If you want to know about the next big thing in ed tech, you should know about esports.
Here are takeaways from the "Esports in Education: Everything You Wanted to Know" session hosted by Microsoft that took place at #ISTE19.
The Stats
Future ready skills
Improvements in:
- Attention
- Problem solving
- Digital literacy
- Technology fluency
- Math achievement
School Success
- Students who play esports are know to have:
- Increased attendance
- Increased participation in school activities
- Decreased at-home game play
- Increased GPA
College Scholarship Opportunities
Hundreds of colleges provide scholarships for esports athletes. Currently there are more than 16 million dollars in scholarships.
STEM Interest
Video game playing is positively correlated with interest in STEM Fields. Esports are STEM.org approved.
There Is A Curriculum
The High School Esports League has a curriculum and you can access it at bit.ly/gamingcurriculum.
Career Readiness
Students learn about platform technologies, databases, big data, and machine learning.
Accessibility and Inclusion
All students can participate unlike traditional sports.
No legs, no hands, no excuses. Always been my motto. No matter what obstacle comes my way I FACE it head on. Win or lose, I'll always try!June 18, 2017
Social Connections
Esports are a great way for students to connect.
Esports is not just about competition! Many students are involved for the social connections! Esports can be the great equalizer and give all students the opportunity to succeed. @Brinkmanship @CDWJoe @InnovativeEdu #ISTE19June 23, 2019
Don't know what esports is?
Esports or electronic sports are a form of competition that happens when people play video games competitively. Just like football players play football together, esports players play video games together. Just like baseball players fill stadiums, so do esport players. It is a one billion dollar industry with more than 500 million people predicted to watch them in 2020.
Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal.
