Key points:

• Esports programs are inclusive and offer students learning opportunities
• How scholastic esports opens up college pathways
• How to build diversity, equity, and inclusion with scholastic esports
• For more news on esports, visit eSN’s Digital Learning hub

Academic esports programs aren’t simply a group of students sitting in a classroom playing video games. Rather, teams and tournaments promote collaboration, critical thinking, communication skills, and offer inclusive environments that welcome students from all backgrounds and with all abilities.

How can schools create esports programs and teams?

Conversations around the benefits of esports have centered on collegiate and secondary levels, but recently, the conversation has expanded to include elementary esports, too. Like any new venture, this is something that takes time to fully understand. The beauty is that there is a room full of experts to journey alongside their teacher. It is incredibly powerful when the classroom is flipped and students have an opportunity to share their passions and expertise with their teacher. Here are 6 tips to start an elementary program.

Where are esports tournaments held?

Esports tournaments can be held in any number of places, including online platforms, sponsor locations, community centers, or in schools. There are many resources out there from educators who have been working to build academic programs globally. One of these resources, the North American Scholastic Esports Federation, focuses specifically on the scholastic implementation of esports, with free curriculum modules created by educators through their scholastic fellows program. Learn more about the basics of esports program creation and tournaments.

Is esports a good career?

Esports is a solid move in an academic career–and, if you put in the work, in a professional career as well. Programs instill important leadership, critical thinking, and communication skills that students will carry with them throughout their education. As we look at examples in schools and the real world, we realize just how much potential these programs have for students. When schools invest in esports teams, they’re investing in high-level hardware that also integrates into STEM and STEAM programs, which means students wind up having more opportunities to get hands-on experience and learn in-demand skills for careers. Many of the skills that students develop by participating in esports also translate to STEAM and STEM career tracks, according to UC Irvine research. Here’s how esports careers help students thrive.

How do I participate in esports tournaments?

You can participate in esports tournaments by finding leagues in your school district and jumping in. Often, program directors will offer tips and best practices when it comes to creating your own program in your school or district. An elementary program that meets young learners’ needs should include considerations for learning space design and high-quality furnishings. Here’s how to get started.

What do esports players do?

The benefits of esports are well documented. A significant body of research has found that students who participate in these organizations benefit from increased emotional regulation, academic achievement, and graduation rates. Competitions have made their way into the hearts and minds of students and youths across the country. An increasing number of schools are launching clubs and competition teams as extracurricular activities that appeal to a broad range of students and can excite fans and viewers all over the world. For institutions of learning, particularly schools that compete for student enrollment, having an established esports program or team can help them stand out the same way a good football or volleyball team can attract both student athletes and fans. Some colleges have even begun offering full scholarships to talented players. Here’s what players can do once they leave K-12 schools.

Key points:

• Esports programs enrich the student experience and instill skills for success
• 4 tips for creating an elementary esports program
• 6 tips to help start an elementary esports program in your school
• For more news on esports, visit eSN’s Digital Learning page

Ask most parents if their children’s school should start an esports team, and you’ll be met with reluctance. Video games? In the classroom? Absolutely not!

The reasons why pile up quickly. Some worry it could lead to their children spending less time on schoolwork and more time on screens. Others fear what their kids may wind up seeing and hearing in online gameplay. More than a few don’t even know what esports means.

I’ve seen up close how those concerns are fading while esports in education become more and more prevalent. At Mira Mesa High School in San Diego, California, which has launched an esports program, teacher Brandon Trieu has proven through the success of the team he coaches, the Mira Mesa Marauders, that esports are a valuable addition to the classroom. They instill important leadership, critical thinking, and communication skills that students carry with them throughout their education journey. Teachers and administrators in schools from coast to coast are recognizing the same lesson.

“I haven’t seen any drawbacks to it. I’ve seen kids be more attentive to their grades. They want to be a part of something,” Trieu says. “The family environment that we’ve created here, I don’t see what school doesn’t want that.”

Esports programs offer students all the benefits of traditional athletics, including evidence of increased engagement, higher GPAs, and a deeper sense of community, according to research conducted by UC Irvine Connected Learning Lab. Supporting esports in education gives students a leg up, empowering them to foster a passion for technology and innovation while allowing schools to integrate powerful hardware into their STEM and STEAM curricula.

When schools invest in esports teams, they’re investing in high-level hardware that also integrates into STEM and STEAM programs, which means students wind up having more opportunities to get hands-on experience and learn in-demand skills. The PCs and laptops used for esports have high-performance processors, graphics cards, RAM, and solid-state drives, among other cutting-edge features, so they transition seamlessly into the classroom for students to pursue their interests in professions and hobbies that require resource-intensive applications. Many of the skills that students develop by participating in esports also translate to STEAM and STEM career tracks, according to UC Irvine research: “Esports is a community that natively fosters acquisition and mastery of knowledge and skills that connect to high tech sector jobs not only in the games industry but also in data science, software and web development, social media marketing, and event organizing.”

While this may come as a surprise to teachers and school administrators who are more familiar with classics like Pac-Man rather than Valorant or League of Legends, the rise of esports in education is part and parcel with the widespread popularity of competitive esports. Colleges and universities like Miami University, which boasts one of the country’s top collegiate esports programs, offer scholarships to students who compete on their teams. The North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) has developed a framework for schools to launch their own teams, providing a supportive foundation to train teachers as coaches.

For students, esports teams are a way to make connections with peers and mentors through a shared passion. Roughly 3 in 10 Gen Z teens say that gaming is their favorite form of entertainment, according to a Deloitte study, and 70 percent say that gaming provides social and emotional benefits because it helps them stay connected to others. The researchers at UC Irvine reached a similar conclusion, finding that student participation in school esports teams leads to “significant feelings of connectedness across all levels of the program, from team to club to peers to the league as a whole.”

Success stories like Mira Mesa High School aren’t so much an outlier as a sign of a growing trend. At Oswego East High School in Oswego, Illinois, teacher and coach Amy Whitlock has also had a similar front-row seat to engaging underserved students through esports.

Students are proud to compete for the school’s esports team, Whitlock believes, which leads to deeper ties between themselves and their peers, their teachers, and their community. “They want to come to school. They want to be in school. They want to work in their other classes,” she says.

Of course, schools can’t just simply snap their fingers to create an esports team. It’s an involved process that calls for budget, space, infrastructure, and equipment, just like any traditional sport. Based on our experience, we recommend following these four best practices to help you set up your program for success.

1. Identify the core goals for your esports program.

What skills do you want the team to develop? How many students can you accommodate? What grade levels will be invited to participate? How often will the team meet, practice, and compete? By answering these questions first, you’ll give yourself a clear roadmap.

2. Every team’s equipment needs will be unique.

Find a reliable hardware partner with experience implementing high-quality devices, who can help you determine your equipment needs based on the goals of your program. For schools with dedicated space like computer labs, desktop PCs are a smart way to maximize your investment. At schools where space is at a premium, laptops are an effective way to prioritize flexibility.

3. The ambition of your program is a key factor.

A casual club with a limited budget should focus on equipment that ensures smooth gameplay, while teams that want to compete in and win tournaments should seek out high-performance hardware. Consider each piece of equipment: High refresh rate monitors, mechanical keyboards, and gaming mice offer competitive advantages, while infrastructure upgrades like ethernet jacks and a robust electrical supply that provide reliable power and connectivity are necessary for everyone from hobbyists to league champions.

4. Most of all, it’s essential that efforts are led by a motivated coach.

While it’s almost guaranteed that every school has students who would join a team, every program needs a leader like Trieu or Whitlock who is committed to fight for student interests and lobby for the budget, space, and equipment their team needs to succeed.

Myths about esports are still widespread. But that’s no longer a good reason to sit on the sidelines. As more and more schools choose to start their own teams and bolster their STEM and STEAM programs, they’ll discover what Mira Mesa High School and Oswego East High School already know: Esports don’t detract from the student experience. They enrich it.

