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Replaying History: Learning World History through playing Civilization III
... This thesis builds on previous research that has explored the use of specific commercial games to achieve targeted learning goals. Notably, Squire's (2004) Berg Marklund (2015) conducted an in-depth study on how Minecraft was utilized in Swedish grade school education, specifically in teaching math and history. Minecraft is a sandbox game that allows players to explore virtual worlds, gather resources, craft tools and equipment, defeat enemies and construct various buildings. ...
... While having some impact on student motivation, the studies by Berg Marklund (2015), Egenfeldt-Nielsen (2005) and Squire (2004) all found, to varying degrees, that students could become confused over, or resist or protest the pedagogical use of digital games. Some students did not see the point or relevance of using an entertainment game for school learning, or they associated the game with leisure and recreation, and not with learning. ...
... The technical and curricular aspects of The Walking Dead were relatively straightforward for teachers to manage, and the whole-class format reduced the complexity of implementation, requiring only one functioning computer or console. This made the unit less susceptible to the common issues identified in previous studies of digital games in education (Berg Marklund, 2015;Berg Marklund & Taylor, 2016;Egenfeldt-Nielsen, 2005Squire, 2004). Consequently, this case was likely to yield insights different from those highlighted in earlier research. ...
Since its inception in 2010, Nordahl Grieg Upper Secondary School in Bergen has aimed to explore new ways of using technology in education. One of the school's long-term initiatives is the pedagogical use of digital games. In 2014, the school established a new position - the “game pedagogue” - a role designed to provide support and advice to teachers interested in incorporating games into the classroom. Over the years, the use of games has become increasingly widespread, and a significant proportion of the school's teachers have used games in their teaching one or more times. As this practice became more common, the school recognized the need to examine how games can support both teaching and student learning.
This thesis aims to document and study this usage by closely analyzing one of the school's longest-standing and most well-established teaching programs involving games. Since 2013, the religion teachers at the school have used the game The Walking Dead in the subject of Religion and Ethics in the third year of upper secondary school to teach ethical theories. The thesis is a qualitative case study that investigates how the game is used as a pedagogical tool in teaching. Data collection includes classroom observations, interviews with the teachers who taught using the game, and field notes
The research question guiding this study is: What can we learn about the pedagogical utility of digital games by studying how The Walking Dead is used to teach ethical theories?
The thesis consists of three sub-studies aiming to understand:
• The pedagogical potential of games to facilitate necessary learning conditions, especially concerning ethical reasoning.
• The teacher's role in framing the game experience and guiding students' learning and participation.
• How teachers' familiarity with games affects their approach to using the game as a pedagogical tool.
These questions contribute to a comprehensive exploration of how The Walking Dead can be used to help students apply ethical theories as a basis for their own argumentation and to solve ethical dilemmas.
The theoretical framework for this thesis is based on variation theory and sociocultural theory, which together provide a comprehensive understanding of how learning can occur in classrooms where digital games are used as pedagogical tools. Variation theory addresses how learning happens through experiencing differences in the subject matter. In this study, this means that students learn to distinguish between ethical dilemmas and various ethical theories by experiencing how different theories provide different answers to different dilemmas. The theory helps explain how the game facilitates necessary conditions for learning and how this can be influenced by the teacher's framing and facilitation. Sociocultural theory adds an important aspect by emphasizing learning as a social process between students and teachers. The theory shows how participation in shared learning activities, such as discussion and dialogue, indicates that the conditions for learning are not only a result of the game's design but also how they are created through social interaction. Together, these theories provide useful and comprehensive tools for analyzing the learning process in the classroom, especially concerning the interaction between students, teachers, and the game. They explain how learning does not occur solely at an individual level but also depends on the social and cultural frameworks of which the game is a part. Therefore, variation theory and sociocultural theory become central theoretical approaches to understanding how digital games like The Walking Dead can help teachers facilitate student learning.
