The North America Scholastic Esports Federation, which began as an Orange County league, is hosting a free webinar next week for families and educators looking to learn more about the potential benefits of online gaming.
“Friendships, Failure, and Fun: Three Reasons Why Competitive Gaming Might Be Good for Teens” will share research on esports and insight from professional players, who will discuss the opportunities and risks they see in the sport — and the lessons they’re sharing as mentors to high school teams.
The webinar will start at 4 p.m. local time on Thursday, Nov. 1, but you can watch it on-demand if you’re unable to participate live.
Visit www.esportsfed.org/events/calendar/family-webinar/ to sign up or learn more.
Funded by the Samueli Foundation, NASEF was launched in Orange County last year with support from OCDE and other partners looking to connect youth interest in gaming to real-world learning. It has since expanded into a national federation that’s focused on helping campuses across the country establish their own scholastic leagues and tournaments.
About 40 teams from 25 local high schools participated in last year’s pilot season, which crowned a team from Fountain Valley High School as champs. Along with promoting communication, collaboration and social-emotional learning, the league offered workshops that touched on engineering, technology and entrepreneurship.
The NASEF began its fall season on Oct. 8, with competitors battling it out in the arena of Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment.
Information about upcoming seasons, games and deadlines will be posted here on the OCDE Newsroom as it becomes available.