This month’s episode of Innovations in Education features James O’Hagan, Vice President of Education Innovation at LeagueSpot.

O’Hagan shares his insights on the continued emergence of esports as an integral part of any school’s overall education experience; how student use of tech in esports compliments and clashes with other onscreen activities; and what strategies educators can use to make the best of this phenomenon.

Key points:

• Esports programs are inclusive and can lead to positive student outcomes
• A simple approach with accessible, easy-to-use tools, is critical

Scholastic esports is rapidly growing, and many schools are starting to incorporate esports programs into their curriculum. The benefits of esports make a compelling case for creating a program: Research shows that students who participate in scholastic esports experience social and emotional benefits, increased academic achievement, and higher graduation rates.

These positive learning outcomes make esports popular in secondary grades, with both students and educators advocating for the addition and growth of scholastic esports in their middle and high schools. But esports isn’t just for the older kids, and starting an esports program in early elementary school can be an effective way to lay the groundwork for esports participation as students make their way into higher grade levels.

When young students have opportunities to engage in game-based learning and online games, they are able to build a foundation of skills and interests that can connect them to future esports opportunities in middle school, high school, and beyond. However, creating an elementary esports program isn’t quite the same as creating a secondary program, because younger learners have different abilities and learning needs than their older peers. It’s key that the program is tailored to meet these young learners’ needs, and learning space design and quality furnishings play an important part in supporting program goals.

To ensure the development of a successful elementary esports program, here are four helpful tips:

1. Simplify the Tech

The technology used in an elementary esports program should be user-friendly and simple to operate. While today’s young children are digital natives, they still may struggle with complex technology, so it’s essential to choose devices and software that are easy to use and understand. An easy game to start with is Minecraft: Education Edition, which can run on most networks and devices and is simple and intuitive for students to play. Selecting a game like Minecraft removes the need for expensive and complicated gaming computers, controllers, and keyboards, which can be challenging to learn and have high upkeep costs. Instead, focus on technology that is durable and reliable––such as tablets and desktop computers––as young children may accidentally damage equipment if it’s not designed to withstand their usage.

2. Ensure Comfort

The learning space you utilize for your elementary esports program should reflect the physical needs of young learners. Furnishings should be convenient and comfortable, with chairs and tables that are appropriately sized for the children who will be using them. Adjustable desks and chairs can be helpful to ensure comfort and function across grade levels, so that students can easily alter their gaming space to get their monitors and keyboards at a comfortable height. If your esports space will be hosting students who are not always actively playing or are just observing, tiered modular seating can also be a practical addition to the space. Finally, make sure the space is well-lit and ventilated, as children are more sensitive to environmental factors than adults.

3. Focus On Skills and Collaboration

An elementary esports program should be focused on developing skills and team-building. Esports can be an engaging way to teach children critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic planning skills, while also introducing them to STEM ideas and concepts. Students won’t learn these skills in-depth, but the foundations they build will carry them into future esports opportunities in middle and high school, where they can further develop their knowledge.

Competition has been shown to have some negative effects on elementary-aged students, so collaboration is an important part of building a successful program for young learners. While scholastic esports is traditionally a competitive activity, working collaboratively is a key part of joining an esports team at all age levels. An elementary esports program should emphasize the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship, so it’s important to incorporate activities and exercises that promote collaboration and communication.

4. Find Ways to Engage Young Students

To create a successful program, it’s crucial to find ways to make esports fun and engaging for young learners. Elementary students have short attention spans, so it’s important to keep the program interesting and exciting. This can be achieved through the use of games, rewards, and incentives, alongside regular encouragement and recognition of achievements. For example, a “Player of the Week” award or a point system can encourage children to work towards personal goals and improve their skills, while also highlighting their accomplishments to their peers and helping them feel proud of their work.

Scholastic esports can be a great opportunity for elementary learners to build and expand upon valuable skills and interests at a young age. Through an elementary esports program, children are able to develop a foundation in esports that can set them up for future success in middle school, high school, and college esports programs.

Related:
How esports is creating scholarships, jobs, and school investments
Are you leveling up with esports?

Educational institutions in the United States have long promoted and prided themselves on their campus grounds, endowments, opportunities, and student achievements. Student life and athletics are also powerful messages and motivators for applicants, and can be the deciding factor when students are choosing between multiple institutions. Comprehensive esports programs effectively combine these two ideas, offering modern education and skills necessary to enter a growing industry while creating a new competitive team for the school to promote.

As a result of growing esports popularity and institutions’ recognition of its educational value, esports competitions have made their way into the hearts and minds of students and youths across the country. An increasing number of schools are launching esports clubs and competition teams as extracurricular activities that appeal to a broad range of students and can excite fans and viewers all over the world.

Esports Takes on Traditional Sports

For institutions of learning, particularly schools that compete for student enrollment, having an established esports program or team can help them stand out the same way a good football or volleyball team can attract both student athletes and fans. Knowing that only 54 percent of youths participate in traditional sports in a given year, educators and school officials have come to appreciate the surging popularity of gaming among young people raised in a fully-connected society, as well as the opportunity to relate various courses and educational disciplines to careers in gaming and digital media.

As of the 2022 school year, 175 colleges and universities have joined the National Association of College Esports (NACE), which officially recognizes varsity esports programs, up from just seven at its founding in 2016. Many of the member schools became involved in esports through student-run clubs that eventually joined organized leagues and merited investments in equipment or space to enable competitive play.

Some colleges have even begun offering full scholarships to talented players, with Harrisburg University being the first to award full rides to an entire 16-person esports team in 2018. The team won ESPN’s inaugural Collegiate esports Championship in May 2019.

A larger number of member schools have launched partial scholarship programs, awarding anywhere from $500 to $8,000 to individuals. These benefits draw applicants from all over the world, with a competitive application process that often involves visiting the campus for a tryout. To streamline and popularize the process for students, some schools now issue recruiting forms specific to esports where applicants can detail their experience, share their public social profiles and submit highlight reels for consideration.

As the competition heats up and attracts ever-larger investments and public attention, the number of participating schools is likely to continue growing, with more four-year, two-year and even vocational institutions joining the fray.

Starting from Scratch

In order for fledgling esports programs to deliver meaningful experiences for students, they must first evaluate and consider whether their existing computer gear and infrastructure are sufficient to perform at a competitive level. The games played in competitions typically require up-to-date gaming PCs with powerful graphics cards, while high-quality monitors and peripherals can greatly boost player effectiveness thanks to higher picture quality and brightness, better contrast, clearer communication with teammates and highly responsive input devices.

Some programs have succeeded in repurposing existing equipment and spaces to provide a cost-effective opportunity without encountering opposition, which has been a popular model for middle schools and high schools. While esports is indeed growing quickly, there can still be obstacles, particularly at the K-12 level, in attaining funding and support from school boards or administrators responsible for a wide range of student and community needs.

Luckily, schools can fund their programs relatively quickly by applying for various esports-specific STEM grants. These grants, such as ByteSpeed and Frey Scientific, provide equipment money so schools can promote esports while navigating tight budgets.

Schools can also apply for broader grants by demonstrating the link between scholastic esports STEAM. There are many state, federal, and foundation grants that award dollars to projects that provide proven skill development and learning outcomes in the STEAM disciplines.

The opportunities are virtually limitless for educators to tie instruction or even entire courses to the many esports careers that fall within STEAM disciplines, including graphic design, computer coding, 3D animation, broadcasting, engineering and more. 

Building the Pipeline

Bolstered by such grants, middle school and high school esports programs are popping up all over the country as students express greater interest in the scholarships and opportunities on offer.

In response, higher education institutions and nonprofits are bringing together middle school, high school and collegiate esports players to strengthen the flow of students from one education level to the next. For example, The North America Scholastic esports Federation (NASEF) partners with the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) to help youth esports players connect with relevant college recruiters and gain insight into opportunities for scholarships, events and quality education. Partnerships like this are a testament to a growing esports education ecosystem, one that’s cultivated from the ground up.

