Innovation Heroes: Esports and the future of technology in K-12 education
Learn how SHI is strategizing, testing, and building the latest K-12 tech spaces for future innovators

 In |

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Should parents be encouraging their kids to participate in a billion-dollar online gaming industry? If you ask the most recent guest on SHI’s Innovation Heroes podcast, the answer is a resounding yes – but not for the reasons you might think.

On the latest Innovation Heroes episode, host Ed McNamara invites author, speaker, and professor of esports and gaming Dr. Katrina Adkins to discuss how educational technology is predicting the future of learning.

“We keep our finger on the pulse of virtual reality, augmented reality, extended reality – all of these things that we’re hearing about right now – to see how they can fit back into education,” says Adkins. “The question that drives us is: How can we make an impact in education and really help our students to thrive not only in the classroom, but beyond the classroom, and well into their careers?”

For Adkins, engaging in virtual gaming like esports plays a critical role in education – but not because of the team sports aspects or the competition. When it comes to multi-player gaming, Adkins believes that esports offers many different cognitive, behavioral, and social benefits in students.

“[With esports], students are learning how to stream, how to market, how to design games,” says Adkins. “They’re discovering broadcasting and shoutcasting and all of these other areas that can actually evolve into careers. If you were to go to Google right now and type in “esports jobs,” there are thousands of offers out there and that number continues to grow every single day. So, if we are not giving our students those opportunities in school, starting at a young age, we’re missing out on potential opportunities for them in the future.”

To learn more about how Adkins and her team are carving a technological path for future innovators, listen to the full conversation here.