Having Fun is a Good Thing!
TIES 2008
Copper Mountain

Two hours!?
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

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

“Everything Bad is Good for You”
Steven Johnson
“Got Game?”
John C. Beck, Mitchell Wade
“Don’t Bother Me, Mom - I’m
Learning!”
Marc Prensky

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.”

Simpler?

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

www.stopdisastersgame.org

www.teamtreks.com

More goodies at:
historytech.wordpress.com

“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

www.dimenxian.com

www.peacemakergame.com

www.software-kids.com

What games do you use?

Railroad / Zoo / Roller Coaster Tycoon
Sim ThemePark / Sim City
Civilization III / Rise of Nations /
Age of Empires
The Sims
Global Conflicts: Palestine
Making History

“You don’t learn because you’re
engaged. You’re engaged because
you’re learning”
Nick deKanter
Muzzy Lane Software

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