Institutions and administrators that want to address the widest swath of student interests and attract diverse student populations are helping put esports on an equal footing with traditional sports. Through the rise of educational scholarships, famous student players, and even fortunes made possible by recent changes allowing student athletes to sign sponsorship deals, it’s clear that esports has become an important campus activity and will continue to be an enrollment driver as the industry matures.

Related:
Build ‘beyond the game’ for max esports impact
6 tips to help start an elementary esports program in your school

Imagine a new school program that is gender-neutral, inclusive to students with physical disabilities, bolsters school pride through competitive meets and is eligible for full and partial scholarships from over 175 colleges and universities.  You don’t have to be a gamer to see the value that esports (competitive videogaming) could bring to your school.

Collegiate varsity esports began in 2014 when Robert Morris University created scholarships for a League of Legends e-sports team.  Nearly a decade later, over 175 colleges and universities have followed suit, resulting in a $1.38 billion industry in 2022. The videogaming industry is forecasted to grow 7 percent annually and likely to top $200 billion in revenue in 2023. 

The industry offers many opportunities for a wide variety of skillsets–and not just at the higher-ed level, but at the K-12 level, too.  For example, creatives will find opportunities to develop fictional worlds, math and science interests can lead to careers in programming and engineering, and marketing and project management paths blend the other two.  Broadcasting esports has also been a viable path to careers in journalism and entertainment.

Developing an esports program requires a dedicated space. Esports can be a way of encouraging student engagement (particularly from students who have not found other programs of interest), especially if the school can offer a gaming environment that is more robust than what a student might experience at home.

Functional needs are similar in many ways to other athletic programs: requirements include a place to practice and coach, a competition set-up, and areas for broadcasters and spectators.  Team building can also be facilitated with soft seating and access to food (traditional sports concessions or vending).

From a design and engineering standpoint, the rooms require thoughtful HVAC systems that can compensate for the heat generated from gaming equipment. Consider the industry’s rapid evolution and plan for the ability to upsize tech with additional empty conduit runs, extra space in electrical panels, and the largest capacity internet connection available.  Esports can be especially appealing to students with physical limitations, so discussing inclusivity beyond typical ADA requirements early on is important. The right acoustics and ergonomics can also make a big difference in the performance and success of the team.

The design team can also help educators establish cultural credibility for the new program.  Consider locating the facility with adjacencies to other sports or theater programs.  Prominently locating the esports space can counter the cultural narrative that gamers belong in “mom’s basement.”  Incorporating your school’s athletic branding through murals and logos is consistent with what students can expect in the collegiate environment.

For instance, the University at Buffalo (UB) recently completed a state-of-the-art esports lounge on campus.  The design team used aesthetics to respect and reinforce gaming culture through the selection of lighting, wall and floor materials, colors, and other added value enhanced items, such as murals, paintings, logos, statues, etc. Bold graphics, colors, and the traditional gaming “pixel” were celebrated in the UB project through the repetitive use of squares in floor, wall, and ceiling treatments. As a result, the space provides an official and professional-looking place to game that students can feel proud of.

The pandemic delivered explosive growth to the videogame industry and there are no signs that interest in gaming is waning. Now is the time to meet students where they are.  In doing so, educators can provide a sense of belonging and an opportunity to guide students to secondary education and even encourage a career doing what they love.

Related:
Build ‘beyond the game’ for max esports impact
6 tips to help start an elementary esports program in your school

Each year, we share our 10 most-read stories. Not surprisingly, many of this year’s Top 10 focused on innovative ways to engage students, digital resources, and online and hybrid learning strategies related to post-pandemic teaching. This year’s 2nd most-read story focuses on creating an elementary esports program.

The benefits of esports are well documented. A significant body of research has found that students who participate in scholastic esports programs benefit from increased emotional regulation, academic achievement, and graduation rates.

These benefits only scratch the surface of the positive consequences for students participating in scholastic esports. Thus far, conversations around esports have centered on collegiate and secondary levels, however, a recent change in the winds has shifted the conversation to elementary esports. 

My question: Why haven’t we started this conversation sooner?

I’ve come a long way in my journey from a skeptic with a critical view of esports in schools to a fierce advocate. In one year, I shifted from being an educator who didn’t value an expanded role of video games in schools to a teacher developing an elementary esports curriculum, running multiple esports summer camps, and developing an elementary esports after school club. 

I teach an elementary STEM class called iCreate in South Haven Public Schools. We are a small community located on the “sunset coast” of Lake Michigan. Our economy is driven by tourism and agriculture. Nestled in Michigan’s fruit belt, South Haven is the Blueberry Capital of the world. Our small community hosts the National Blueberry Festival every year and countless high school students work the local u-pick blueberry fields.

My STEM class, iCreate, is a part of our K-12 STEM continuum. In iCreate, students develop problem-solving skills through engineering challenges, collaborative inquiry projects, and media creation. While I have long been a proponent of game-based learning, I had (up until this past year) been skeptical of the role of esports in education. 

Summer 2021: Farmcraft Summer Camp

As the summer of 2021 approached, the faculty at South Haven Public Schools was tackling the best way to address pandemic learning loss while keeping students connected to the one stable thing in their lives: school. An invitation for teachers to design and lead summer enrichment camps seemed like a good way to connect with students in a manner not afforded during the regular school year. I could design a camp without worrying about standards alignment, summative assessments, or grades.

After a year of remote and hybrid learning, leading a camp with any sort of technology was the LAST thing on my mind. In fact, I wanted to lead a camp about gardening, one of my favorite summer pastimes, but how do you get 10- and 11-year-old students to sign up for a camp about plants? 

Enter NASEF’s Farmcraft 2021. 

Our local esports league commissioner mentioned that the North America Scholastic Esports Federation had released a Minecraft world for esports competition called Farmcraft. The mission: work collaboratively to successfully farm in different biomes. While many of our community’s families rely on local farms for their livelihood, students understand very little about agriculture. Farmcraft would provide the perfect opportunity to draw students into a science camp; competitive video game play would interest students, and discussing healthy gaming habits would interest their grown-ups. Added bonus: I would have plenty of opportunities to get dirty planting and exploring farming with my students.

I organized my summer camp around three key concepts: healthy gamer habits, farming around the world, and the life cycle of plants. Every day, we explored plants through hands-on experiments, farmed in Minecraft, and stayed active with recess breaks. 

On the last day of camp, the head of the SWMI Esports League, a NASEF affiliate, joined us to oversee a friendly scrimmage. Students received team jerseys that were custom designed for the camp: shirts with our summer camp logo representing healthy bodies, healthy minds, healthy relationships, Farmcraft. 

Tip 1: Get started, then get better

Like any new venture, esports is something that takes time to fully understand. As the late Dr. Richard DuFour reminded educators, we have to be willing to “get started, then get better.” The beauty of esports is that there is a room full of experts to journey alongside their teacher. It is incredibly powerful when the classroom is flipped and students have an opportunity to share their passions and expertise with their teacher.

Related:
Build ‘beyond the game’ for max esports impact
How Minecraft and agriculture lead to an esports competition

Tip 2: Start small–and start with what you have

I attribute the success of our elementary esports program to what we learned during that camp. Students were surprisingly receptive to conversations around balancing media habits (including video game play) because we connected it to recess. We connected what we learned in science explorations to Minecraft, even developing our own aquaponics systems in Minecraft to compare them to crops that received water alone.

A trial run such as a summer camp or afterschool event (such as an Hour of Code family night) is a great way to determine viability of a more extensive program. Minecraft: Education Edition is a great title to start with. The controls teachers had, a wide variety of content and worlds, and Minecraft’s “low threshold but infinite ceiling” (as Microsoft says) made it a title that was accessible to nearly every student. It could also run on almost every platform, and both PCs and mobile devices.

