Learn how to teach with Fortnite Creative in your classroom

Steve Isaacs

Steve Isaacs

Steve Isaacs developed and teaches an internationally recognized middle and high school game development program. Steve was honored as the 2016 ISTE Outstanding Teacher, the PBS Digital Innovator, and was recently awarded an Epic MegaGrant for his work with Fortnite Creative and Unreal Engine. 
As educators, we often talk about the importance of providing students with real-world experience and preparing them for life after school.

Game development is one of the largest industries in the world, with a variety of job opportunities that span far beyond programming. Visual media is a growing field that transcends games, simulations, XR development, multimedia design, marketing, architecture, visualization, urban planning, and much more. When we provide students with experiential learning using widely adopted tools, we set them up for future success.

Through the medium of interactive 3D, we are presented with an incredible opportunity to leverage student interest and furnish them with marketable skills. And nothing interests teens much more than playing games like Fortnite.

Fortnite Creative is a mode within Fortnite for building your own world within the game, which encourages computational thinking and problem-solving. By bringing Fortnite Creative into my classroom, I’ve been able to create an environment that supports co-learning and puts the responsibility for learning in the hands of my students. I value the idea of student choice, and this approach lends itself to encouraging students to find and nurture their passion for learning. 

To help other educators do the same, I’ve created the Teaching with Fortnite Creative course. Its goal is to provide teachers with a base understanding of what Fortnite Creative is and why it’s a valuable teaching and learning tool.
Image courtesy of Steve Isaacs and Brian Dickman
Some students may already be experts when it comes to using Fortnite Creative, but it is important for educators to have context as to what is possible and how to create learning experiences that leverage student agency and student expertise while meeting important learning goals. 

But why Fortnite Creative? Fortnite is a hugely popular game known and loved by so many of our students. Creative mode provides a true sandbox environment where students can create anything they can imagine. There is a great library of resources that enables students to place beautiful buildings in their worlds while also having the flexibility to copy and edit anything in the world to build out their vision. 
Image courtesy of Steve Isaacs and Brian Dickman
There are galleries of building pieces that enable students to mix and match elements to create just about anything. There are also interactive devices that embed the ability to automate actions in the game. These devices bring problem-solving and logic into the picture, which leads them naturally to computational thinking. 
Epic has been working with educators to create a library of ready-to-use lesson plans that cover a wide range of content areas. The lessons use software tools like Fortnite Creative, Twinmotion, and Unreal Engine and cover topics in science, social studies, language arts, architecture, design, engineering, and game design. 

The goal is to enable students to create rich content with Fortnite Creative and ultimately build up to using Unreal Engine to create games, simulations, and XR experiences, which is a valuable skill set in itself. 

    Learn how to integrate Fortnite Creative into your classroom today.

    Join us as we create meaningful learning opportunities for our students while we meet them in their world.