Private education group Curro, in partnership with Acer, has unveiled its own eSports gaming platform, as it deepens the use of video gaming to help build skills.
The school says the platform allows Curro to take its eSports offering to a new level of learning and upskilling of staff, as it encourages collaboration, communication and critical thinking.
Curro first announced its collaborative efforts with Acer in February, when the two teamed up to advance eSports.
A growing number of high schools and colleges globally are implementing their own on-campus eSports programmes, to capitalise on student interest and increase engagement.
eSports is the fastest-growing sport globally, with a current valuation of $1 billion and projections showing this number will almost double by the end of 2022.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, eSports has become popular at Curro, with the independent school group building a name for itself in the eSports community.
Curro’s eSports programme has registered more than 1 900 learners from across 38 of the group’s primary and 28 of the group’s high schools since its launch in 2020.
Explaining how the platform works, Curro says utilising help and expert guidance from Acer, the new platform is secure and has an extra layer of cyber security to ensure learners’ safety while playing online video game tournaments.
According to Curro, until now, learners playing any of the tournaments, including Apex Legends and Minecraft Squad, as well as traditional eSports games like Rocket League, have not had a central space to view information.
The new platform allows teams to view their rankings and makes it possible for coaches to manage players and co-ordinate tournaments. It also allows communication between players, as well as between players and coaches.
“This new platform allows us to take our eSports offering to a whole new level of learning and upskill our learners and staff even more,” says Angela Schaerer, digital transformation manager at Curro Holdings.
“For example, they can now shout cast (MC) games on the platform, which is an extremely exciting opportunity, and we are already working closely with Acer to introduce a shout casting mentorship programme soon.
“We are planning to host our inter-Curro Cup tournament later this year, to determine the best eSport school in the group,” notes Schaerer.
“We are amazed at how quickly our eSports programme has taken off. Our parents now understand that eSports is not just about playing video games as an extracurricular activity, but in fact, provides an entire world of opportunity for our learners, as an integrated part of our curriculum.”
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