Tip 3: Embed esports into existing curriculum

Esports can be a standalone unit (or class), however, collaborative gameplay, mindfulness, team building, and reflection are practices that can be embedded in countless curricular units. Esports worlds such as NASEF’s Farmcraft 2021 and 2022, NASEF and AEOP’s Junior Solar Sprint, and Random House’s League of Literacy are just a few examples of the possibilities of embedding esports and Minecraft: Education Edition into existing curricula. I redesigned digital citizenship lessons to provide ample opportunities for students to interact with one another in a digital environment at the same time as they worked collaboratively IRL (in real life).

Rather than a standalone lesson, we co-constructed classroom expectations to extend how we treat each other to include interactions in digital environments. I now observe fewer instances of rage quitting (leaving games angry), tilting (emotional dysregulation), and griefing (playing in a way that affects others’ gameplay and enjoyment in a negative way). We followed a very basic principle: video games are for everyone. 

Tip 4: Make it authentic

The worst activity in school is the “experiment” where every student follows the same steps and the teacher already knows the answer. That’s not authentic learning. 

Esports affords us an incredible opportunity to learn with and from our students. As teachers, we can facilitate learning and help students find the language to describe what they observe, learn, and wonder. Students, in return, can share their expertise of video games with their teacher and each other. Maya Angelou said, “The sum of us is greater than all our parts.” Some of the most memorable learning moments arise from a question and the response, “I don’t know, but let’s find out together.” Don’t be afraid to jump into esports without knowing all of the answers. There is nothing wrong with adjusting plans and going on “side quests” with students. 

Tip 5: Be intentionally inclusive

Diversity, inclusion, and access do not happen accidentally. To have a program that allows students to see themselves in nontraditional roles, teachers must be intentionally inclusive. Find role models and videos that feature people from marginalized populations in STEM careers. Personally invite students to participate in esports clubs and camps who might feel as though they don’t belong. Explore resources from The GameHERS, Women in Games, and other groups who are intentionally reaching out to marginalized groups.

Tip 6: Keep everyone on the same team

Competition in schools has been shown to have a negative effect on elementary-aged students. While some cultures value competition, others value collaboration. In elementary esports, inclusion and competition are mutually exclusive. Although students were divided into teams for gameplay, we learned from each other during Farmcraft Camp. Teams shared out new strategies and discoveries every day. There was no ranking system, no score keeping. Teams set goals for themselves based on performance from the day before. The only player a student should be competing against is themself. 

Elementary Esports in the Blueberry Capital of the World

The success of our elementary esports camp inspired me to apply to be a NASEF Scholastic Fellow for the 2021-2022 school year. As a Scholastic Fellow, I have continued to explore esports and develop materials for bringing esports into elementary. As a part of the Fellows Program, I am writing an elementary esports curricular unit for NASEF’s Community Library.

I’ve expanded the esports program in South Haven Public Schools to include an exploration of STEM careers in the esports ecosystem. I am adapting materials from the NASEF curricula to make key understandings in esports accessible to elementary students. This summer, I am leading two elementary esports summer camps. In the works is an after school esports club (requested by a parent!) and family gamer nights in which young gamers can play Minecraft with their grown-ups. The addition of a Nintendo Switch to our lab, made possible through a Meta Educator Grant from the LCG Foundation, will expand our titles to include Rocket League and Fall Guys. 

Located on the sunset coast of Lake Michigan, South Haven community members have always shared a love for fresh picked blueberries and the beauty of Lake Michigan in every season. Over the past year, the development of our elementary esports program has helped us see that we share a love for gaming, and I for one, can’t wait to see what the future holds.

When we started the Orange County High School Esports League as a pilot program in January 2018, there was a lot of skepticism about bringing esports into schools and into classrooms. Based on successes that included increased student engagement and positive classroom and social developments, we expanded to form NASEF, the nonprofit North America Scholastic Esports Federation. There are many school-based esports tournament programs or lesson plans out there, but we emphasize true scholastic esports: intentional learning intertwined with gameplay, whether in the classroom or in an out-of-school program.

NASEF now falls under the even larger umbrella of the World Wide Scholastic Esports Foundation, underscoring a huge attitude shift as educators around the world embrace the concept. That is not to say that there aren’t a few that still need convincing, but most progressive educators are now eager to adopt programs like NASEF’s that are so engaging for students and build both social-emotional and career skills.

These positive outcomes have always been the goal. NASEF’s mission is “to provide opportunities for ALL students to use esports as a platform to acquire critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in work and in life.” Its vision is “to ensure that ALL students possess the knowledge and skills needed to be society’s game changers: educated, productive, and empathetic individuals.”

Those are lofty objectives for programs centered around video games! To determine their efficacy, the Connected Learning Lab at the University of California, Irvine, has conducted unbiased evaluation of our programs and curriculum, helping NASEF’s team to zero in on aspects of esports clubs and classes that are most beneficial.

A report from the UCI research team says:

For the last three years, our research team has investigated the outcomes of the NASEF program. Our early quantitative and qualitative findings suggest positive outcomes for participating youth in areas such as STEM interest, school affiliation, emotional self-regulation, and positive relationships with adults and peers.

NASEF continues to evaluate impacts on key variables and improve its programs accordingly. As always, the focus is not on gaming but on factors for student academic, social and emotional growth, including:

• STEM interest
• Communication
• Constructive Mindset (toward learning)
• School Engagement
• Self-Regulation
• Relationships with Others
• Wellness
• GPA
• School Attendance
• Student attitudes toward NASEF and its program
• Whether positive outcomes are equitable for all students

While specific structures are created individually by schools and out-of-school organizations, all clubs in NASEF offer students the opportunity to participate in a variety of “Beyond the Game” roles. The majority of NASEF students are members of competitive teams, but nearly a quarter (22%) also serve in other roles such as team manager, gameplay analyst, artist, or streamer. The goal is for students to experience various options as they consider education and career choices, at the same time building portfolio pieces they can showcase on college and job applications.

In 2022, the governing body for sports in California, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), made a shift and selected NASEF as its esports partner based on its strength in connecting education to gameplay. “There are many CIF member schools currently engaged in esports and we are excited to align with NASEF as they provide an additional education-based opportunity for all our students and member schools,” said CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti. In a press release, CIF said this collaboration is a model for state athletic associations around the country who also have an objective to develop student-athletes of character and promote quality academics.

In its evaluation, UCI suggested that NASEF continue its focus there:

By improving on key aspects of NASEF’s current robust career pathways programme, we can prepare students for professional internships and job applications, effective both in and out of university. Building connections and getting advice from professionals will ensure that students trust the information they are given. Students should leave NASEF programs not only with a high-quality secondary education and professional skillsets but also with a knowledge of how to make those skills visible to academia and industry. Whether it be resume, portfolio, and reel development, or individual CTE programs that grant exposure to fields and techniques, experiences should be widely available and engaging, applicable well beyond the scope of higher education and industry, and – most importantly – of value to students who need them.

To that end, several NASEF programs have been designed specifically to provide assistance for both college and career planning and exploration.

To help students with choosing a college and major, as well as succeeding in college programs, NASEF has partnered with the National Association of Collegiate Esports. In one joint livestream, leading collegiate esports directors offered students valuable advice ranging from esports talent and persistence to getting good grades and being “clean” on social media if they want to succeed. Recordings of this series of livestreams with collegiate program directors and coaches are available on YouTube, and additional conversations will be offered in the new school year. Blogs and videos are consistently provided to help students explore their options and find their niche.

