Understanding the Role of Esports in Promoting Student Growth

March 26, 2024

By Insight Public Sector

Esports has rapidly emerged as a significant educational topic featuring a steadily increasing audience of enthusiasts and a host of professional and personal advantages. By integrating esports programs into your organization with Insight Public Sector and OMNIA Partners, you can unlock the numerous benefits and opportunities it has to offer. Keep reading to find out how you can transform your program with the latest technological advancements and captivating gaming experiences offered on a competitively solicited and publicly awarded contract!

What is Esports?

Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of structured, competitive video gaming. Individuals or teams of players compete in multiplayer games, which are usually streamed to a wide audience via livestreaming platforms.

Program

A well-rounded esports program offers diverse roles and activities suitable for all students. While only a handful of students participate in competitions, comprehensive esports program gives more students the chance to join a community, explore career pathways, develop new skills and represent their schools.

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Team

An esports team is a part of the larger esports program.
Teams compete against other schools in their region, possibly expanding nationally. Participating in a team offers students opportunities to develop new skills through gameplay and coaching, an experience previously reserved for traditional sports. When students join a team, they develop invaluable skills working together with teammates to win.

Benefits of Esports for Students

Teamwork: Most education-based esports experiences are team- oriented and discourage solo mentalities.	Communications: Like traditional sports, esports games feature roles and positions that require a high level of communication about responsibilities and strategies.
Sportsmanship: As representatives of their schools, esports participants behave in accordance with their student handbook. This can be an excellent learning opportunity for students who haven’t had the chance to experience this otherwise.	Critical thinking: Esports requires high-level strategy that’s constantly recalibrated in relationship to pro results and game patches that occur every two weeks. Students learn to process new information quickly and apply it to gameplay, and they also watch recordings of previous matches to identify areas for improvement.
Perseverance: At some point, esports teams will lose. Finding ways to learn from the experience and maintain motivation afterward is a vital skill for players.	Digital citizenship: By competing in an online world, students learn to interact with others and conduct themselves appropriately on the internet.

The Basics of Your Esports Program
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Broadcast group

Responsible for competition video production
Works with Twitch, YouTube, Mixer and OBS software
Collaborates with teams across the program; engages in graphic design and project management

Intramural team(s)

Creates social connections across the program
Leads community awareness and outreach

Social media group

Publicizes esports activities and events to boost awareness and engagement
Engages in graphic design and project management

Research & development

Finds and shares relevant content for the team
Assists broadcast group with up-to-the-minute meta-analysis

Cross-curricular programs

Involves students across the school to study and learn from the esports program
Classes that can benefit include journalism, media, broadcast, business and finance, game design and computer science

Ready. Set. Play.

Click below to download the full Insight Public Sector Esports Guide:

Your guide
to esports

Insight Public Sector & OMNIA Partners

Insight Public Sector enables secure, end-to-end transformation and meets the needs of clients through a comprehensive portfolio of solutions, far-reaching partnerships and 33+ years of broad IT expertise. Through the purchasing power of OMNIA Partners, participating agencies can utilize a cooperative contract with Insight Public Sector to transform their educational program with esports.