Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Using Video Games for Teaching History. Experiences and Challenges

2014; Volume: 1; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.30958/ajhis.1-1-1

2407-9677

Laura Radetich, Eduardo Jakubowicz,

Geography and Education Methods

The starting point of this project was the research seminar "Planning lessons with video games," issued in 2013 as part of the offer grade for preparing future teachers of History at Faculty of Philosophy and Literature in the University of Buenos Aires.This seminar aimed to open a debate on the use of video games to teach history, so experiences were developed as a method by applying action research institutions in public and private management.The focus of the program was the importance of the game in learning environments and focus on action research in the context of theories of learning, working with this investigative modality as a learning strategy for training of trainers and teachers of history.We will describe the basic theoretical elements of this experience.Vol. 1, No. 1 Radetich et al.: Using Video Games for Teaching History... 10 use of video games in History teaching.For this purpose, classroom experiences were conducted applying action-research methodology in public and private institutions of the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires (AMBA).The importance of video games in learning environments is related to the dynamics of the interaction between the game and the symbolic universe created by the learner.This interaction is supported by the immersion process, which facilitates a sense of belonging to those environments and the development of a particular narrative.According to Bruner 1 (2013, 141), the language of History is part of what "is", thus being indicative, whereas the language of a videogame could be considered subjunctive or the language of what "might be" (counterfactual History).This strategy helps learners question the narrative of historiography from argumentation, and it implies an exercise of reconstruction and reorganization of the information, a process which Edgar Morin would call complex thought, one which integrates, orders, clarifies, distinguishes and gives accuracy to knowledge.Other authors state: Why should one read about Ancient Rome if they can construct it? 2 .Studies indicate that youngsters today play during more hours than those they dedicate to reading or even television.However, educators do not seem to understand the circumstances in which simulation sparks teenage curiosity and produces an interaction with alternative worlds that other media do not succeed in attaining."Civilization III can offer a story of advantageous geographical conditions that provides access to global trade networks, resources, technologies, and limited op-portunities for population expansion.In the words of one stu-dent, the game shows "how geography and gold (i.e., materialist goods) determine how history plays out".Thus Civilization III enlisted students' identities as gamers and created a space where they could bring their own experiences to the study of world history" 3 .Kurt Squire agrees that video games provide a logic which allow bringing forth a change in education paradigms, until now based on "learning about" to ones based on "learning to do" and "learning to be", redirecting the focus of teaching.In turn, Gee wonders why schools and other teaching institutions should use the norms contained in good video games.The answer is that video games place emphasis on the resolution of problems.They offer a good synthesis of practice and orientation.They use language and display complex concepts when necessary, i.e. when these can be used and understood better.A lot of time is needed to carry out tasks, but the players are motivated to endure it since the games pose a sequence of challenges with growing degree of difficulty, in a way that they are constantly making full use of their abilities, 1