Competitive gaming is making it to the mainstream! Competitions are selling out venues like Madison Square Garden and online streaming of Esports is as popular as viewing of professional athletic events. Colleges are starting to provide scholarships for competitive gaming. It is time to build the pipeline to prepare students for these opportunities while honoring their interests and valuing their skills. This chat is aimed at building a community around the growth of Esports in grades 6 though 12 which will naturally feed into the college programs. Join us for the weekly #EsportsEDU chat at 7:30 pm ET. It is a 30 minute chat that will have one question / topic each week to guide the discussion. Use the hashtag #Esportsedu or join us via participate.com at participate.com/chats/EsportsEDU
Steve from NJ - I teach game design and development and run a middle school game club - looking to get more into #Esports on middle / high school level. Favorite shooter - The original Half-Life - love the too much coffee guy - what can i say? #EsportsEDU
#EsportsEdu was an exciting first day. The kids eyes really lit up when I mention game club/ esports. I had a girl come and ask me if she could start a tt d&d game - I said "YES!" Many can't wait...
Well, time to pose our big question for tonight's chat... Is there a place for the FPS genre in #Esports in schools? Yes? No? Maybe? What are your thoughts on this controversial topic?? #esportsedu
Well, time to pose our big question for tonight's chat... Is there a place for the FPS genre in #Esports in schools? Yes? No? Maybe? What are your thoughts on this controversial topic?? #esportsedu
I got FPS cleared at my school for #esports. I just talked about how we need to have the discussion somewhere and school is an appropriate place to have it. #EsportsEdu
Yes, examples like Counter Strike and Overwatch enforce the idea of teamwork and collaboration, skills which are important in both school and life. To toss a whole genre is ignoring a lot of student and learning potential. #EsportsEdu#stuvoice
Hi #esportsedu... totally off on my timezone converting today. Jumping in and out, in the middle of a task. N from 🇨🇦, #edtech creator, game programmer... Loved rocket launchers in golden eye (I always came in as most suicidal - oops).
I also told the school board that Ss are going to go home and play with no guidance on digital citizenship or society's take on FPS. We needed that discussion at school. #EsportsEdu
awesome question. been thinking about it a lot. I really do think there are “greater evils” to focus on and being worried about the guns in Overwatch just doesn’t seem to rank as high as the issues at Riot in terms of things this cmty needs to address. #EsportsEdu
A1: While studies continue to show no link between game violence and real violence, at least in America, the problem of real shootings seems to make it unlikely and generally not best practice IMO #Ehttps://t.co/VwQiY9980n
I will have to listen, but has @riotgames shown much progress in this area yet? I'd love to follow the story in hopes that they can change the culture of their gaming community which surely needs it #EsportsEDU
A1 - Depends on the game. There's a lot of potential RTS skill that can be learned in these games. But I do feel some what queasy having Ss killing other humans as a school activity. I think Ss age and gore factor of games need to be taken into account. #esportsedu
Well, time to pose our big question for tonight's chat... Is there a place for the FPS genre in #Esports in schools? Yes? No? Maybe? What are your thoughts on this controversial topic?? #esportsedu
Here's my feeling... Whether or not we allow these games for #Esports in schools, kids are playing them at home, often in unsupervised setting. I would prefer to have a safe space that allows for encouraging a positive culture (sportsmanship, etc.) around these games. #Esportsedu
I fight the misperception and rail when people try to blame shootings on games. There is a large gap between that and championing classroom Borderlands-though a competitive after school team could be cool. Call of Duty though does have history #EsportsEduhttps://t.co/2q7g34Tham
Hey, gang! Adrian here — media arts educator in SoCal, GM with @NASEFedu and helped author ELA/Esports curriculum — favorite shooter, SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals on #PS2! Early LAN on consoles! 😭💪🏻 #EsportsEDU@Sony@PlayStation
Bringing FPS into a formal curriculum allows us to frame the game in the context of societal norms. Kids can play at home. In school we can teach positive behaviors and ask them to question the broader context. #EsportsEDU
Yeah, really, #esportsedu is just another chance for teaching #digcit. And some of these communities are *terrible*, so the more that can be done to reach younger users and help change their ways *now*, before they get only influenced by what's already there... I'm all for it.
