Having Fun is a Good Thing
Online Simulations and Video
Games in Social Studies
KCSS Conference
October 2008
Glenn Wiebe
glennw@essdack.org

60 minutes!? Are you
kidding me?

Sticky idea?

Video games are an absolute
essential for your toolkit

The top 10 jobs
predicted for 2010
didn’t exist in
2004

There are over
150 million people
using Social Networks

China has more
gifted kids
than we have kids

A seven year-old signed a
six figure endorsement deal
to play professional video games
thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/06/did-you-know-20.html

So what?

“Today’s students
are no longer the
people our educational
system was designed
to teach.”
Marc Prensky

“If you wanted to
create an educational
environment that was
directly opposed to
what the brain is good at
doing . . .

“. . . you would
probably design
something like a
modern
classroom.”
John Medina
Brain Rules

Yeah . . . so?

Tic Tac Toe

Pong

Galaga

SimCity

Second Life

Games
haven’t
gotten simpler
over time

They’ve gotten more complex

Why?

Because the brain
demands it

Brains
search for
patterns

Brains work best when emotional
chemicals are increased

Brains want to
work with
others

Games provide structured patterns

Games create emotional connections

Games encourage collaborative learning

“. . . exceptionally tasty
patterns of reality.”

Everything Bad is Good for You
Steven Johnson
How Computer Games Help
Children Learn
David Williamson Shaffer
Don’t Bother Me, Mom --
I’m Learning!
Marc Prensky

So . . . whatcha
thinkin’?

www.stopdisastersgame.org

www.teamtreks.com

More goodies at:
historytech.wordpress.com
“Presentations”
- “Having Fun is a Good Thing”

What can you adapt?
What do you like?
What are some possible challenges?

“All child drug addicts . . . are
comic-book readers. This kind of thing is
not good mental nourishment for
children!”
Fredric Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent, 1954

Gaming myths?

www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

Scientific evidence links violence and video
games
www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

Scientific evidence links violence and video
games
It’s mostly kids / mostly boys
www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

Scientific evidence links violence and video
games
It’s mostly kids / mostly boys
Gaming creates isolated loners
www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

“Mini” & complex games are the same
www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

“Mini” & complex games are the same
It’s really not that big of a deal
www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

secondlife.reuters.com

So what
questions should
a teacher ask?

Some other great examples

www.discoverbabylon.org

www.knowledgematters.com

What games do you use?

One new thing you learned?
One question that you need
answered?

\"People do not quit playing
because they grow old; they
grow old because they quit
playing.\"
Oliver Wendell Holmes

Tech integration questions?
Social studies issues? I would
love to hear from you!
Glenn Wiebe
glennw@essdack.org
socialstudiescentral.com
historytech.wordpress.com
View presentations at:
slideshare.net/glennw98