In an effort to keep students engaged in the learning process this summer, The Division of Technology Services offered an Esports Summer Series for students going into grades 6-10. Participants from eleven different EBRPSS campuses and four schools outside of the public system, came together at CTEC, M-Th each week, from 8am to 1pm. The participants reported attending for a variety of reasons, but all were excited to spend time developing their passion for playing video games. Although the summertime serves as a break from academics for many students, our esports camp gave them the perfect balance between enjoying time gaming with friends and learning how Scholastic Esports could “Level UP!” their academic abilities, prepare them for careers/college programs that will utilize their talents, and be an advocate of using emerging technology tools with integrity.
Each day of camp featured a mini-lesson using digital tools & platforms. The sequence of activities involved a warm up with improv games and friendly competitions. This allowed students to quickly engage in new friendships and learn how to laugh with each other as we aim to get out of our comfort zones. The next 1-2 hours were focused on a small project like digital design & photo editing or team projects where the participants planned their own 2D game storyline and designed maps of the first few levels of their game. Purposeful Play was also a daily camp feature- where participants learned healthy gaming warm-ups and were assigned to a game title with a specific task/question to address while playing. An example, “What skills do you use when creating & designing versus simply playing a video game?” asked them to evaluate the game from a designers perspective. Purposeful Play would end as they reflected on the game play and discussed the investigative question of the day. After lunch students would participate in another activity or continue a project in progress. A brief wrap up discussion & leaving the area better than it was received, brought each day to a meaningful close. The Esports Team eagerly anticipates the upcoming summer as a chance to further foster opportunities for students passionate about Esports & Gaming!
Scholastic Student Gains:
Week One “Esports 101” Activities:
- Esports Roadshow Presentation- What is Esports?
- Careers in Cybersecurity & Cybersafety with connections to gaming
- Healthy Habits for G.A.M.E.R.S.
- Developing a Code of Conduct
- Acting with integrity when using technology tools
- History of Gaming vs Esports
- How to be a positive contributor to Scholastic Esports
- Special Populations of gamers- maximum inclusion
- Current trends- Mobile Gaming, AI Tools, Protecting Personal Info
Week Two “Digital Design Deep Dive” Activities:
- Esports Career Pathways Research (NASEF Esports Ecosystem)
- Create Digital Design Portfolio in Canva & Add content
- Build your own Esports Team & Create content needed
- Story/Plot/Character Development
- Using Photopea/Photoshop to create pixelated characters
- 2D vs 3D Game Design- Parallax Scrolling
- The Engineering Design Process & Game Design Process
- Creative Problem Solving & Innovative Entertainment
Week Three “Level Up!” Activities:
- Coding for Competition- Game Dev & MOBAs
- Program 3D game with collision detection in Gamemaker Studio/Unreal Engine
- Guest Speaker- Godric w Gesports, local gaming entrepreneur
- Production Powertool Demos- Audio/Video/Streaming
- Tilt-Proofing- Avoiding Rage & Toxicity
- Plan & Implement a mini-tournament
- Shoutcasting Best Practices & Organizer tools
- Role play Esports Ecosystem Careers
- Semi-formal Student Interviews
- Production Behind the Scenes & tournament walkthrough
- Grit & Grind– It’s Tourney Time!- student led tournament & Round Table Discussion
Check out some of our favorite memories from the Esports Summer Camp this year!
