Dear CIS Community,
This Monday (April 6, 4:30-5:30pm HST) Sky Kauweloa will present his dissertation research in progress at our 720 seminar. Sky has completed data collection and analysis for his dissertation on collegiate esports and is also working with UH to develop a competitive esports program.
Title: Esports and Student Development
Abstract: Playing video games as part of a college experience has a long tradition going back to the very first video game tournament at Stanford University in 1972 (Brand, 1972). With the creation of college esports programs in the United States, educational institutions now play a significant role in how students experience competitive video gaming on campuses. This study examines how players transform their interests in competitive gaming into something more serious with college esports (Stebbins, 2007), and whether time spent engaged in collegiate esports provides students with meaningful experiences of student development (Magolda, 1999).
Bio: Nyle Sky Kauweloa is a student in the Communication and Information Sciences PhD Program at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a Doctoral Fellow of the Pacific Information and Communication Technology for Development Collaborative (PICTDC). Sky’s research focus is on competitive online gaming (esports), student development, and the growth of collegiate esports programs in the United States.