NASEF students are encouraged to build a digital portfolio through our partnership with Tallo, an online platform that connects the next generation of talent with opportunities. Colleges, companies, and organizations can identify and connect with students who have demonstrated interests and skillsets. In the spring, NASEF, Tallo, and NACE partnered to host an esports college fair. Over the course of the event, more than 14,000 matches were made between students and esports recruiters, and more than 1,000 conversations took place. In the new area of esports study and competition, these early connections are important. With our goal of personal development in addition to gameplay, NASEF was thrilled to see the career interests of the students:

As scholastic esports continues to be recognized for its power to connect learning and play, the first step for any educator is to just get started! A small program will quickly gain momentum; many of the articles in this issue of eSchool News provide advice to help you. For the greatest student benefit, UCI’s research makes it clear that a robust program has the most impact on students:

We defined “extent of program” quantitatively in terms of the richness of resources and amount of activity, including: the number of club staff members, student roles occupied, competitions attended, and game titles played. Tests examining the relationship between these variables and student outcomes reveal multiple significant, positive patterns of association. Among the patterns found, club staff size correlates positively with STEM interest, school engagement, and relationships, suggesting that the more adults involved, the more students engage in academic content. Higher numbers of differentiated student club roles correlate with higher GPA, implying that students who are able to participate in more roles within their club perform better academically. Students in clubs that participate in a larger number of competitions showed higher school engagement, and students in clubs that play a larger variety of game titles show higher levels of communication and social relationships. Finally, clubs that take advantage of more of NASEF’s resources show greater student wellness overall.

[Also,] students in school sites where an esports classroom curriculum is available show higher gains in communication and relationships than students in schools without it. These findings suggest that schools with greater commitment to esports may foster greater academic and social gains.

As UC Irvine’s research demonstrates, across a wide variety of schools and community organizations, the more extensive the program version that is implemented, the greater the gains. That is why NASEF continues to offer the opportunity to join free, offers its curriculum and tournaments free, and provides its in-depth training and professional development. NASEF’s goal is to help educators worldwide build programs that don’t just entertain, they ensure that ALL students possess the knowledge and skills needed to be society’s game changers.

Our world is changing around us in so many ways, and the climate crisis is proving to be one of the paramount challenges of the 21st century. As temperatures rise, our food systems across the globe feel the impacts of this man-made phenomenon. This heightens the pressing need to mitigate our carbon emissions, as well as adapt to climate impacts. We need to foster sustainability across all spheres, especially in the preservation and resilience of our agricultural systems.

Despite the fact that we all consume food every day, there is a disconnect between the needs of modern agriculture and challenges many farmers face due to climate change. So few of us truly know where our food comes from and teachers do not always have tools for raising awareness and educating on this important topic. This is why NASEF Farmcraft was developed. 

Farmcraft is a global esports competition hosted by the nonprofit NASEF and the U.S. Department of State. It is aimed at students grades 3-12 and participation is free for students from all over the world. This year we had participants from 68 countries! Teams register with the support of an educator or other adult sponsor and take part in a wide variety of activities that teach about the connections between modern agriculture, climate change, and biodiversity.

The crux of the program lies in the use of a Minecraft world that has been specifically constructed to address agricultural challenges across 5 diverse biomes. Using this world, students take part in mission-based challenges within the Farmcraft world during the regular season, and over 500 teams from around the world registered this year to compete in a fun and safe learning environment. 

“Why Farmcraft? Because we need to bring learning to where people are and in a context that they find to be useful,” said Adam Cornish, policy analyst and Farmcraft co-lead at the U.S. Department of State. “Students (and even some adults) are able to jump into Farmcraft and immediately begin learning using a gaming system that they’re familiar with.”

Within the game itself, students get to choose which biome to play in and then are presented with the challenges of growing crops under the competing pressures of obtaining a maximum yield, climate change, and sustainability. Of course, students may have limited knowledge on which agricultural techniques are most sustainable and effective. For example, the first choice students must make is what type of tilling practice they would like to use, and while they may not know the specific pros and cons of each one, the game provides a space for them to learn by both visually depicting those results and in writing by providing educational content from in-game characters. Students go on to choose and plant their crops, and they even have options to utilize modern technologies, such as the use of crops that have been genetically engineered for specific useful traits. This opportunity for experiential learning is key in developing not only knowledge on sustainable agriculture, but also a passion for climate change adaptation and mitigation. 

“There is a difference between telling students what may or may not be good choices that make a positive impact and allowing them to explore choices for themselves,” said Erik Leitner, STEM and Computer Science Instructional Facilitator for Broward County Public Schools. “Minecraft has always been a sandbox that provides players a platform for experimentation, creation, and finding unique solutions. In the case of Farmcraft, those skills are harnessed and students are given the freedom to experiment with decision making and collaboration to see the impact their choices make both on harvests and the environment.” 

Beyond playing in the unique Farmcraft world, the students have been able to engage more thoughtfully with different issues surrounding climate change, sustainability, and agriculture through “Food for Thought” sessions. Speakers included: Dr. Anastasia Bodnar from the USDA, who spoke on Agricultural Biotechnology; Dr. Tracy Powell from USAID, who provided information on women in agriculture; and Dr. Steven Mirsky from USDA, who spoke about the use of agricultural tools that foster sustainability/productivity in agriculture.

In addition to those topics, one Food for Thought session was led by an actual farmer, who was able to give participants insights into what real-life farming actually looks like. NASEF Farmcraft developer Brian Dickman also spoke about video game development during one session.

Overall, students were able to engage with experts in each of these fields and learn significant farming principles, while also picking up tips that could possibly give them a leg-up in the official season. The combination of in-game play and virtual events like these provides a unique opportunity for students to truly engage virtually and learn experientially via multiple modes of transmission.

A student from Bangladesh commented, “Watching the Food for Thought streams also taught us many things about Farmcraft. We learned about modern-day farming and technologies like crop rotation and even genetic engineering. I even wrote about how crop rotations keep soil healthy in my classroom [assignments].”

The game developer, Brian Dickman, CEO of Cleverlike Studios, said, “Video games are a powerful way to help students develop empathy for situations that are typically outside of their reach. Rather than learning about abstract concepts, we can implement them as gameplay rules. Students experience impactful learning when they try to balance these real-world factors to achieve their game objectives. We see these results firsthand with Farmcraft when students reflect on the challenges they confronted and their strategies to overcome them. We’re inspiring the innovators of the future.”

Throughout Farmcraft 2022, students learned about agriculture, sustainability, and climate change, and they also developed key STEM skills. One student in Japan said, “After playing, I found utilizing agricultural drones had benefits such as lower damage to the environment and lower cost and labor effort, which I think suits the current times well.” Another student said, “I realized the farmer’s job was very difficult. If I had a chance, I’d like to talk with farmers to understand what they are doing.”

In addition to Farmcraft, NASEF provides many educational opportunities through blended play and learning. Its Digital Rube Goldberg Machine Minecraft Contest makes the popular traditional physics and STEM competition available to students around the world through the Minecraft platform. The Digital Junior Solar Sprint also transferred a traditional physical competition into the Minecraft world. Junior Solar Sprint (JSS) is a competition hosted by the Army Educational Outreach Program for middle school (5th-8th grade) students to create the fastest, most interesting, and best crafted solar-vehicle possible.

Gerald Solomon, executive director of NASEF, said, “Educators around the world are teaching important principles through our project-based learning Minecraft events. We’re thrilled at the feedback from teachers and students! They love this type of memorable, engaging education. We look forward to presenting more programs that blend play and learning in this way.”

The students illustrate this best: One participant from Bangladesh said, “People might think that success is determined on the results, but I think there is much more to it. Having mutual respect, common goals, open communication and lots of patience can make the team click. Farmcraft challenges us with making quick decisions. We also had to watch out for the strengths and weaknesses in our team members. Sometimes there is someone who is very good at hunting butterflies, maybe there was also someone who had trouble hunting caterpillars, but in the end, we tried to adjust our strategies to make our run successful.”

It’s easy to see why NASEF Farmcraft was embraced by educators in 68 countries! It taught valuable lessons about agricultural sustainability while providing students from all over the world the opportunity to interact and learn from and with each other. 

The benefits of esports are well documented. A significant body of research has found that students who participate in scholastic esports programs benefit from increased emotional regulation, academic achievement, and graduation rates.

These benefits only scratch the surface of the positive consequences for students participating in scholastic esports. Thus far, conversations around esports have centered on collegiate and secondary levels, however, a recent change in the winds has shifted the conversation to elementary esports. 

My question: Why haven’t we started this conversation sooner?

