Bringing Games to the Classroom by Emily Chiou WRTG101S

What do you first think of when you're asked about video games? Most people instantly think of guns and explosions possibly with the added gore of flying body parts. But that's only one facet of games. Since the advent of video gaming, games have become more and more sophisticated; to the point of having surprising benefits. And what better place to pass those benefits on to the next generation but in the classroom, where we teach them? By adding video games to the school curriculum the school system will work with children by adding additional learning tools, encouraging social interactions, and creating an engaging learning environment. Even though most video games are played for recreation, they can be very effective learning tools. Professor Wainwright had immense success in his course History in Video Games by utilizing video games, primarily Sid Meir's Civilation IV, as “tool for teaching complex historical concepts to undergraduates and introducing even non-History majors to advanced theoretical arguments” (Wainwright 2014, p. 603) usually left to graduate courses. Civilization IV is a turn-based strategy games where you guide one nation from ancient times all the way to the modern era. The guidance involves what units, cities, and buildings to erect, what areas of science to research, and how to deal with foreign nations. All leaders of nations are based on actual historical figures like Ghandi, as are the items to research (railroads, writing, etc…). For the interested player, further information can be accessed in-game in the Civilopedia. But secondary education is not the only place the merits of video games shines. Even in elementary school, using games as tool poses advantages. Holbert and Wilensky utilized a racing game as a tool to help teach students velocity and acceleration. Students