SILVER SPRING, Md., April 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — EA SPORTS, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, have teamed up to host an interactive live virtual field trip on Thursday, April 14, 2016, at 1:00 p.m. ET for students nationwide. Featuring Washington Redskins quarterback, Kirk Cousins, The Magic of Madden Virtual Field Trip offers middle school students (grades 5-9) the unique opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at EA SPORTS Tiburon Studios in Orlando, FL., to explore the science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) powering today’s popular Madden NFL series. Register here.
Available at no cost, The Magic of Madden Virtual Field Trip will introduce students to EA SPORTS engineers, animators, designers, analysts and producers at one of the largest studios among Electronic Art’s worldwide video game development facilities, as they discuss their career paths and applications of STEAM in bringing Madden NFL to life. Students will go on an exclusive studio tour, and get a firsthand look at motion capture – the process used to record movements of objects or people to animate digital character models – when EA SPORTS animators transform a student from Florida’s Orange County Public Schools into a Madden NFL character! Additionally, Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins will join the virtual event to answer questions submitted by participating students.
Classrooms may register for the 45-minute virtual event, and submit questions ahead of time to be answered by Cousins and EA SPORTS experts. To register for the event, learn more about the Madden NFL: Football by the Numbers digital interactive and the free accompanying educator resources to help enhance the learning experience and make meaningful classroom connections, visit: http://footballbythenumbers.discoveryeducation.com/.
“I encourage educators to integrate this virtual field trip into their classroom instruction to engage students through interactive, digital content,” said Dr. Jesus Jara, Deputy Superintendent at Florida’s Orange County Public Schools. “This virtual event provides a unique opportunity for students to learn directly from creators of video games on the importance of STEAM, and make connections from their classroom to everyday life and real-world careers.”
The Magic of Madden Virtual Field Trip is part of EA SPORTS, NFLPA and Discovery Education’s EA SPORTSMadden NFL: Football by the Numbers program, a comprehensive educational initiative that taps into children’s excitement about football and video games to ignite a passion for math and science. The program offers a first-of-its-kind digital learning game that teaches math and science concepts – such as angles, force, probability and velocity – using famous Madden NFL highlights. The digital game consists of interactive scenarios that are broken down into three sections: Explore, Learn and Game Play. In “Explore,” students are introduced to football-related concepts, positions and strategies that relate to the game. Students then “Learn” about math and science concepts as they relate to various offensive and defensive strategies. Lastly, students apply learnings during “Game Play.”
“We can’t wait to open our doors and show students our studio, introduce them to some of our experts, and open their eyes to what goes into making our video games,” said Daryl Holt, VP and Head of Operations for EA Tiburon. “If this Virtual Field Trip encourages students to get more involved in STEAM in any way, then we will consider it a great success.”
“The NFLPA is about connecting businesses with sports and the players themselves,” said Ahmad Nassar, President of NFL Players Inc. “This successful partnership is a perfect example of thinking outside the box to connect education with NFL players. Students learn directly from players, not only through the Madden NFL: Football by the Numbers platform, but through interactions with players who bring the concepts to life.”
“Discovery Education is thrilled to continue our partnership with EA SPORTS and NFLPA to offer an engaging learning opportunity that showcases the real-world relevance of STEAM to students’ beloved pastimes – video games,” said Lori McFarling, Senior Vice President, Discovery Education. “Through this virtual event, we hope to get students excited about the spectacular types of careers available to them with STEAM training, and encourage classrooms nationwide to join us for what is sure to be an extraordinary event.”
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