If you are trying to decide whether to allow FPS, your school in a progressive position. I have seen schools where they are still concerned about MOBA. #EsportsEDU
I think the main part to focus on when talking about age is parental consent. #ESRB and other rating systems like so should be taken into account, but the main thing is parental permission imo. #esportsedu#stuvoice
I find the #ESRB are pretty good for this. Just like you could get approval to show an R rated movie in class you should be able to get approval for appropriate game use in classes/clubs as needed. #EsportsEdu
I wonder if the question more impacting policy is something along lines of, "How to best engage stakeholders on this issue so we can best meet needs of our school's esports community?" The folks raising concerns don't tend to believe that teacher knows best... #EsportsEDU
#ESRB, maturity, school environment (a K-8 school will have to look at it differently than a 7-9 Jr high). Also depends on how it's been played. Goldeneye main campaign wouldn't be great. but paintball mode for young players? sure. #esportsedu
I believe formal curriculum & #Esports as an extracurricular activity are different, but agree that either allow us to frame the game in the context you describe. I question our fears about what is ok in school while it is ok to leave kids to their own device at home #EsportsEDU
I can see fighting and shooter games in the context of a school #ESports team, but I struggle to see it’s worth in a regular classroom. I’m willing to be convinced though. Still waiting on @SidMeir_ to get on the @CivGame EDU version that was spoken of 3 years ago. #EsportsEdu
In reply to
@MusingsOnEdTech, @mr_isaacs, @SidMeir_, @CivGame
Yep. Parental permission is the key. League of Legends is dinged for blood and alcohol/tobacco use so ESRB isn't a good measure. One of the great things about eSports is how much parental buy-in there is compared to traditional video games. #EsportsEDU
In reply to
@FelpixTheMaker, @mr_isaacs, @MusingsOnEdTech
Focusing on just the games misses the much bigger picture with all of this. This is as broad a topic as “education.” The games are actually a small but important aspect around school #esports. #esportsEDU
I agree that with parental permission it can become less of a policy issue #EsportsEdu but of course then you have the issue of kids without parental permission to play certain games still exposed to them
In reply to
@Brinkmanship, @FelpixTheMaker, @MusingsOnEdTech
Yes! Even without formal curriculum there is a lot that a passionate educator can do to shape good gaming behaviors in extracurricular clubs. Much better than letting them scream obscenities at a screen in their bedroom :) #EsportsEDU
We want to use #esports to build a more inclusive culture in schools, and yet @riotgames has the most widely adopted game and the least inclusive public company culture. #esportsedu
I agree with the distinction. I think extracurricular is different. I'm not advocating for FPS in the curriculum until we find a good tie in with learning goals - perhaps simulation in a history class, but not entirely sure #EsportsEDU
In reply to
@seanmarnold, @MusingsOnEdTech, @SidMeir_, @CivGame
It’s not necessarily okay to leave kids to their own device at home (depending on age), but we do. That requires the #digcit discussion, but not necessarily GTA the EDU version #ESportsEDU
#esportsedu We use the esrb rating as a start point for the discussion. And, actually, pretty much an end point! Teen is the max in almost all cases then a reflection on the content
My goal with #esportsedu at school was to reach Ss that went home and didn't participate in any school activities. Those kids mostly play Fortnite, CS:GO, and COD:WWII
We need those students involved in the school community.
Research says playing shooting games makes you no more or less violent. The game does impact your game with overplay, like a muscle we overtrain, which is why we preach balance. #esportsedu
The fighting/shooting can be hard to ignore, and is partly in the eye of the beholder. Is yoshi holding a shell and spitting it at a bad guy "shooting?" Is mario jumping on their heads squishing them fighting? #esportsedu
In reply to
@seanmarnold, @mr_isaacs, @SidMeir_, @CivGame
I think there can be learning outcomes associated with extracurricular activities, but am seeing it as different from during a content area class unless a curricular tie in is there #EsportsEDU
I suggest observing a professional FPS team or collegiate FPS team to see the plethora of skills needed to be successful in these kinds of games #EsportsEDU. Simply watching and listening can show the direct link between these games and learning goals.
Hi #Esportsedu, Jay from Platteville, Wisconsin. 8th grade Reading/Language teacher. I run a summer/afterschool Minecraft: Education club. A few weeks ago I was asked if I wanted to sponsor an eSports club for Middle/High school.
This is a great point. So many games say "rating may change with online play" we point out that these games are mostly rated T and #digcit helps kids keep it at that level when they go online. #EsportsEDU
In reply to
@thomarie, @mr_isaacs, @MusingsOnEdTech
This is big news and fits so well into this discussion. @NASEFedu has been doing a great job in terms of promoting #Esports so I will be very interested to follow along. Are you still exclusively High School? If so, it may be an easier sell than middle school #EsportsEDu
Really, this group above all else, already knows — the writing’s on the wall. #Esports really is the next big thing and the excitement and energy surrounding school-endorsed clubs and leagues is OUTRAGEOUS! #EsportsEDU
I also think that its important to distinguish that some things are okay at home or in private (tweeting in your shorts eating spaghetti) but not at work (depending on the job) or in a classroom. #ESportsEdu
In reply to
@mr_isaacs, @MusingsOnEdTech, @SidMeir_, @CivGame
And similarly with watching tv, the best thing for kids, is to play (watch) as part of a community that is discussing what is being seen/done. So they're not processing/interpreting it all on their own. #esportsedu
I would be very interested to see if similar discussions have been articulated with traditional sports. How do schools quantify the educational value of JV football? #EsportsEDU
