1. MAKING HISTORY GAMES
Not talking about: apps, PC games, online games, games FROM history

2. WHY MAKE GAMES?

3. WHY MAKE GAMES? too much school is too serious for kids
good first step – ‘playing around’
to create engagement
students are willing to take risks in games
students more willing to accept negative feedback in a game situation
motivation – students are more likely to learn something in order to win a game than because some curriculum document said they had do

4. WHY MAKE GAMES? a specific reason that will improve learning
develop 21st century skills, specifically:
creative thinking
critical thinking / problem solving
collaboration
not just to make things fun
not because they’re easy to make
not because of ‘stealth learning’

5. GAMES? GAMIFICATION? SIMULATION?

6. GAMES feedback rules challenge
give the player information about their performance
rules
challenge
gets harder
chunking
sequencing
scaffolding

7. GAMES fantasy challenge curiosity games don’t have to be realistic
safe testing of new skill or knowledge
episodic memory – you remember better because its part of a fun and engaging activity
challenge
curiosity
fuelled by fantasy
because the game isn’t real

8. GAMIFICATION Using game-based mechanics to promote learning
structural gamification
e.g. getting points for watching videos like the Khan Academy
content gamification
e.g. adding story elements to content (e.g. my learning adventures)
story, challenge, curiosity, character, interactivity, feedback, freedom to fail
stop cheating by playtesting
“It’s impossible to cheat in this game!”

9. SIMULATION realistic controlled risk a chance to practice behaviours
experience the results of decisions
best for applying learning

10. PRINCIPLES OF GAME MAKING

11. TYPES OF GAME ACTIVITIES
Testing game vs. teaching game
To use a testing game to teach, add lots of repetition
E.g. duolingo
Matching – e.g. trivia, hangman
Collecting / capturing games e.g. pacman, go fish
Allocating resources e.g. SimCity
Strategising (allocating resources, but against others) e.g. chess, Risk

12. TYPES OF GAME ACTIVITIES
Building – e.g. Jenga, MineCraft
Puzzle solving – e.g. Cluedo
Exploring (looking for items of value) – e.g. Myst, Riven
Helping e.g. Lemmings
Roleplaying e.g. Dungeons and Dragons

13. LEARNING TAXONOMIES AND GAMES
Bloom’s level
Possible type of game
Create
Building
Evaluate
Strategy
Analyse
Allocating resources
Apply
Role playing
Understand
Puzzle solving, exploring
Remember
Matching, collecting

14. Jesse schell – the art of game designing
Theme
Repetition
Player’s mind
Story
World
Characters
Aesthetics
Team
Documents

15. GENERATING IDEAS

16. GENERATING IDEAS Play games! Simple question games
Board games
Video games
Mobile games
but study them as you play them
Simple question games
One lesson mini-games
Change an existing game

17. GENERATING IDEAS So if you want to… Try a… Teach new content
Content gamification
Motive students to work through a curriculum independently
Structural gamification
Teach learners to remember content knowledge
Game: matching / collecting
Teach students to construct meaning from sources
Game: puzzle solving / exploring

18. MAKING LEARNING CENTRAL

19. MAKING LEARNING CENTRAL
Pre and post test students to see that the game is helping students to learn
E.g. using Google Docs and ‘flubaroo’ script that automatically marks them

20. EXAMPLES

21. PUBLISHED GAMES Timeline: historical events
Axis and Allies (WWI, WWII)
Civilisation PC game
Stone Age

27. My inventions HistorySmash: Greece Simulations: History Guess Who?
EarthCraft
Planetology
Geography games
Greenville
Imperium
Mining Wars
MegaBoss
Population game
Economics game
ASX20 Sharemarket game

33. RESOURCES

34. RESOURCES
The gamification of learning and instruction fieldbook – K. Kapp, L. Blair, R. Mesch
The art of game design (a book of lenses) – J. Schell
And the free app “The Art of Game Design: A Deck of Lenses”
Play – Stuart Brown
This presentation:
With documents for the other games referred to
Links to pages about history games My