In the thesis, The Walking Dead is considered both as an artifact with fixed properties and as an activity within the classroom. The game's design includes an interactive narrative with predefined ethical dilemmas, providing the class with a shared, cohesive experience that facilitates discussions. The first sub-study examines how the game's components and structure contribute to necessary learning conditions by forming a background against which the ethical theories students are to learn can be illuminated. Thus, the ethical theories are contrasted with each other, as they emphasize different aspects of the dilemmas and point toward different solutions. In this way, students experience differences between various ethical theories in a manner that aids their learning. The game's pedagogical value lies in how it helps students contrast and generalize ethical theories within and across the game's dilemmas
The study also views the game as a classroom activity, focusing on the teacher's role and student interaction during gameplay. The second sub-study investigates how teachers frame the game experience using various teaching strategies and finds that the way teachers frame the game is crucial for the game to become a useful learning resource. The third study examines how teachers' gaming competence affects their use of the game as a pedagogical tool. The findings show that teachers' familiarity with digital games significantly influences how they present the game and its ethical dilemmas, and whether students use ethical theories in their discussions.
The thesis also illustrates how whole-class play of The Walking Dead, where the entire class plays a single copy of the game on a large screen in the school's auditorium, creates a shared space for reflection and dialogue. The first sub-study shows how whole-class gameplay provides an opportunity for a common experience where students can discuss ethical dilemmas and compare different theoretical perspectives. This collective approach ensures that all students participate and demonstrates how games can be used to promote a deeper understanding of ethical concepts through classroom discussions.
By analyzing The Walking Dead both as an artifact and an activity, the thesis provides a holistic understanding of the game's pedagogical potential in ethics education. Learning can be understood as the ability to make increasingly finer distinctions between figure and background, where, by learning what a concept refers to, one can separate it from the rest of the context—that is, what it does not refer to.
The game offers students a rich narrative experience with ethical problems that lack obvious correct solutions. The ethical dilemmas are complex and nuanced enough for students to argue for different solutions based on different theories, with each theory highlighting different aspects of the dilemma. The research emphasizes the importance of game design, teacher guidance, and the classroom context in creating meaningful learning experiences. In summary, the thesis concludes that if learning is defined as the ability to distinguish between figure and background, games and gaming experiences can serve as highly useful backgrounds.
... Within the field of history education alone, a wide range of historical eras have been used as the setting for many different game genres and modalities. The idea of using games in history education has been discussed in academic research since at least the 1990ies and early 2000s (McCarty, 2001;Squire, 2003). Game-based learning for history education can be designed around tailored serious games, or with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games. ...
... The game most frequently discussed in research on games for history education is the Civilization series, originally developed by Sid Meier (with Bruce Shelley) in 1991 (Squire 2003;Fogu, 2009;Guys, 2012;Ford 2016). The basic concept and many central game mechanics from Civilization have been copied many times, while the Civilization series is still currently popular. ...
... Previous research also describes the successful integration of game-based learning in history courses where game playing was combined with themed and detailed instruction (Squire, 2003;McCall, 2016). Wainwright (2014) describes how this can be done in a history class at university level. ...
With the rapid development of games in the 21st century, the panoply of games on history shows a wide variety. Backstories from most historical eras have been implemented in different game genres and modalities. Furthermore, a growing number of studies have pointed to the didactic potential of historical games as learning tools. This study aims at investigating university students' perceptions of gaming and their game preferences, with a particular focus on history. The research question to answer was: "What types of games do history students play, and how can games, in their view, contribute to learning in their subject?" Educational action research was used as the overall strategy in a study where data was collected from five different university course groups in general history at the basic level. Students answered questionnaires with open ended questions about gaming preferences and their perceptions of games. The answers were then analysed in an inductive thematic analysis. Findings show that the students play a mix of analogue board games, digital games and hybrid forms. In the transmedial array of games available, important genres include role playing games, strategy games, quizzes and first-person action games. The students frequently provide arguments for the use of games in history education, and they give reasons why they find a particular game useful for this purpose. They describe how these games have a potential to add value to history education. To some extent, they also discuss how this can be implemented. In conclusion, the authors argue that so-called technology tree games are particularly relevant to learning history from a structural perspective, while RPG:s can strengthen interpretive approaches through a subjective historical experience.
