People of all ages have been falling in love with video games since the 80s. At that time, they were first entering the market. And nowadays they are more attractive than ever. Competitive video game playing is known as Esports, and it is an emerging concept within many schools and colleges. Despite the fact that it’s getting more and more popular, not many know that it can actually improve students’ academic performance.
Esports in schools can be extremely useful for students. It can teach them new ways of thinking and help them build various skills that can be useful during their education or in the workplace. But sadly, this topic is not well understood, particularly by teachers, so esports students are a rather young generation at universities. So, to be able to get the most out of the esports clubs, the schools need to start working harder with students and help them develop these skills, rather than living them on their own.
The following is an in-depth look at how esports helps students achieve better academic performance.
Esports can be used for gamification in lessons
Gamification in lessons is nothing new. However, teachers are constantly looking for new ways to use it in school. The idea behind it is to make the lessons more enjoyable and fun by using game design elements during classes. Video gaming is a very popular activity. However, not everyone has a gaming PC at home, so joining the esports team will give them a real opportunity to regularly play video games, and it will allow them to familiarize themselves with the concepts of video games.
It Engages Students
Another good way to improve a student’s academic performance is by boosting his engagement. And engagement is mostly done with learning activities. However, a natural line of thinking is that students are more engaged when they are doing activities in which they enjoy because that develops a sense of belonging and helps them build a better relationship with the school. So, students who are interested in video games may perform better in their classes and writing assignments and become more attentive if they have something to look forward to. Apart from that, such students are more intricate in finding ways to submit their assignments without mistakes. For example, they often spend more time doing research, fact-checking and structuring their essays. Of course, students aiming for an A can get help from professional writers from Edubirdie with their essays to ensure both outline, research and styling are done perfectly and according to academic guidelines. Also, some schools and colleges make it clear that participation in esports is a privilege and not a right, and students need to earn the right to be a part of the team, so with that, they motivate them to do their best to achieve the academic goals set for them.
It Builds Confidence
Confidence plays an important role in academic achievement, and many studies show that having confidence can boost your exam outcomes up to 12%. Esports can help the students develop that needed confidence in a few ways. For example, when students are going through error and trial, or when they need to think strategically, they learn how to overcome obstacles rather than giving up, and that reinforces the idea that every problem has a solution.
Esports can help develop useful and specific skills
And finally, gaming in high schools and colleges can help students develop some abilities and skills that can be useful for their future. Some of these skills are collaboration and teamwork, problem-solving, communication, decision-making skills, etc. It will also help them identify their weaknesses and strengths.
Conclusion
Still, in the 21st century, some people see esports as entertainment rather than developed education. So, education facilities are still concerned that some parents and teachers may be against it if they implement esports activities. And the right way to make the skeptic understand is to show them facts that esports is not a threat to students’ performance but, instead, a huge opportunity that allows students to practice analytical and critical thinking, build confidence, develop many useful skills and become more engaged. Also, education facilities should ensure the concerned parents and teachers that with an esports course, or school education, their kids can experience video gaming in a guided and protected environment and that it would be far more dangerous and difficult if they were left on their own.
With the development of technology, esports will also develop, and more educators will want to understand how to use it to improve the students’ academic performance. Thus, there are many benefits from it. However, for those benefits to be achieved, the esports teams must be managed properly and carefully.
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