Video Games in the Classroom
One regular conversation I used to have with disengaged students in my history and geography lessons was that they did not need to learn the information in these subjects because they were going to be a game developer and these topics have nothing to do with the career they wanted. They would not believe me that the learning available to them in these subjects could have a significant impact on the content of the games they planned to work on, not to mention the work ethic that the workplace requires that they could be developing in the classroom.
Of course, getting a student to hear you when you’re knowledge and advice will actually be beneficial to them is an uphill battle. For teachers, the things we teach, the support and advice we give, is a seed that we will likely never see sprout. It is likely that those students who dismiss your subject as irrelevant to their future career will not hear you.
I once overheard a group of students in a Religious Education lesson that I was teaching talking about putting one another in the ‘gulag’. I was surprise that these 12-year-olds knew what a ‘gulag’ was (although they did not appear to understand the true nature of the forced labour system and disappearances associated with these camps). I stopped and asked them how they knew what a gulag was and they said, “Call of Duty, Miss.” I understood straight away, the context they had of ‘gulag’ had came from the most recent in the Call of Duty series: Cold War. Being the teacher I am, and the history-obsessed person I am, I stopped to chat and clarify what they were talking about, as well as give them a clearer concept of what the real gulag system was all about.
I have incorporated the occasional video game into learning, but they tend to miss the deeper learning intention attached to the game. They just see it as an opportunity to avoid doing classwork. In a senior class in which we had been learning philosophical perspectives on what makes us human, I introduced hypothetical ethical issues connected with the development of androids and artificial intelligence through the game Detroit. The tagline for the game was ‘Become Human’ . I bought in a console, controller and the game into the classroom and had students play over two lessons to become familiar with the concept of the game (Detroit allows players to play as androids and complete in intertwining story that explores the outcomes of what could happen to each of them as they deviate from programming to develop independent, human, thought). These lessons were followed up with learning and examples from the game about what it means to be human and how does the line of being human become blurred in an age of growing technology. Unfortunately my students switched off again once I’d stopped bringing the game in to play; the discussion did not seem to interest them and they could not be bothered applying the philosophy they had been learning over the course of the semester to the activities connected to this game.
Not every game can offer a potential in-road to a disengaged student’s engagement with your subject. And, as I have mentioned, the concept trying to be taught with the game can be totally missed by students who just want to play. For example, I would not use Call of Duty to specifically teach about modern warfare in history lessons. It does offer historical content however the objectives of the game don’t necessarily highlight content that I tend to focus on in history lessons on these specific periods. I also don’t want to turn periods or modern warfare into something trivial by reducing it to gameplay. There is learning that can be linked to games like Call of Duty, you just have to select the right audience. In some games, the concept that you are trying to explore with students can only be reached after hours of gameplay, which we just don’t have time for in a jam-packed curriculum.
Strategy and puzzle games can offer students the opportunity to develop unique skills, especially in English and Maths (improving literacy and numeracy). These can be simple phone or PC games students can be recommended to access. Role-player games draw on a wide range of skills and knowledge, in addition to planning and strategy when it comes to making your way through the story. In moderation, each type of game offers potential.
As a history and geography teacher, many games involve being able to read a map, to understand terrain, and to make decisions on their understanding of the map’s details. Whether navigating a distant or parallel future in space or fictional, fantasy realm, having an understanding of map features makes a difference in the decisions a person makes when approaching their next step in the game. Historical content, including understanding of ancient and medieval mythologies of various civilisations, informs much of the content of games. The most recent release in the Assassin’s Creed series was called Valhalla, bringing to life the unique gameplay of this series to the Vikings period.
I always wanted to use video games in the classroom more, keeping an eye out for games that would suit the content and effectively engage students. There is the challenge of getting the right balance as well as supporting the game content with meaningful teaching and learning strategies. However, even having knowledge of the games students are playing will allow teachers to have informal “teachable moments” with students, drawing out genuine learning and making authentic links to the subjects they are learning in the classroom.
