Transforming Education Through Esports

In today’s episode we talk with Gerald Solomon, the Executive Director of the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) and founder of the Orange County High School Esports League.

Gerald shares how he was inspired to use esports as a way to reach kids who were underserved, disenfranchised, and disengaged from traditional education. NASEF's goal is to reinvigorate classrooms and engage kids in new ways by offering free curriculum that uses esports as a hook to teach kids technology skills and career opportunities. Additionally, NASEF has partnered with libraries, boys and girls clubs, YMCA's, and community centers to reach students in underserved areas. Solomon emphasizes that NASEF is a nonprofit that can focus on its mission to help kids and educators without worrying about making money.

We also talk about how the International Esports Federation (IESF) and NASEF are working together to provide training for players, coaches, and managers in different countries and cultures. They use assessments and teamwork activities to help people create their own clubs and logos, and they encourage students from different countries to share their cultural experiences with one another. Solomon also shares an interesting story about a young surgeon who honed his skills in Halo and Call of Duty, which allowed him to become a skilled surgeon with great dexterity.

We focus the conversation on how NASEF focuses on providing young people with the skills they need to succeed in life, such as leadership, teamwork, and communication. NASEF does this by creating organizations that require members to build a club charter, a code of conduct, a business plan, and a development plan. Solomon notes that these requirements teach young people about capitalism, democracy, and economics, and help them to sustain themselves over the next three to five years.

Overall, the podcast discussion highlights the growing use of esports and gaming for education, leadership development, and cultural exchange. Solomon's work at NASEF and IESF is helping to pave the way for a new era of esports that is more inclusive, diverse, and socially responsible. Additionally, the conversation emphasizes the importance of building a community and a culture around esports that goes beyond just winning competitions, and instead focuses on providing young people with the skills they need to succeed in life.

Episode Webpage: https://www.gamerschangelivespodcast.com/transforming-education-through-esports

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Featured in this episode:

Gerald Solomon

Gerald Solomon served as the Executive Director of the Samueli Foundation for 14 years managing their global philanthropy, providing grants to innovative entrepreneurial programs in excess of $500 Mil worldwide. The focus was on STEM Education, Youth Development, and Integrative Health and Wellness. During his tenure, he designed and launched the STEM Learning Ecosystem which today consists of over 90 cities across the globe (www.stemecosystems.org) redefining STEM learning in and out of schools with a focus on developing workforce skills and economic impact.

In 2018, Mr. Solomon designed and launched the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (www.nasef.org), the nation’s first ever academic approach to esports, whose mission is to provide opportunities for ALL students to use esports as a platform to acquire the STEM skills needed for the workforce of tomorrow. Taking STEM to the next level, NASEF is based upon a credentialed State of California approved high school, CTE and middle school curricula. In 48 short months, NASEF is now in 49 states with over 25,000 students in over 3,000 schools as well as having created NASEF affiliates in 30+ countries around the world, including: Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Israel, UK, India, Nigeria, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Coast Rica, Panama, South Africa, Ghana, and growing.

Mr. Solomon serves on the Board of Directors of IESF (www.iesf.org) as well as the Chair of the Esports Education Commission at IESF, the global leader in esports with 139+ member countries. He is Chair Emeritus of the University of Ca, Irvine Esports Advisory Board, and on the board of Calif Dept of Education Foundation. He recently completed service on the boards of the Schools of Engineering at UCLA and UCI, the Teacher Advisory Council at the National Research Council within the National Academies, Southern California Grantmakers Assoc., and was co-founder, co-chair and now chair emeritus of the STEM Funders Network.

Email: gerald@nasef.org

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerald-solomon-21a91b262/

NASEF Website: https://www.nasef.org/

NASEF LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nasef/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nasefedu

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nasefedu

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nasefgg/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nasefedu

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nasefedu

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/nasefedu

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PRODUCTION:

Creator and host: Tom Leonard (USA) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomeleonard/

Producer: Reginald Nsowah (Ghana) - https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginald-nsowah-09352929/

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Play Games. Create Jobs. Change Lives.

This is a show about how to build an esports business from literally anywhere in the world where each week we showcase the journey of esports entrepreneurs and others to learn how they solved a particular problem that everyone will ultimately face.

In Season Three our theme is “Building a Business: Esports 101”.

I am your host, Tom Leonard. I have a background in entertainment marketing. After working with many amazing esports entrepreneurs from emerging markets, they inspired me to create a show to tell their stories so that others can be motivated to create their own esports business. Gaming and esports can create jobs tackling the problem of global youth unemployment. Creating jobs from playing games. What could be better than that?

Thanks for listening to The Gamers Change Lives Podcast!