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

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

3. sticky idea?

4. video games help
rewire brains

5. rewiring brains is a
good thing

6. research & rationale
share resources
action plan
demo some games

7. AP US History

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

11. characteristics of a highly
effective learning
environment?

12. • students make choices
• students become experts
• solving problems is
required
• immediate feedback

13. • there’s always an answer
• “cheating” is allowed
• failure isn’t bad
• learning is collaborative

14. “Better theories of learning are
embedded in the video
games many children play
than in the schools they
attend.”
!
James Gee
What Video Games Have to Teach Us
About Literacy & Learning

15. brain
research
effective
learning
environments

16. video games
brain
research
effective
learning
environments

17. gamification?

18. gamification
modifying reality to
resemble a game

19. game-based learning
modifying a game to
resemble reality

20. so what kinds of things
can we do with games?

21. • historical content &
accuracy
• analyze as evidence
• character study

22. • annotation of
screenshots
• game play reflection
• writing prompts

23. ”What role does
geography play in the
development of a
successful country? Use
evidence from
Civilization and what
you already know.”

24. socialstudiescentral.com
> Technology for Social Studies Teachers

25. iCivics
icivics.org

26. Mission US
mission-us.org

27. stopdisastersgame.org
Stop Disasters

28. Pursued
pursued.nemesys.hu

29. serious games
gamesforchange.org

30. educade
educade.org

31. SimCityEdu
simcityedu.org

32. MineCraftEdu
minecraftedu.com

33. commercial games

34. next steps?
learn more about games

35. Gaming the Past: Using
Video Games to Teach
Secondary History
Jeremiah McCall
Using Games in the History
Classroom
teachinghistory.org

36. Gaming Can Save the World
Jane McGonigal

37. ask about their games
start small
go online #gbl
create your own path

38. what are you
“zinking”
about?

39. have more questions?
contact:
Glenn Wiebe
glennw@essdack.org
socialstudiescentral.com
glennwiebe.org
@glennw98