations that would enhance students’ performance and make them relevant in the world of work.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of eStars, Mags Byrne, said Chrisland was the first school approached by the team for the pilot programme in Nigeria.

She explained that the innovation was aimed at equipping students for prosperous careers in the rapidly growing gaming industry by integrating eSports into the school curriculum, while students can also learn essential skills such as teamwork, leadership, and time management.

She added that the platform would also create opportunities for students to develop careers in eSports and develop them with skills that could be applied to other fields of human endeavour.

“It is dedicated to filling this gap by offering comprehensive education on the various aspects of the industry, guiding students towards future careers in eSports, and leveraging it as a tool to enhance traditional education,” she stated.

This, she noted, would not only prepares students for success in the gaming world, but also equip them with skills applicable to other fields.

She said: “We are not just teaching the students to be gamers, we are teaching them about business, jobs, and career prospects, using our qualifications as reference points for universities. This approach ensures that students not only develop gaming skills, but also acquire valuable transferable skills applicable to various other fields.”

A year seven student of the school, Ernest Falomo, who had used the platform in its test run stage, noted that the various sections on the eSports platform aid critical thinking, teamwork, and cooperation among others.

He noted that the platform includes sections where a player can see its progress, average score, and time spent on the game.

While reacting to concerns that the eSports could expose students to other social vices, the Executive Head of Schools, Segun Ogunshola, noted that the platform had been configured with internal security measures that restrict learners to the objective of the platform alone.