Planning
This program would need to be planned
during the summer or early August since it will kick off in September. Things that need to be considered during the
planning process for each club meeting/event are:
·
Location and amount of
space needed
·
Room and furniture setup
·
Electronic supplies
needed for each event, such as SMART boards, computers, game consoles and games,
cords, headsets, and extension cords
·
Account setup, such as Twitch
·
Age level of the games
and whether parent permission would be needed to participate or not
·
Whether or not students
will join an official online esports league
·
Funding source for
equipment, account fees, and transportation to local events
Promotion
The e-Sports club will be promoted
starting the second week of school with a start date of the first week in
September. The club will be advertised
using flyers, posters, morning announcements, hallway display screens, and
Canvas messages. After the initial
meeting, future club meetings will be promoted a week before the event in order
to invite any other students who are interested in joining.
Preparations
At least a month prior to each event
the librarian would need to determine the source of the equipment needed for
each month’s event. Once equipment is
procured, it should be charged and tested for functionality at least one day
before the meeting. Any PC games that
are being used need to be installed on computers. Any necessary student accounts need to be
created, and if parents need to manage the account due to age, then permission
slips should be sent out and parents should be contacted to provide set-up
instructions. The librarian and other
club sponsors should also establish ground rules for club meetings,
requirements for participation, and rules for using borrowed equipment prior to
each meeting as well as communicate these frequently with students.
Procedures
August—The librarian and club sponsor will promote membership
through the avenues described in the section above.
September—initial meeting in which rules, requirements, and equipment
will be discussed. The club sponsor(s)
will also get feedback from students on what games they are interested in
playing and if they want to join a competitive esports league.
October—This club meeting will focus on Nintendo Switch games. With parent permission, students will bring their
own Switch consoles and games to share and play. If there aren’t enough game consoles
available, then students will be allowed to play PC games while they wait for a
turn on the console.
November—This club meeting will focus on PlayStation games. With parent permission, students will bring
their own PS5 consoles and games to share and play. If there aren’t enough game consoles
available, then students will be allowed to play PC games while they wait for a
turn on the console.
December—This club meeting will focus on Xbox games. With parent permission, students will bring
their own Xbox consoles and games to share and play. If there aren’t enough game consoles
available, then students will be allowed to play PC games while they wait for a
turn on the console.
January—Students in the club will select one game from each game platform
they explored in the October, November, and December meetings. Students will compete in a school-only
tournament in each of these three games.
Multiple meetings may need to be held during this month in order to
carry out the tournament, which will depend on how many students are in the
club.
February—This club meeting will focus on retro games. Club sponsors will collect and/or borrow as
many outdated game consoles and retro game simulators as possible to bring to
this meeting. Students will get to
experience how gaming has changed over the years by playing on consoles such as
the original Wii and PlayStation 2.
March—Students will explore methods to design and create their
own game using programs such as Scratch.
April-- During this month the esports club will host a teacher
vs. student tournament in which teachers and students will compete in separate
“divisions” until a finalist from each category is selected. One game will be selected for the tournament
by the club members. The tournament
schedule will depend on the number of students and staff sign up for the
tournament.
May— During this month the teacher and student finalists from
the April competition will play each other in a spectator event that students
can attend as a reward activity for positive behavior.
Payoff
Participation in the esports club is great for the library because it allows them to participate in something they enjoy and provides a positive association with visiting the library. Events such as the teacher vs. Student tournament can also be publicized on social media and district sites, and possibly the local newspaper. The students who participate in the club will have incentive to keep grades up and behavior positive (if membership requirements are set). They will also gain appropriate communication skills with the guidance of an adult club sponsor. Participation in certain esports organizations and programs can also allow students to earn credit for STEM courses and even earn scholarships from tournaments at the high school level.
References
Generation Esports. (2023). Middle school esports league. https://www.middleschoolesports.com/ .
Texas Scholastic Esports Federation. (2022). Texas
scholastic esports. https://www.texsef.org/home
.