What Is New In eSports In Education?

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Esports Are Now A Reliable Teaching Tool In Education

Ten years ago, Esports in education was only an idea. Now, more than 3,400 high schools in the U.S. and abroad are part of the High School Esports League (HSEL). That number is growing and for good reason, because schools and students alike benefit from having an Esports program in place. As an educational initiative, Esports argues for itself. The challenge is setting up an Esports club, especially where it concerns technology. Students generally welcome the chance to game at school, but they need the right technology to do it. Fortunately, this digital hurdle is easy to jump over with an experienced AV integrator helping out.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What Technology Do Schools Need For Esports?

It’s likely that your school already has most of the technology it needs to run an Esports team. Some high school clubs use desktops while others game on notebooks, but in either case, it’s what’s inside that counts. Specifically, your school may need to upgrade the video card and add memory to any computer that will be used for gaming. Gaming computers are similar in this regard to computers used for video editing, which your school may already have on hand. Beyond a general computing upgrade, there are a few technologies that can improve the team’s performance and communication, including:[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Digital Displays

With a high-quality digital display, Esports teams can “check the tape” after a match or practice. With their coach’s help, the team can develop their strategy and identify things to improve on. A digital display can also be used to deliver lesson curriculum associated with your school’s Esports programs. STEM, communication, leadership and even nutrition lessons can be reinforced using this approach. You don’t have to think small with digital displays, either. A video wall, for example, can provide an image that’s large enough for an entire arena to follow. Video walls can also accommodate multiple players at once, which makes it a good hardware companion for training or live competition purposes.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

An Interactive Display

An interactive display is an effective visual aid and an effective collaboration tool rolled into one. While using an interactive display, the team can annotate over match footage and use a whiteboarding canvas to develop their strategy visually. Interactive displays are also ideal content sharing mediums, designed to connect wirelessly to nearly any device. With this functionality, both coach and team can bring their own visual aids and gameplans to share with everyone.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

A Projector

Some schools go beyond with their Esports initiatives and set up competitions designed for a large viewing audience. In these spaces, one or more projectors can be used to display the action for everyone. In fact, there are projectors designed for gaming. These projectors offer 4K resolution image quality, extremely high levels of brightness, faster refresh rates and expanded image sizes. With these high-performance characteristics, gaming projectors can output a vivid image that the audience and competitors can both easily see.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

The Right Furniture

Some furniture manufacturers have developed chairs, desks and tables designed to handle displays and other gaming hardware. Spectrum is one such brand and produces multimedia tables and display carts, both of which can be used with interactive displays for better strategizing. Makerspace also produces gaming chairs, designed for comfort and better posture after hours of competition. They also have a streamlined look that students get excited about.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

What Are The Benefits Of Esports In Education?

There are numerous benefits to educational Esports, and they extend to both student and school. Some of those benefits include: Greater Student Engagement Esports can be used to reach students that would otherwise be disinterested in school. Early on, Esports-friendly educators noted that many of the students who joined their Esports programs were uninvolved in any other extracurricular activities. With an Esports club in place, those students have something to look forward to at school. Early research shows that this added engagement carries over into the classroom. If Esports team members must maintain their grades to remain on the team, they are incentivized to remain engaged in their studies. Cultivate World-Ready Skills In addition to improving grades, Esports competition introduces students to skills that are hard to pick up without participation in a team sport. For example, teamwork and communication are essential skills for team success in Esports, just like they are in football, basketball or baseball. Esports helps students pick up these skills. Esports can also be used to develop leadership, strategic thinking and physical fitness. While gaming won’t get the heart pumping quite as quickly, proper nutrition and training are necessary to maintain clear thinking and reflexes. That can be difference between victory and defeat. Develop Better STEM Curriculum Schools typically nest their Esports initiatives into a larger STEM-based curriculum, as it can be an effective approach to applying STEM theory. During an Esports match, players are required to make snap mathematical calculations to execute strategy. In action games, an intuitive grasp of angles and physics provides an edge. Understanding probability helps players take appropriate risks. There’s a lot of room to develop strong STEM curriculum alongside Esports, and this can be used to benefit every student. Boost School Spirit School districts know the value of successful athletics and Esports can also provide this value. A high achieving football or basketball team can drive school pride, fire up the faculty and unite students together. A successful Esports club can generate the same school pride and create a new group of students working toward bettering their school’s image and reputation. This is something school districts can leverage to great effect, especially among students who wouldn’t otherwise develop that positive school spirit.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

An AV Integrator Can Help Your School Launch Its Esports Program

Esports have come a long way quickly, to the point where they can be integrated into larger education programs. That’s the kind of integration that educators are equipped to handle. What about integrating the necessary AV technology into your school, though? That’s where an experienced AV integrator can help out. With more and more schools considering the merits of Esports, AV experts have built up experience integrating gaming hardware into schools. With a certified AV integrator handling your school’s Esports initiative, your Esports club can hit the ground running with technology that will optimize their gaming skills, improve strategy and facilitate valuable skills like teamwork and communication.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]