Take a look at this photo – the larger man on the left was crowned one of the 2004 FIFA World Players of the year. Tell me – does he look like your typical professional football (otherwise known as soccer to the uninitiated) player?

 

Quoting the FIFA official website:

Rio de Janeiro’s Thiago Carrico de Azevedo lived up to his country’s footballing heritage by becoming the first champion of the FIFA Interactive World Cup after a gruelling day of competition.

The world’s top eight players waged war for the prestigious title, but Thiago never lost his cool as he steered his France team through the competition playing EA Sports’ FIFA 2005. He outsmarted close friend and online ‘game-mate’ Matija Biljeskovic 2-1 in a cliffhanger of a final. His victory at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, which was streamed across the world live over the internet on FIFA.com, drew enthusiastic applause from both players and spectators packed around the gaming pod. 

You have got to give it to FIFA for their incredible forward thinking in this area. Here they have, as they continue to do so today –  recognized the best footballers in the world – whether they be the grass running variety or the thumb using variety. You see, the FIFA Interactive World Cup is a giant video game tournament in which players compete against each other in the Football World Cup as played on the XBox 360.

Jump ahead 10 years from now – can you picture a professional video gamer on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine? 

In much the same way that many professional sports developed, video games are becoming an increasingly acknowledged and respected part of mainstream society. Think about basketball – now one of the richest and most glamourous sporting professions in the world, but its groundings were far more simple.

In the winter of 1891, Dr James Naismith, the PE professor of McGill University in Montreal created a game with a soccer ball and a peach basket to help keep his students in shape during the long New England winters. The game has developed in a few ways since then but the name that Naismith’s students dubbed the game has stuck – Basket Ball – you may have heard of it?

Nothing will replace the passion, sweat and discipline of the real thing – but just as in education, technology is opening doors for many to be involved in something greater than themselves and participate in the things that they love that were previously off limits or out of reach for them.

Think about your classroom – what tools and strategies can you deploy to allow your students access to areas of thinking or development that previously may have been out of bounds for them?

Written by Phill Nosworthy.
Sydney Beyond Chalk Facilitator