New Education Esports League Launching in California
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 11/05/20
Two
education organizations are teaming up to launch an esports league
and tournament in California. California
League of Schools,
which provides professional development to teachers and
administrators, is working with Mastery
Coding,
which develops computer science courses, to launch the California
League of Esports.
The
cost to join is $2,995, which allows a school to have as many
students and teams as it wishes. Membership includes access to
Mastery Coding's Pathway
Esports curriculum,
participation in California tournaments as well as a "toolkit"
with guidance on how to start and run esports teams. The first
tournament will take place Jan. 23-24, 2021.
Games
covered include Fortnite, Rocket League, League of Legends, Super
Smash Bros., Overwatch, and others.
According
to the two organizations, the program is intended to help school
communities re-engage with their students after months of remote
learning.
"This
school year, [California League of Schools] is focused on helping
schools engage students because connection and well-being are very
important during COVID-19," said Executive Director, Cathy
Perry, in a press release, "Esports is a great way to do this by
helping students to learn and grow together."
"The
multi-billion-dollar gaming industry offers career opportunities in
software design, advertising, accounting, graphic design and so much
more," added Alan Sitomer, CEO of Mastery Coding. "That's
why we've built an academic esports toolkit that channels students'
passion for gaming into deep, meaningful, standards-based education."
The
Pathway Esports class materials are recommended for students in
grades 7-12. According to the company, it requires no prior online
gaming experience to teach.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.