... Within the field of history education alone, a wide range of historical eras have been used as the setting for many different game genres and modalities. The idea of using games in history education has been discussed in academic research since at least the 1990ies and early 2000s (McCarty, 2001;Squire, 2003). Game-based learning for history education can be designed around tailored serious games, or with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games. ...
... The game most frequently discussed in research on games for history education is the Civilization series, originally developed by Sid Meier (with Bruce Shelley) in 1991 (Squire 2003;Fogu, 2009;Guys, 2012;Ford 2016). The basic concept and many central game mechanics from Civilization have been copied many times, while the Civilization series is still currently popular. ...
... Previous research also describes the successful integration of game-based learning in history courses where game playing was combined with themed and detailed instruction (Squire, 2003;McCall, 2016). Wainwright (2014) describes how this can be done in a history class at university level. ...
With the rapid development of games in the 21st century, the panoply of games on history shows a wide variety. Backstories from most historical eras have been implemented in different game genres and modalities. Furthermore, a growing number of studies have pointed to the didactic potential of historical games as learning tools. This study aims at investigating university students' perceptions of gaming and their game preferences, with a particular focus on history. The research question to answer was: "What types of games do history students play, and how can games, in their view, contribute to learning in their subject?" Educational action research was used as the overall strategy in a study where data was collected from five different university course groups in general history at the basic level. Students answered questionnaires with open ended questions about gaming preferences and their perceptions of games. The answers were then analysed in an inductive thematic analysis. Findings show that the students play a mix of analogue board games, digital games and hybrid forms. In the transmedial array of games available, important genres include role playing games, strategy games, quizzes and first-person action games. The students frequently provide arguments for the use of games in history education, and they give reasons why they find a particular game useful for this purpose. They describe how these games have a potential to add value to history education. To some extent, they also discuss how this can be implemented. In conclusion, the authors argue that so-called technology tree games are particularly relevant to learning history from a structural perspective, while RPG:s can strengthen interpretive approaches through a subjective historical experience.
... Por otro lado, este tipo de tecnología ofrece muchos beneficios pedagógicos sobre los métodos tradicionales de enseñanza (Connolly, et al., 2009). Squire (2004) establece que los videojuegos admiten una forma de aprendizaje que deja atrás los límites disciplinarios tradicionales y resalta la resolución integrada de problemas. ...
... Un número creciente de investigadores y académicos reconocen el impacto cultural de los videojuegos (Prensky, 2004;Squire, 2004;Puentedura, 2007). Algunos autores piensan que jugar videojuegos trae resultados positivos para los estudiantes, ya que han demostrado que los jugadores pueden mejorar o desarrollar diferentes habilidades (Dickey, 2011;Watson, et al., 2011). ...
... The game incorporates factual information about the Great Wall, both within the game and on gamerelated websites, but far more information about the Great Wall is available outside the bounds of the game. For some players, this information gap provokes them to seek out better information on the Great Wall using other sources (Squire 2004). For players like this to feel that they truly understand the Great Wall as a concept, it is not enough to know how to manipulate it within the game. ...
Curiosity as a psychological state or trait is characterized by a preference for uncertainty that motivates responses such as exploring, manipulating, and questioning. Given the established link between curiosity and player engagement levels, game designers can thus induce curiosity by creating or increasing the salience of information gaps. To this end, a thorough understanding of curiosity its varieties, antecedents, and consequences is an essential addition to the designer’s toolbox. This paper reviews five key types of curiosity: perceptual curiosity, manipulatory curiosity, curiosity about the complex or ambiguous, conceptual curiosity, and adjustivereactive curiosity. It further examines a variety of game examples to show how each form can manifest during play. In addition, the present analysis ties established understandings of curiosity to Costikyan’s wellknown theory of uncertainty in games, proposing that designers can employ uncertainty to motivate, manipulate, and accommodate players’ curiosity levels.
