Gaming and Simulation in Education

    The game I have decided to share with you all is the simulation-based game titled Oregon Trail. The link will be provided after this paragraph. The game follows a family of your creation as you traverse the United States westward attempting to make it to Oregon city. The game takes place during the 19th century, when westward expansion and migration were becoming prominent as more and more farmers and immigrants began to move west for in an exchange the government was providing. The government promised free land in exchange for these farmers in immigrants to farm that land to boost the economy out west and make the United States more profitable.  Below are a few screenshots of the starting portion of the game, along with the UI and the map of where you will have to travel.

The Oregon Trail - Play game online

              

         

         

    In the 11th grade United States History curriculum, much of it spends time talking about Westward Expansion and the Homestead Act. I would incorporate this game within this unit to show the effects that it had on everyday people and immigrants who were promised a better life out west. This game would fit perfectly, as it highlights the hardships and difficulties that existed for the people who did decide to venture out west in an attempt to gain a better life. Some objectives for the lesson I would use this simulation for could be as follows:

• Students will be able to effectively describe the effects of the Homestead Act and westward expansion.

• Students will be able to determine the necessary materials and technology needed for westward expansion.

• Students will be able to determine whether or not westward expansion was positive or negative for the people of the United States.

These objectives fit nicely into the curriculum, as well as rely on the simulation for much of the learning.

    In order to integrate this type of game into the class, we would first need to assess student understanding of technology and how to play games. This type of digital literacy is required when attempting to conduct a game or simulation. (Gee and Schaffer, p. 13). Once we have assessed students' ability with digital mediums, we then need to build context around the game. Prelude lessons are required about the motives behind westward expansion, and how the Homestead act became to be within the United States. Once that is done, an open ended question will be asked about if the students believe this journey across the United States was easy or difficult. This will set up the stage to introduce the game to the class. If there are students who are not digitally literate in regards to technology use, I will scaffold how to play the game using the keyboard. First, we can have an interactive game where I control the keyboard but students make the decisions. This is to help anyone who might not understand the game mechanics. Once that is complete, students can play their own version of the game on the laptops within the classroom.

    There are many different ways I would be able to assess students' literacy practices as well as the other learning goals. While this would not be the focal point of the assessment, the simulation offers you a score at the end of the game that is based on how well you navigated the trail. It is based on the sense behind the decisions you made, as well as the amount of resources you have left at the end. This is a built in assessment that evaluates the literacy skills of students, as making the correct decisions based on the information that is provided to them in game rewards you with a higher score. This is often typical for many games, as many video games integrate learning and assessment by having actions equate to differing and various consequences. (Gee and Schaffer, p. 14).Outside of the game, there are a variety of assessments that can be done. One idea being a brief summary of the struggles people faced during westward expansion, citing directly from the simulation as well as outside sources. Students can also choose to write if the game is accurate or not to the experiences of people who actually traveled the train by using primary and secondary sources to help them understand the experiences of those people.

References

Shaffer, D. W., & Gee, J. P. (2010). Looking where the light is bad: Video games and the future of assessment. ResearchGate, 6(1). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303856565_Looking_where_the_light_is_bad_Video_games_and_the_future_of_assessment

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