Dive Brief:
- History scholars often look at multiple sources to give them, what they hope, is a more accurate view of what they’re studying. Teacher Paul Darvasi worked with high school history teacher Keith Farrar to do the same, by having students play a video game, Total War: Rome II, in order to gain different perspectives on their study of ancient Rome.
- Video games let students try out alternate outcomes, potentially considering what may have happened if Caesar had not won a war, writes Farrar in Edutopia.
- Students tap into skills such as critical thinking, but also experience playful elements as part of their history class.
Dive Insight:
History is often relegated to dusty textbooks and lectures — hardly a mechanism for bringing moments alive in a student’s mind. Students record their own lives through memories, by tapping into visual, audio, textural and other sensory elements. That recall is obviously not possible for students studying the French Revolution or the cradle of civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Today's technology, however, provides context to the subjects that students study in school. Whether using video games to augment the study of ancient Rome, or taking a simulated walk through the North Pole through a virtual reality headset, students can see another view of historic moments or places that are off limits, and out of budget, for field trips. These tools broaden their understanding of past events, provide context for what students learn and bring lessons to life.