I’ve come a long way in my journey from a skeptic with a critical view of esports in schools to a fierce advocate. In one year, I shifted from being an educator who didn’t value an expanded role of video games in schools to a teacher developing an elementary esports curriculum, running multiple esports summer camps, and developing an elementary esports after school club. 

I teach an elementary STEM class called iCreate in South Haven Public Schools. We are a small community located on the “sunset coast” of Lake Michigan. Our economy is driven by tourism and agriculture. Nestled in Michigan’s fruit belt, South Haven is the Blueberry Capital of the world. Our small community hosts the National Blueberry Festival every year and countless high school students work the local u-pick blueberry fields.

My STEM class, iCreate, is a part of our K-12 STEM continuum. In iCreate, students develop problem-solving skills through engineering challenges, collaborative inquiry projects, and media creation. While I have long been a proponent of game-based learning, I had (up until this past year) been skeptical of the role of esports in education. 

Summer 2021: Farmcraft Summer Camp

As the summer of 2021 approached, the faculty at South Haven Public Schools was tackling the best way to address pandemic learning loss while keeping students connected to the one stable thing in their lives: school. An invitation for teachers to design and lead summer enrichment camps seemed like a good way to connect with students in a manner not afforded during the regular school year. I could design a camp without worrying about standards alignment, summative assessments, or grades.

After a year of remote and hybrid learning, leading a camp with any sort of technology was the LAST thing on my mind. In fact, I wanted to lead a camp about gardening, one of my favorite summer pastimes, but how do you get 10- and 11-year-old students to sign up for a camp about plants? 

Enter NASEF’s Farmcraft 2021. 

Our local esports league commissioner mentioned that the North America Scholastic Esports Federation had released a Minecraft world for esports competition called Farmcraft. The mission: work collaboratively to successfully farm in different biomes. While many of our community’s families rely on local farms for their livelihood, students understand very little about agriculture. Farmcraft would provide the perfect opportunity to draw students into a science camp; competitive video game play would interest students, and discussing healthy gaming habits would interest their grown-ups. Added bonus: I would have plenty of opportunities to get dirty planting and exploring farming with my students.

I organized my summer camp around three key concepts: healthy gamer habits, farming around the world, and the life cycle of plants. Every day, we explored plants through hands-on experiments, farmed in Minecraft, and stayed active with recess breaks. 

On the last day of camp, the head of the SWMI Esports League, a NASEF affiliate, joined us to oversee a friendly scrimmage. Students received team jerseys that were custom designed for the camp: shirts with our summer camp logo representing healthy bodies, healthy minds, healthy relationships, Farmcraft. 

Tip 1: Get started, then get better

Like any new venture, esports is something that takes time to fully understand. As the late Dr. Richard DuFour reminded educators, we have to be willing to “get started, then get better.” The beauty of esports is that there is a room full of experts to journey alongside their teacher. It is incredibly powerful when the classroom is flipped and students have an opportunity to share their passions and expertise with their teacher.

Tip 2: Start small–and start with what you have

I attribute the success of our elementary esports program to what we learned during that camp. Students were surprisingly receptive to conversations around balancing media habits (including video game play) because we connected it to recess. We connected what we learned in science explorations to Minecraft, even developing our own aquaponics systems in Minecraft to compare them to crops that received water alone.

A trial run such as a summer camp or afterschool event (such as an Hour of Code family night) is a great way to determine viability of a more extensive program. Minecraft: Education Edition is a great title to start with. The controls teachers had, a wide variety of content and worlds, and Minecraft’s “low threshold but infinite ceiling” (as Microsoft says) made it a title that was accessible to nearly every student. It could also run on almost every platform, and both PCs and mobile devices.

Tip 3: Embed esports into existing curriculum

Esports can be a standalone unit (or class), however, collaborative gameplay, mindfulness, team building, and reflection are practices that can be embedded in countless curricular units. Esports worlds such as NASEF’s Farmcraft 2021 and 2022, NASEF and AEOP’s Junior Solar Sprint, and Random House’s League of Literacy are just a few examples of the possibilities of embedding esports and Minecraft: Education Edition into existing curricula. I redesigned digital citizenship lessons to provide ample opportunities for students to interact with one another in a digital environment at the same time as they worked collaboratively IRL (in real life).

Rather than a standalone lesson, we co-constructed classroom expectations to extend how we treat each other to include interactions in digital environments. I now observe fewer instances of rage quitting (leaving games angry), tilting (emotional dysregulation), and griefing (playing in a way that affects others’ gameplay and enjoyment in a negative way). We followed a very basic principle: video games are for everyone. 

Tip 4: Make it authentic

The worst activity in school is the “experiment” where every student follows the same steps and the teacher already knows the answer. That’s not authentic learning. 

Esports affords us an incredible opportunity to learn with and from our students. As teachers, we can facilitate learning and help students find the language to describe what they observe, learn, and wonder. Students, in return, can share their expertise of video games with their teacher and each other. Maya Angelou said, “The sum of us is greater than all our parts.” Some of the most memorable learning moments arise from a question and the response, “I don’t know, but let’s find out together.” Don’t be afraid to jump into esports without knowing all of the answers. There is nothing wrong with adjusting plans and going on “side quests” with students. 

Tip 5: Be intentionally inclusive

Diversity, inclusion, and access do not happen accidentally. To have a program that allows students to see themselves in nontraditional roles, teachers must be intentionally inclusive. Find role models and videos that feature people from marginalized populations in STEM careers. Personally invite students to participate in esports clubs and camps who might feel as though they don’t belong. Explore resources from The GameHERS, Women in Games, and other groups who are intentionally reaching out to marginalized groups.

Tip 6: Keep everyone on the same team

Competition in schools has been shown to have a negative effect on elementary-aged students. While some cultures value competition, others value collaboration. In elementary esports, inclusion and competition are mutually exclusive. Although students were divided into teams for gameplay, we learned from each other during Farmcraft Camp. Teams shared out new strategies and discoveries every day. There was no ranking system, no score keeping. Teams set goals for themselves based on performance from the day before. The only player a student should be competing against is themself. 

Elementary Esports in the Blueberry Capital of the World

The success of our elementary esports camp inspired me to apply to be a NASEF Scholastic Fellow for the 2021-2022 school year. As a Scholastic Fellow, I have continued to explore esports and develop materials for bringing esports into elementary. As a part of the Fellows Program, I am writing an elementary esports curricular unit for NASEF’s Community Library.

I’ve expanded the esports program in South Haven Public Schools to include an exploration of STEM careers in the esports ecosystem. I am adapting materials from the NASEF curricula to make key understandings in esports accessible to elementary students. This summer, I am leading two elementary esports summer camps. In the works is an after school esports club (requested by a parent!) and family gamer nights in which young gamers can play Minecraft with their grown-ups. The addition of a Nintendo Switch to our lab, made possible through a Meta Educator Grant from the LCG Foundation, will expand our titles to include Rocket League and Fall Guys. 

Located on the sunset coast of Lake Michigan, South Haven community members have always shared a love for fresh picked blueberries and the beauty of Lake Michigan in every season. Over the past year, the development of our elementary esports program has helped us see that we share a love for gaming, and I for one, can’t wait to see what the future holds.

I grew up a casual gamer, half-decent at a few games like ‘Yoshi’s Island’ and ‘Rush.’ The most intense PC games I ever played were ‘Minesweeper’ and ‘Frogger.’ Esports and gaming weren’t something I thought would be a major part of my career.

Had you told high school me that I would be a computer science and information technology teacher, she would have not believed you. On top of that, to tell high school me that she would be heavily involved in growing esports throughout the state of Utah, and she would have audibly laughed at you. Seriously–gaming was not on my radar AT ALL. 

But let me tell you how esports found me–and why I’m so happy it did.

The year was 2015 and I was fresh out of college working part-time at a tech company, trying to decide if I would continue to pursue a career in the tech industry, or if I would try to find a teaching job to actually put my education degree to use. I found an hourly teaching position that allowed me to keep my other job, and that seemed like the best of both worlds while I tried to figure it out.  

