Vinicius banks on football to inspire young minds
IN a primary school in Brazil, where football holds great importance, students are motivated to excel academically in classrooms designed to resemble football fields.
Using a virtual avatar inspired by star forward Vinicius Junior, students receive encouragement for every correct answer.
Seated on cushions adorned with football patterns on classroom floors made of artificial grass, students utilize tablets and smartphones to engage with an educational app developed by the Vini Jr Institute. This initiative was founded by the Real Madrid athlete to enhance public education in underprivileged communities.
“I find it easier to learn using the app; it feels like playing a game,” said 11-year-old Ana Clara da Silva during an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Sao Goncalo, Vinicius’s hometown on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.
Da Silva attends the Visconde de Sepetiba municipal school, one of 10 in four Brazilian states to have received educational aid from the institute.
Some 4,500 students and 500 teachers have benefited from the project, launched in 2021. By the end of this year, it hopes to have reached 30 schools.
With no intention to replace human teachers, the app was designed as an aid.
Each pupil has a personal account, where their progress is logged as they answer questions presented in a playful, football-inspired way on subjects including mathematics, Portuguese, or science. In typical gaming format, each school year is presented as a “season,” and each subject as a “match,” while the avatar “Vinizinho Jr” celebrates each correct answer as if it were a goal.