ISTELive 2022: Sessions to Highlight Tech Leadership, Digital Equity, Esports and More

In the expo hall of the Future of Education Technology Conference, there’s an esports theater. It’s surrounded by esports-adjacent vendors, such as CDW and Spectrum Industries, and it’s almost always bustling with curious conferencegoers.
Beyond the theater, conference organizers lined up roundtable discussions on esports leadership, Intel-sponsored esports sessions and a “meet the author” experience with the education program manager for Epic Games. The emphasis on esports reflects the interest of the K–12 community.
Attendance was high at CDW Education Strategist Corey Gordon’s Tuesday…

Cecilia D’Anastasio / Bloomberg:
The hype around esports is fading, as teams and organizations shrink due to a weak sponsorship and ad market, falling VC investment, and the crypto meltdown  —  The once-thriving esports industry has fallen on hard times as funding sources dwindle and signs abound that athletic competition via video games …

Esports is growing in schools around the country, and organizations are working with districts to build this activity into curricula and after-school programs.
“We’re working to legitimize esports,” said Carolyn Navarro, an executive assistant for the North America Scholastic Esports Federation, during the California Esports Roundtable at the California IT in Education conference.
Heidi Baynes and Steve Hickman, educational technology coordinators for the Riverside County Office of Education, also spoke on how their office is supporting schools’ implementation of esports programs.
“We’re…