Jemma Best, Head of Products in the UK, EVERFI: We were
conscious that we were going to be bringing a course that was developed in the USA to the UK where the education system is very different. EVERFI’s UK office helped us to review the content, localise it in terms of language and context and develop accompanying support resources for teachers which highlight how the course links to the schools curricula for all the UK home nations. We also created career pathway information which aligns with the UK qualifications system across school, further and higher education.
Again, what stage is Play to Learn UK at and how is Play to Learn structured? CB: We launched to UK schools in February and are looking to engage with 25 schools across the UK. With the course being available entirely online, we (alongside teachers) have been able to see how it’s being used. It’s still early days but we’ve already seen good uptake!
How integrated is the DSH initiative with EVERFI/ Play to Learn? CB: The content we’ve developed through our partnerships with Digital Schoolhouse and EVERFI is designed to meet the different needs and interests that children across these age groups have. For primary school students, we’ve focused on building engaging
workshops that introduce the concepts of coding in a simple, fun way while being aligned to the computing curriculum in Primary schools. It’s designed to prepare them for the more structured computer science curriculum they will experience at secondary school. Meanwhile, for the older 11 to 14 year olds the focus of EVERFI’s
interactive digital course is to allow students to be a part of a game design team and bring to life what a meaningful career in STEAM might look like just at that point where students are often making critical decisions about their futures.
Why is EA backing these UK initiatives? CB: The UK is home to some of the world’s best creative and entrepreneurial talent, and we want to keep it that way! We’re pleased to play our part in inspiring the next generation of talent and to do what we can to make sure our industry continues to benefit from a diverse and skilled talent pool. To help us get to that future sooner, we want to build positive educational experiences that get kids excited about careers in all fields of STEAM, including video games. Partnering with Digital Schoolhouse and EVERFI allows us to do just that for school kids of all ages and, crucially, do it in a way that tackles the barriers many schools are facing. Access to technology, particularly in primary schools, is a
huge barrier to STEAM education. Through our work with Digital Schoolhouse and EVERFI, we’re reducing the need for advanced tech or devices in the first instance - making sure any school has the tools they need to take part in the action.
Why did you partner up with Ukie and EVERFI specifically? CB: Both partners are seasoned experts in their field. For instance, Digital Schoolhouse is our UK trade association Ukie’s
May 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 33
education programme, and they have a strong track-record of engaging primary schools across the country with games-focused resources to help teach coding. We were already aware of the incredible work that the Digital Schoolhouse team was doing in the UK so the partnership was a natural fit for us. Similarly, our existing successful partnership with EVERFI in
America and Canada meant we could bring a tried-and-tested programme to new audiences. We’d already learned so much from our work with them over the last seven years and it was great to be able to roll out the initiative in the UK.
How do you hope to follow up on these initiatives? CB: We’ve agreed to two-year partnerships with both Digital Schoolhouse and EVERFI and we’re hopeful this marks the beginning of our UK partnerships with these organisations. We’re always thinking about new ways we can support the next
generation of creators. While plans are still to be firmed up, we hope that in the future these partnerships will lead to new opportunities for staff from our studios across the UK to visit local schools and share their experiences about careers in video games.
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