While teaching, I had a student, Owen, approach me looking for an advisor to sponsor a new club he wanted to run: ‘Minecraft Club.’ I hadn’t been around very long, but I knew one thing for sure–games were not something schools were looking to purposefully put on their computers. I wasn’t opposed to helping him run a club, so Owen and I brainstormed a bit more to come up with a new club idea where Minecraft might be one of the activities. The new club name was “Autism Club.” Owen is autistic and came up with the idea of running a club where students with or without autism could gather together to make new friends.

Owen did such a great job filling out the club application, coming up with a solid objective, and was already starting to plan activities. It was so much fun to watch him feel supported in his ideas and then to watch those ideas come to life. He was flourishing in this opportunity to be a leader and to share his unique view of the world with his peers. 

Autism Club was a success and definitely living up to its defined objective. I loved teaching and interacting with the students so much that when an opportunity to go full time at a nearby school opened up (Pleasant Grove High School), I jumped at it.

At my new school, I didn’t close my classroom door during lunch (which many called a newbie mistake), and it didn’t take long for students to discover that I would let them hang out and play their games in my classroom. I even allowed them to hook up their Wii consoles to the monitors, which quickly created a space for the very popular game Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, and thus the “Smash Club ” was officially  born.

What common theme did Autism Club and Smash Club share? The fact that I was providing space for kids to gather who didn’t feel like they had a space to gather. The majority of the students who were choosing to participate in these clubs were very similar in the sense that they were usually a bit socially awkward, they maybe weren’t the “best” students in the school academically or when it came to traditional sports, but these clubs provided an environment where they could have a team experience, leadership opportunities, and even build friendships with students they probably wouldn’t have interacted with during their high school experience otherwise.

As a teacher, I was seeing some unintended positive consequences in the classroom because of this club: students were getting to know me and started asking about the courses I taught. Because I was building a rapport with students through the club, they weren’t as intimidated to take a technical course that they otherwise wouldn’t have registered for.

I had one student who was in my programming class. He wasn’t a traditional student, per se, but we had a great relationship. He loved learning, just not what we were learning during class–he preferred to come up with his own projects. One evening while sitting at parent teacher conference, I received an email from him about one of his projects that he had  been super frustrated about during class:

“I finally did it Ms Yocom!!! It works completely as it should!!! I”ll show you on Friday! I’m so stoked. I also figured out and fixed what was wrong with that string thing. :D”

I hope my students see me as their mentor, advocate, and cheerleader. THIS email is why I teach–facilitating those “aha” moments where students see how awesome and capable they are. Helping students recognize their talents, and to see how powerful they can be when they have successfully learned how to learn. 

Two months later, my heart broke when I received word from my school that this student had died by suicide. 

As a brand new teacher, still in my first 5 years of the profession, this was such a hard thing to cope with. I still struggle to talk about this student without choking up and just wanting to tell him how awesome he is. At his memorial service, when talking to his mother, she said that the Smash Club was one place where he felt like he had connections and friends. 

At that moment, I had my own “aha” moment when I realized this “fun” thing I had been facilitating was about a lot more than gaming. 

Whether you call it Autism Club, Smash Club, Gaming Club, esports, or something else entirely (we’ve now evolved to be the “Cyber Vikings”), meeting the students where they are at – showing them that you care, getting interested in what they are interested in, finding careers that relate to their interests and making it part of your club is what will make it successful. Remember, I didn’t come from an extensive gaming background–and these kids aren’t playing Frogger. My inexperience has actually been a blessing in disguise, as I have had no choice but to have this truly be a student-run club. I provide adult supervision and focus on logistics and team building opportunities, but the students have stepped up to coach each other, help each other improve their game, and even hold each other accountable for schoolwork.

During the pandemic, esports was one of the only activities in Utah that was able to continue, which provided students with a unique way to connect that didn’t require in-person competitions. Now that we are back in school in-person, it has been amazing to see how much the students value that in-person club time and how important the in-person competitions have been to them. Parents love that there is a structured, social, supervised environment for their kids to participate; admins love that it is inclusive, building bridges across cliques and social circles; and students love playing their games and meeting new friends with similar interests.

How to find support for an esports program in your school

If you are on the fence about starting esports at your school, I would highly recommend you do it. It can be a lot to take on, but don’t compare yourself to programs that have been running for multiple years. Pick one thing, one game, to start with and grow as you can with your students. If they want a YouTube channel, help them learn how to stream. If they want better equipment, encourage them to research how much the equipment they want costs, and then to find sponsors or put together a fundraiser for it.

I strongly believe esports fits into the Career and Technical Education (CTE)  ecosystem and would love to see it supported there in a way that highlights related careers. If you haven’t seen the amazing graphic put together by Nico Besombes, I invite you to check it out here. I really appreciate how Nico illustrates the career possibilities related to esports.

There are many awesome resources out there from educators who have been working to build these programs globally. One of these resources, the North American Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), focuses specifically on the scholastic implementation of esports, with free curriculum modules created by educators through their scholastic fellows program. I would invite you to reach out to me, NASEF, or any of the scholastic fellows. The scholastic esports community is so supportive and I know any of us would be happy to discuss programs or answer questions. 

We have been fortunate in Utah to have the support of a local education foundation, Success in Education, where I am also the director of technology education. I invite you to check out what we are doing here. Please reach out if you have any questions. In my opinion, “sharing is caring” as we strive to do what is best for our students.

The inclusion of scholastic esports in academic programs is yielding strong and widespread results in the youth of today. Research demonstrates that strong communities are developing, with deep engagement from students who are involved in scholastic esports, particularly students that normally don’t become involved with school activities. Because of that draw, scholastic esports is in a pivotal position to help build diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at schools all around the country.

Organizations play an important role in fostering DEI among students. NASEF’s core values include diversity and respect, and its club members must adhere to the Code of Conduct to participate in tournaments and challenges. Likewise, HSEL competitors agree to abide by behavior standards in community events. 

From the beginning of NASEF’s curriculum in southern California to the 10 magnet schools in Miami-Dade Florida that piloted the curriculum with their students, we have seen a marked improvement among students with respect to DEI. NASEF is now seeing students all across the country and even the world are joining esports clubs and opening up new avenues for themselves.

Photo provided by Mark Godinez

Mark Godinez, AP Computer Science Teacher at South Dade Senior High School in Florida, has focused on creating a better environment in his esports classroom to get more young women and those who identify as non-binary to participate. One of the major ways he’s helped improve the DEI of his scholastic esports program is by recognizing that these programs are about more than gaming. He uses other interests, like fan art, to get more of his students involved in the program, then introduces students to other concepts within the gaming space or gives them leadership roles when creating esports tournaments in their local community.

“Our goal is to open the eyes of our students and myself so we can see the connection,” Mark said about the overall goal of his program. “I used to say explore, but I got rid of that word. Exploring is great, but we really want to build connections for the younger students so they say, ‘I love doing this and this is where it connects,’ so we can start focusing on careers they can pursue when they get older.”

Photo provided by Mark Godinez

At the broader level, we go to the state of Texas where Bradford Harris, Coordinator of Digital Innovation for Aldine ISD in Houston, Texas and Director of Learning for TEXSEF, is working on improving DEI for all the programs in the state.

Bradford and the team begin with a basic assumption for establishing scholastic esports and DEI at each school. From there, they work with each individual school or district and tailor a plan to fit that.

“With esports, we know there is no cookie-cutter approach to it all,” Bradford commented. “There may be one district or campus that says we need to do it as an after-school program and another district that can do it as a class during the day. We approach it so it fits their needs, not our needs.”

Photo provided by TEXSEF

This acknowledgment is critical when it comes to building out esports programs that foster DEI. Everyone—students, teachers, administrators—will react differently to scholastic esports programs as they spin up. Adjusting them to fit the specific needs of each individual situation allows them to grow more organically and function without arbitrary guidelines that could hamstring them.

