Teachers and parents of school-going children tend to see video games as an addictive distraction from schoolwork, or a hobby at best. Children who express an interest in becoming a competitive or professional gamer are often not taken seriously, or are advised to pursue more practical career paths.

But such perceptions are changing, especially with the explosion of the e-sports industry.

Half a million e-sports live-streams are broadcast on online platforms like YouTube and Twitch daily, and e-sports has even become a part of traditional sporting events like the Olympics. Government bodies like SportSG are also working hard to develop the e-sports scene here. 

As e-sports becomes more popular, its role as an educational tool is gaining acceptance too, not unlike traditional sports activities in schools.

Some institutions like XCL World Academy (XWA), an international school in Yishun, now have official e-sports programmes and clubs. To support its programme, XWA created a facility known as The Garage, featuring a full-wall LED display and sound system, 24 high-performance gaming stations, two racing simulator rigs, two flight simulator rigs and four virtual reality headsets.

“E-sports is one of the fastest-growing industries and genres of sport in the world, and is only becoming more mainstream,” says Mr Weirong Chang, head of strategy and chief of staff at XCL Education. The company runs seven international schools in Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, including XWA.

Mr Chang says the e-sports industry has an estimated audience of about 450 million people, which is expected to reach 560 million by the end of this year – a viewership comparable to that of Formula One races.
 

More than just gaming

Competitive gaming can help students develop skills like leadership, teamwork, good communication, problem solving and healthy sportsmanship, Mr Chang says, adding that XCL’s e-sports programmes also help students develop technical skills like game design and development through interactions with the gaming industry. Students also gain experience in events organising and marketing through planning and managing an e-sports league.

XWA’s e-sports club is run by students, with teachers-in-charge to guide them. While the school caters to children aged two all the way to 18, the club is open only to those aged 12 and above who have consent from their parents or guardians as well as their homeroom teachers. 

“This is to ensure they are of good academic standing, and that participation in the club will be beneficial to their educational journey,” Mr Chang says.

He acknowledges that some parents, teachers and students themselves may still have misgivings about issues like gaming addiction, cyber-bullying and online privacy, but adds that the e-sports programme provides an opportunity for the school community to confront these issues and hear diverse viewpoints from industry experts, counsellors and educators.

Mr Chang will be sharing more about how XCL’s schools leverage e-sports and gaming in the context of education during a panel discussion on Nov 9. The panel discussion is part of the lineup for the first day of EDUtech Asia 2022 expo. He will also share how students and other schools can collaborate with XCL to explore e-sports as a “new genre of educational offering”.

Apart from panel discussions on e-sports, there will be an e-sports tournament for secondary school students during the two-day expo. The tournament will be hosted by the Singapore Cybersports & Online Gaming Association (SCOGA) and Bukit Batok Secondary School.

SCOGA president Dennis Ooi says the fact that technology is now embedded in every aspect of life is part of the reason attitudes towards video games and e-sports have shifted in recent years.

“Almost everyone owns a mobile phone that can play games, and we now have more parents who grew up playing video games,” he says, adding that most young people now grow up as digital natives.

“More recently, during the Covid-19 pandemic, video games surged in popularity when no other physical recreational activities could be enjoyed.”

These days, the e-sports ecosystem also offers attractive careers. Professional players who take home millions in prize money at tournaments like Dota 2’s The International may be the most recognised personalities in the industry, but there are also rewarding opportunities in game development, business development and events management, as well as supporting roles like team managers and live broadcast commentators, known as “shoutcasters”, Mr Ooi says.

The future of educational technology
 

During the expo, there will be over 100 show-and-tell sessions where educators from around the globe will share how they use technology to help students learn better. More than 200 educational technology solution providers will exhibit their latest offerings and up-and-coming companies will display their innovations at a “start-up village”.

Mr Goh Han Pin, head of infocomm and educational technology at Nanyang Girls’ High School (NYGH), is one of the educators who will be speaking at the event on Nov 10. He will discuss how big data as well as data analytics and visualisation tools are being used in the classroom.

At NYGH, Secondary 1 students learn how to explore data sets, create data visualisation dashboards and tell data-driven stories. Insights derived from data sets can be used to spark conversations and get students interested in global, social and scientific issues, Mr Goh says.

He adds that the use of data is a growing trend in the education sector and all teachers – not only those teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics – will soon be using it to transform the way they teach.

“Knowledge co-construction in the classroom will be anchored on real-world data and not just on textbook claims or media trends,” says Mr Goh.

EDUtech Asia 2022 is organised by global events company Terrapinn. Mrs Sharon Roessen, managing director of EDUtech Global and chief operating officer of Terrapinn, says everyone working in the education sector – from educators in K-12 schools and institutes of higher learning to IT, marketing, admissions and support teams – will benefit from attending the expo.

“This is the perfect opportunity to get updated on what’s transforming the way we learn, the way we teach and how we manage a school or institution,” she says.

“You’ll also experience the technology transforming education first-hand, all under one roof and all for free.”

The expo runs from 9.30am to 6pm on Nov 9 and 10 at the Sands Expo Convention & Exhibition Centre, Singapore. Those interested can register for a free pass here.

The wider EDUtech Asia 2022 event will also feature a series of hands-on pre-conference workshops, exclusive keynotes, presentations and panel discussions for paid conference pass holders. The event is accredited by the CPD Standards Office and participants can earn up to 112 hours of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points for attending the paid conference, the show and tell sessions and the technology showcase.