IGN has an article today about Fortnite in schools.

I particularly liked the closing:

Fortnite is everywhere, so it’s inevitable that teachers will run into it. But the way our educators respond to it is as varied as the way gamers do. It can be an academic distraction or a much-needed moment of quiet. It can dominate classroom chatter or help kickstart important conversations. It can seem more important than school, or give teachers a means of connecting with younger minds. Teachers and students aren’t likely to see eye-to-eye on gaming in the classroom anytime soon, but one thing is clear: Fortnite has scored its own Victory Royale in the battle for student attention in a way no other media has.

It seems like every generation has their game distraction, and every year it gets easier to take the game with you.

I remember Tetris being one of the games that kind of took over the school, but it wasn’t really played too much in school.  

Pokemon (which I did play, and I currently am playing) took over schools for a while with the Gameboy games and then the card game.  I was just a little too old for that time period though.

Being in the schools now though, I see Fortnite all the time.  As a teacher, it has made me hate the game.  Kids don’t even try to hide their addiction around me.  

They can play these games on their phones, and I would encourage them to look at limiting the app during school hours, but I bet the kids would find a way around it.

I find it interesting that Fortnite has lasted as long as it has.  I applaud the developers for making something with that kind of sustain, but it would be nice to not have to compete with it in schools.

Anyway, the article is an interesting read, so give it a go.