... to a strong belief that digital games can be a powerful educational tool, with possible applications in the classroom settings (Rosas et al., 2003;Squire, 2011). While there are many positive claims, researchers argue that the introduction of digital games in schools might lead to shortened attention spans and social isolation (Marquis, 2013). ...
... Este punto es especialmente relevante en la enseñanza del patrimonio. Por ejemplo, Squire (2004) sugirió que el valor del juego de simulación Civilization radica en las oportunidades que ofrece a los estudiantes para experimentar con causas y efectos históricos, no en si enseña una cronología precisa de la historia mundial. Dado que los contrafactuales pueden ser útiles para aprender historia (Roberts, 2011), los juegos en los que las elecciones de los estudiantes pueden llevar a resultados distintos de los del registro histórico pueden proporcionar experiencias de aprendizaje valiosas para los profesores de ciencias sociales. ...
Research on the interaction of students with educational video games that integrate elements of cultural heritage remains limited. Generally, studies focus on the mediation of educators in this interaction or on the direct analysis of the games. This has created a gap in our understanding of the meanings that students develop on their own while playing these video games. This study, based on qualitative interviews, examines the video game franchise Assassin's Creed, which recreates various historical periods and cultures through detailed narratives and settings. Participants indicated that the game offered them an immersive perspective on cultural heritage, different from the traditional educational experience in classrooms. They expressed a personal connection with non-playable characters (NPCs) and gained a more detailed and realistic understanding of the diverse perspectives in these natural, cultural, and social environments. Furthermore, they were willing to let their perceptions of cultural heritage be shaped by the game and reflected on the ethical and social implications of heritage representation in digital media. However, they showed a tendency to overlook opportunities for a more critical and in-depth analysis of these digital experiences. This highlights the need to explore strategies to foster a critical approach in the study of gaming experiences and underscores the importance of strengthening the human connection with heritage in heritage education.
Videogames e jogos eletrônicos são fontes históricas? São artefatos culturais? Existem métodos para essa discussão? Há uma historiografia especializada dedicada à sua profissionalização? O presente texto responde afirmativamente a todas essas questões e problematiza questões de um campo ainda em desenvolvimento, mas com uma demanda crescente do ponto de vista da perspectiva histórica. Embora este campo de estudo esteja paulatinamente constituindo uma agenda nos últimos anos, muito ainda pode ser desenvolvido no Brasil com o incentivo das graduações e pós-graduações.
Human behavior in cyber space is extremely complex. Change is the only constant as technologies and social contexts evolve rapidly. This leads to new behaviors in cybersecurity, Facebook use, smartphone habits, social networking, and many more. Scientific research in this area is becoming an established field and has already generated a broad range of social impacts. Alongside the four key elements (users, technologies, activities, and effects), the text covers cyber law, business, health, governance, education, and many other fields. Written by international scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this handbook brings all these aspects together in a clear, user-friendly format. After introducing the history and development of the field, each chapter synthesizes the most recent advances in key topics, highlights leading scholars and their major achievements, and identifies core future directions. It is the ideal overview of the field for researchers, scholars, and students alike.
Human behavior in cyber space is extremely complex. Change is the only constant as technologies and social contexts evolve rapidly. This leads to new behaviors in cybersecurity, Facebook use, smartphone habits, social networking, and many more. Scientific research in this area is becoming an established field and has already generated a broad range of social impacts. Alongside the four key elements (users, technologies, activities, and effects), the text covers cyber law, business, health, governance, education, and many other fields. Written by international scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this handbook brings all these aspects together in a clear, user-friendly format. After introducing the history and development of the field, each chapter synthesizes the most recent advances in key topics, highlights leading scholars and their major achievements, and identifies core future directions. It is the ideal overview of the field for researchers, scholars, and students alike.
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