Every since social studies became a required part of the educational curriculum for me (roughly 6th grade or so) I've always had an interest in history - or more specifically military history. Unfortunatly, in the 6th grade world of social darwinism, an interest in history isnt one of those characteristics that tends to send you rocketing to the top of the social food chain. In fact quite the opposite. When I'd suggest that (military) history was cool or interesting, I tended to get a lot of those "oh there there Stub, we wont judge you for being dropped on your head as a baby" sort of responses. After all, history stood no chance in the face of science class, where "accidently" blowing things up with bunsen burners was par for the course. Thankfully there were sports, or I likely would have had to pull myself out of many a locker =)
For many students, especially young students, history is the epitome of all that was/is boring about education. Lots of memorization. Lots of lecture. Lots of textbooks to struggle through, and very rarely anything that even remotely resembles an interactive learning exercise. Probably the biggest challenge in teaching history (especially true of military history) is visualization. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but when it comes to history, it might be closer to a million.
Do you remember learning about the D-Day landings during World War 2? Maybe. Maybe not. But you probably dont remember it vividly from your 6th grade history textbook. How about the same event as depicted during the opening scene of the movie Saving Private Ryan? $5 says your memory of D-Day just got a little clearer.
The moral of the story is that when history is brought to life - it becomes memorable. A page of words on a 1,000 page textbook is hard to swallow. Its hard to picture. Its hard to be stimulated by, admittedly, even for someone who finds it interesting. But when you can see, and hear, and dare I say, interact with that same history, when you can become a part of the story being told, all of a sudden it becomes a lot easier to care about. You know where Im going with this =)
History was the first field of study that really made me think about gaming as a viable educational tool, because games bring life to a subject that many feel is lifeless. They allow you to visualize the abstract. They allow you to interact with situations that have occurred hundreds or thousands of years ago, situations that would otherwise be relegated to paper.
Using gaming as a history teaching aid is far from a new idea, but one that has never, in my opinion, been used to its full potential. But today, I came across a very interesting example that shows that people are getting the right idea. Take Two Interactive Software has just finished up HistoriaCanada, a strategy game based on the Civilization III engine. HistoriaCanada allows students to play through parts of Canada's history (1525-1763) using the Civ3 gameplay, and be a part of the decisions and moments that have shaped Canada into the nation it is today. In addition to the basic gameplay, students are also given access to an abundance of specially produced cinematic shorts, historical documentation, and articles on major events in Canada's history.
I havent tried HistoriCanada myself, but Im looking forward to downloading it and giving it a try this evening. History may never be interesting enough to be "cool" for 6th graders, but kudos to Take Two for trying to give it new life.
But this is only the tip of the educational possibilities for history based EduGames =)
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