US teacher goes viral with unorthodox teaching method

A teacher from Oregon offers his students a very special lesson. The teaching content is to be conveyed with 20 Xbox consoles and the Game Pass.

Oregon, USA – Teachers are always looking for new teaching methods and innovative ideas to convey the content of the lessons in the most attractive way to students. But rarely is it possible for students to really enjoy their lessons. A teacher from Oregon now shows that school can be done differently. Because he plans to teach his class using multiple Xbox consoles and Xbox Game Pass.

Lessons with Xbox consoles – Subject matter is taught through video games

That is the plan: The teacher shared his project on Reddit under the name AnonymousCerealBowl. There he also immediately showed a picture of the future equipment of the class. Instruction is given on 20 Xbox Series S consoles and four Nintendo Switches. A PS5 can also be seen in the picture next to matching controllers and charging stations. On Reddit, questions from users about the usefulness of the purchases and the implementation of the lessons began to pile up.

How to learn: With the Xbox consoles and the Game Pass, an English class is to be taught at the American senior level. This corresponds to the twelfth grade in Germany. The video games are intended to introduce students to various literary concepts, such as the hero’s journey. It is therefore possible that God of War will soon be on the class schedule.

However, which games will actually make it into the classroom is not yet certain, as the teacher is still in the planning phase. Some short games should be played through completely by the students and in others the teacher will only use different passages.

But “The Stanley Parable” is supposed to be very popular. This game is very different from traditional video games. The focus of the game is to make various decisions that significantly affect the story. AnonymousCerealBowl stated on Reddit that the game is one of his favorites and definitely shortlisted for class. However, he would like to obtain most of the games from the Game Pass.

Supported by subsidies: The teacher submitted an application for his project to the responsible school authorities and this was approved and even supported by subsidies. If you assume the new price for the consoles, the PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles cost a total of around 7,200 euros – and that without the rest of the accessories.

Teaching with Xbox Consoles – The Potential of Video Games

Video games are not new territory: Video games no longer have a bad reputation and the prejudice of the shy nerd is long overdue. Almost everyone has had some contact with video games at some point in their lives, even if it’s just for a few rounds of Candy Crush. According to Statista, around 50 percent of the population in Germany play games.

In the age group of 16 to 29-year-olds, it is even 80 percent, as surveys have found. The online portal for statistics takes into account all people who play video games at least occasionally. Teachers could therefore reach their students very well via “console lessons” with the Xbox Series X or PS5.

What video games teach: Video games take their players on a journey. The topics that a certain title revolves around can be completely different. The stories are about friendship and family, but also about loss and grief. In some titles, players are faced with moral decisions, while others serve to relax and leave a good feeling. Historical events are also dealt with in some games and processed correctly.

A small Berlin indie studio developed the game “Through the Darkest of Times”. With their game, the five-strong team managed to portray the civil resistance in Berlin during the Nazi era. This also shows that behind video games there are not only large corporations hoping for a lot of money, but also small studios who want to share their stories with the world.

Since books have always been part of the curriculum, video games could be a useful addition. After all, stories are told through both media. So if the Xbox and Game Pass lessons are successful, other schools may soon have “gambling” on their timetable.