As a former 6th-grade teacher, I always tried to incorporate something new and engaging at the start of each year. In my mind, fall represents many new beginnings, so I had to add some new elements to keep things fresh. The leaves started to change color, school began, and two of my favorite sports-related activities kicked off. You may be surprised to learn that I incorporated fantasy football and esports into my classroom activities!
In the fall of 2016 and spring of 2017, I incorporated fantasy football and esports into my English Language Arts class to enhance student engagement. These activities served as reading comprehension tools and provided project-based learning opportunities. Fantasy sports and esports are two of the most popular hobbies in the world, and they are now being used in education to engage students and teach essential skills.
Classroom Fantasy Football: Skill-Building Through Real-World Play
In a fantasy sports league, individuals select a group of real-life players and earn points based on their performance. Students must conduct research on players, learn about statistics, and make strategic decisions. These abilities are also essential in the classroom, where students often need to analyze data, make inferences, and solve problems.
In the case of fantasy football, students would select their team in a class-wide draft, and we would monitor their chosen players for the remainder of the season. They would update me on their statistics and performance as Tuesday bellwork entries after every game. Occasionally, discussions would arise regarding which player to choose for a weekend match-up. This approach proved highly successful as a bellwork activity and an excellent way to begin our days.
Esports in Education: Boosting Skills and Learning Through Gaming
Competitive video games played by professional gamers are known as esports. Similar to fantasy sports, esports requires players to possess a strong understanding of the game and analytical skills. Moreover, esports can help students learn about communication, teamwork, and sportsmanship.
Esports provided me with more substance. I owned a Nintendo Switch, which I would bring to work and use as part of an esports-related project-based learning opportunity. To elaborate, I had my students form their esports team, organize events, and create their team charter and gameplay analysis. This assignment gave them an engaging experience for developing informative reading standards and soft skills.
Enhancing Education: Fantasy Football and Esports Benefits
Incorporating fantasy football and esports in education can be beneficial in several ways. These activities can teach computation, statistics, data analysis, problem-solving, collaboration, and fair play.
- Computation: Students can use math skills to calculate points, make trades, and budget their resources while participating in fantasy sports and esports.
- Statistics: These activities also provide a real-world opportunity for students to learn about statistics, such as averages, probability, and correlation.
- Data Analysis and Problem Solving: Students can collect and analyze data about players, teams, and games. Fantasy sports and esports require students to make strategic decisions and solve problems to win.
- Collaboration and Fair Play: Collaborative activities teach students essential values like communication, sportsmanship, and fairness. They learn to work together and appreciate everyone’s contribution towards a common goal. It’s a valuable skill for their studies and future careers.
Here are some specific examples of how to utilize fantasy football and esports in core content areas:
- In math, students could learn probability and statistics by tracking fantasy football player performance over time and calculating game-winning odds.
- In science, students could utilize esports to learn about the human body. They could research the health hazards of gaming and devise methods for mitigating those hazards.
- In history, students could use fantasy football to learn about the history of sports. They could research the origins of different sports and the evolution of their rules.
- In English Language Arts, students could write about the experiences of Esports gamers and create stories, poems, or essays exploring the challenges and rewards of gaming.
Join the REMC Esports Academy: Elevate Your Teaching Skills!
Though I have yet to make any immediate plans for a fantasy football professional learning opportunity, there is a scholastic esports professional learning opportunity here at Kent ISD on October 5th from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM. It is a free event called the REMC Esports Academy! Registration ends September 28th, so sign up now!
#EdTech #STEM #FantasyFootball #Esports #StudentEngagement #WeLeadLearning #KentISDpd
This blog post was written by Du Bui, STEM Consultant for Kent ISD and edited by Amanda Walma, Marketing and Communications Professional for Kent ISD.