Fortnite Esports Camp: Skill Building and Team Practice (5-Session)

— Day 1 - Set Up and Playing With Others: Our primary goal for this day is to assist students in setting up Fortnite and to familiarize kids with our camp’s objectives. We start off the camp with an icebreaker to create a comfortable space for kids to get to know each other. In this session, we’ll concentrate on interpersonal skills and how to communicate effectively with each other during team play.

— Day 2 - Drop Points, Looting, & Circle Rotations: Students will learn about the various drop points on the map, how to loot effectively, and perform circle rotations. They will also get to practice these skills in game. 

— Day 3 - Farming and Building Under Pressure: Our counselors will show students how to farm effectively from wood to steel and how to acquire the materials they need in game. Students will learn and then practice their turbo building skills. 

— Day 4 - Skirmishing: Students will discover how to evaluate their current battles to determine if a skirmish could go in their favor. They will also learn ways to reduce the probability of an ambush and how to maintain higher ground.

— Day 5 - Goal-setting and Training Routine: Self-improvement is an ongoing process so we will equip students with ideal ways in which they can train in Fortnite and find pain points they can improve upon. Students will also learn how to adapt to their own style of gameplay and discover what play style works best for them. 

Connected Camps is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2015 with the mission to build a global online community where kids build, code, play, and learn alongside one another. Our programs are designed based on extensive research in the learning sciences. The founders and leaders of Connected Camps, Mimi Ito and Katie Salen, are professors at the University of California, Irvine, who specialize in the design of online learning experiences that are fun, social, and directly tied to academic outcomes. Learn more about the research behind Connected Camps at the Connected Learning Alliance resource site: https://clalliance.org/ 

One thing that makes our programs unique is our near-peer mentorship model. Our programs are led by young adults and college students, often with the help of high school volunteers. We hire counselors and coaches from top universities in computer science, game development, economics, social studies, and the arts, and train them on how to facilitate project-based learning with younger kids. Our young instructors have the same passion for technology, games, and digital making as our learners, and take on the role of instructors, as well as fellow enthusiasts and relatable role models.

The curriculum for this program was designed by a team of counselors pursuing degrees relevant to the material at hand. The learning experiences in this class are driven by these counselors’ academic expertise in the field, along with their desire to share their passion for the subject with a group of excited learners. All of Connected Camps’ curricula are vetted by the organization’s Product Manager, Matthew, who possesses a Masters in Secondary Education and a deep belief in the power of collaborative virtual learning.

This class does not require any out-of-class work. We do offer optional challenges that students can work on as an extension of what is taught in class. We provide guidance and instructions for students who are inspired to delve deeper into the topic. The purpose of these challenges is to give students the opportunity to supplement their learning with additional material that aligns with their passions and goals. Students may then integrate their learnings into their project and showcase their accomplishments to their classmates.

With this approach, students can explore the subject on their own. We give students the opportunity to share what they’ve explored independently with the class.

At Connected Camps, we assess each student’s progress by engaging them in reflection of their own work and the work of their classmates. By practicing in Fortnite and applying concepts taught in class, our students are able to solidify their learnings through hands-on application. Our counselors’ focus is to provide qualitative feedback to further each students’ individual goals and interests, and we do not use letter or number grades.

In addition to our in-class reflections, our counselors also provide post-session recaps that offer a summary of what is accomplished each day. Through these summary reflections, students are able to review the material and share with their parents what they did in class. We find this approach allows kids of different interests and abilities to engage with our teachings in a way that is particularly relevant to them.

7 hours 30 minutes per week in class, and no time outside of class.