New hire Jorrel Batac to extend NASEF’s mission to use high school esports to teach students valuable life and career lessons

(Orange County, CA – January 7, 2020) – The North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) has added a new Scholastic Instructional Coach to its staff, expanding support for teachers, librarians, and other in- and out-of-school educators. With this staffing addition, NASEF continues to add depth to its program which leverages youth fascination with the video game world for meaningful education.

The new Esports Scholastic Instructional Coach is responsible for building educators’ understanding of instructional practices as integrated with esports, as well as ensuring high-quality instruction in classrooms through modeling, co-planning, co-teaching and providing feedback to teachers.

NASEF is pleased to introduce Jorrel Batac as the Esports Scholastic Instructional Coach. Batac holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and a CTE Credential. He grew his roots as an instructor for various non-profits, taught English in South Korea, and served as a virtual volunteer educator working with students in India.

While working for CDI, he designed, co-developed, and implemented a statewide STEM Enrichment Program that engaged both students and teaching staff with innovative learning concepts in areas such as digital citizenship, multimedia, making/tinkering, and community building in a hosted Minecraft server. When not at work, he loves gaming with the wife, designing and playing in the future: spending his time UAV tinkering, 3D printing, and exploring virtual reality. 

Batac said, “I believe play-based learning to be an essential part of our social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. Video games at their core are digital play spaces encouraging creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. With the growing communities they create both online and offline, we have the opportunity to celebrate the learning that is already happening and provide a platform to encourage young people to be curious, grow their skills, pursue their passions, and have fun while doing it!”

Batac continued, “NASEF’s Scholastic Fellows program is the perfect opportunity to bring educators across the nation into a community to connect and collaborate on implementing scholastic esports in their learning spaces. I am excited to showcase the unique perspective that each and every fellow contributes and support their innovative work; they are truly the leaders and change makers in this growing phenomenon.”

NASEF continues to expand its tournament offerings which attract student participation, meanwhile offering education through its Scholastic Fellows program, state-approved curriculum, frequent workshops and clinics for students and educators, and Beyond the Game™ creative and analytic challenges. Every program and opportunity offered by NASEF is provided free to ensure that all students can participate.

About the North America Scholastic Esports Federation 

The North America Scholastic Esports Federation is working to ensure that ALL students possess the knowledge and skills needed to be society’s game changers: educated, productive, and empathetic individuals. NASEF is on a mission to provide opportunities for ALL students to use esports as a platform to acquire critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in work and in life. The Federation’s core values are intertwined through all aspects of education and play: learning, opportunity, community, diversity, and respect.

Under the Samueli Foundation’s leadership, the Federation is led by partners from the Orange County Department of Education, OC STEM Initiative, Connected Camps, Connected Learning Lab, UCI Esports, UCI Henry Samueli School of Engineering, and the UCI Bren School of Information & Computer Science. 

Learn more at the NASEF website. Members of the press can find videos, infographics, and leadership profiles in the online press room. Join online conversations on Twitter @NASEFgg for esports updates and @NASEFedu for our education news, on Facebook and Instagram, and see matches streamed live on our Twitch channel. 

Media Contact:
Claire LaBeaux
[email protected]
925-337-0244