Photo provided by Randall Deich – Two Students Participate in a Coaching Session

Once your programs are up and running, you’ll likely need to get some help to fill out your own deficiencies. When you do this, look for people who aren’t like you to help out. If you bring in speakers from local companies, make sure those speakers are diverse; this will show your varied students that they, too, can achieve those jobs and become mentors for others.

However, you need to make sure you aren’t succumbing to tokenism interviews and talks. Too often, women and people of color will only be asked to talk about being a woman or person of color in the space. For them, it’s extremely tiring to talk about the same thing over and over when they have so much more to discuss. In addition, when they are forced to speak for an entire group, they won’t be able to talk about themselves and therefore they are lost in the conversation. Simply ask them to talk about the cool projects they’ve worked on for those companies—the diversity aspect will be communicated by their participation and sharing about what they love.

Photo Provided by Randall Deich – Students Practicing Super Smash Bros.

Also in Texas, NASEF Scholastic Fellow Lindy Meiser is doing incredible work with an under-served community using 3D printing. She helps incarcerated youth develop much-needed skills that will allow them to find jobs when they are released.

“For me, [esports/gaming] is a conduit to show them that this is not game over—that you do get to restart anytime you want to in life,” Lindy told us. Incredibly, her program has helped many youth to restart their lives with jobs at local manufacturing plants, and many also pursue college with the help of her scholarships. Her work is a shining example of how to establish equity in a historically under-served and forgotten community. You can read more about her work here.

Another simple way to help foster DEI at schools is to make sure your media is diverse. Too many programs will say they are diverse, and yet when you look at the photos they choose to represent themselves, they’re homogenous. While many may just take what they can get when it comes to media for their website, it’s an equally important aspect to pay attention to. When prospective students look at your website, they want to see people like them there, or, at the very least, a diverse group of students. If you’re looking for a good example of media that promotes DEI, Shenandoah Esports does an excellent job.

“We are proud of the diverse esports program we have built for all students at Shenandoah University,” said Joey Gawyrsiak, Director and Associate Professor of Esports at Shenandoah University. “It is evident from our online presence and community that we value an inclusive program and have created an environment where all students from all backgrounds feel welcome. While we are happy with the diverse makeup of the program and have been nominated for awards because of our diversity, we recognize that there is still a long way to go for Shenandoah and all of esports to be a welcome and equitable space for all current and future students.“

Scholastic esports naturally impacts DEI because it brings in students who aren’t normally in standard school programs like stick and ball sports or music programs. Teachers and parents have testified that they see students who are normally alone at breaks flourish in these scholastic esports programs, often coming out of their shells and really connecting with other students and teachers.

Photo provided by Randall Deich

Even more to the point, while activities like band or sports require you to play, it’s not a requirement when it comes to scholastic esports. 

In fact, there are many ways for a student to participate and connect in scholastic esports that don’t even involve playing video games. Whether it be creating art, hosting, directing, IT, or marketing, each area allows students to become leaders and develop their skills.

As students participate in those scholastic esports opportunities, they build a solid foundation for future endeavors with a work portfolio that is beneficial for college applications or job prospects. That experience in the digital space, especially one as fast-moving as esports, demonstrates high-value experience to future employers who may not understand the digital space. Fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion through  scholastic esports programs opens the door to future opportunities to all youth, impacting not just their school experience but the trajectory of their careers and lives. 

Esports programs continue to grow at a rapid pace at both the collegiate level and at the high school level in the United States. With that growth, there are often salient questions that parents have when their children dive into the new world of scholastic esports and content creation: Are scholastic esports legitimate? What will they teach my child? Are you actually serious about a bunch of kids playing video games?

The answer to all of those questions is, without hesitation, yes. We are no stranger to those questions at NASEF and often talk with parents, educators, and students about the benefits of scholastic esports and the inclusion of video games into school curriculums.

Scholastic esports allows educators to open new pathways for their students in the burgeoning digital age of entertainment and education. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated that in many ways, forcing classrooms to use online tools. Scholastic fellows are educators in a community of practice who develop and refine in- and  out-of-school curriculum that leverages student interest in esports. One of the most common refrains among the NASEF fellows was how the digital tools of gaming and esports helped keep their students connected to each other in a world-state that demanded we stay apart. In our interconnected world, games are often a dominant force in bringing millennials and Gen Z together.

As more colleges invest in esports, more pathways have emerged for students and faculty. At Boise State, Doc Haskell, Clinical Associate Professor and Head Coach, has a blossoming esports program for students. Not only did they offer $100k in scholarships FY 21, they also plan to up that to $150k for the upcoming year. The scholarships they give out aren’t just for those who play on the competitive teams–the scholarships are also for those who want to pursue work in any aspect of esports.

Photos provided by Doc Haskell

Throughout his program he employs students in various aspects: shoutcasters, directors, technical directors, replay directors, hosts, graphic designers/artists, observers and observer directors, journalists, and more. Even with the well-defined roles in the Boise esports program, students aren’t limited by what they last did. “Someone might direct one night and be the technical director the next. Others might host for one event and switch to another role the next, depending on the game,” Doc Haskell told us. When they’re creating a show, the behind-the-scenes production looks like it could be for any sport or show.

The program Doc runs at Boise State is not unlike many other programs across the country. These scholastic esports programs engage students in numerous disciplines in STEM subjects and in the arts. In a majority of instances, there will be more support staff than actual players in a program because of all the things that have to be accomplished in order to run an esports program and field a team(s). Teams need coaches, analysts, psychologists, physical trainers, marketers, designers, fashion designers, accountants, and more. By having these roles available to students in the esports program, Doc is preparing them for their careers once they finish college—all without having to actually play or be good at games. The key takeaway is that they’ll have a leg up on their future competition because they’ve developed a working portfolio to show future employers because of how hands-on esports programs are.

“I don’t ever feel like I need to defend [my esports programs]. If somebody thinks it isn’t really worthwhile, I ask them to come down and watch for a little bit. They see all the things they normally see—film preparation, game planning, personal evaluation, communication management, learning how to be gracious in an uncomfortable loss, or learning how to be kind and humble in a win. It’s all character development. It’s why sports are so important,” Doc told us when asked about how scholastic esports helps with the personal development of his students.

Photo Provided by Doc Haskell

In our own coverage of career opportunities, we’ve talked with dozens of professionals in the esports space about their roles on teams like Cloud9 and Team Liquid and from companies like Activision-Blizzard and Riot Games. The refrain we often hear is to get involved with your college program and learn the ropes there. Professional esports organizations will look favorably on that experience. If there isn’t a club or program, start one. The same advice goes for those at the high school or middle school level.

At the broader level, Michael Brooks, Executive Director of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) has seen many of the academic programs spin up new academic opportunities at colleges around esports in the last couple of years. Whether they’re majors, minors, or certificate programs, colleges are offering educational opportunities in many niche areas of sports management, just like traditional sports; courses on online community management, esports sponsorships, advertising, and digital event management already exist. He expects more to pop up in the future since sports management is too broad to cover the wide range of roles in sports and esports.

“We know there are a number of companies who love to hire former student collegiate athletes because of the inherent traits and skills that are developed by inter-collegiate competition: teamwork, communication, diligence, maintaining an accurate schedule,” Michael said. “When many companies see you’re a student-athlete, you move to a different pile. You’re more of what they’re interested in for employees than the average person. Esports is that exact same avenue because all of those characteristics are the same.”

Photos provided by NACE

Esports may be relatively young, and scholastic esports even younger, but it has become a driving force in the community, both within education and outside of it. It allows students to join their interests of games and esports into a traditional academic structure, which motivates them where little could before. As we explore scholastic esports even more in the coming years, you should expect to see more progress in academics, scholarships, and career pipelines as more employers, educators, parents, and students see the vast benefits of these programs and enrollment for their future.

We are excited to bring you the very first in a series of eSchool News Guides, which are full of resources, tips, trends, and insight from industry experts on a variety of topics that are essential to the classroom, school, and district.

The eSchool News Esports Guide offers expert insight on why esports are quickly becoming part of classroom instruction.