Gaming for Learning

In this digital age it can sometimes be difficult to filter out the distractions that come with the power of technology.  Social media, viral videos, and video games can pull our attention away from more important tasks in our busy lives.  However, one innovative teacher in the Middle school is trying to take of one of those "distractions" and turn it into a powerful learning tool in his classroom.

In Mr. Gibault's grade eight Humanities class, students have been hard at work learning many concepts related to the growth of civilizations and the impact that growth has on the world at large.  Concepts such as supply and demand, and the importance of geography in the development of societies can be difficult to learn in a vacuum, so Mr. G (as his students refer to him as) turned to a video game called Sid Meier's Civilization V to provide context for these difficult ideas.

Civilization V is not your standard video game.  Students are put in charge of making all of the decisions for their developing civilization; where to expand new colonies, what new technology to develop, whether or not to make peace with other civilizations around them.  The game covers religion, economics, geography, science and technology, diplomacy and every decision the students make in the game has consequences for their fledgling civilizations.  They are constantly needing to weigh the costs and benefits of the choices they make.  But most importantly, they are seeing the concepts taught in class played out in a microcosm that they control.

That is the power in what is happening in Mr. G's room.  Students learn about key concepts by discussing and debating them in class,and then they get to experiment with them in a realistic environment.  In that way, Civilization V transcends a video game and becomes very much like what a lab is to science class: a chance to see learning in action.

If you want to know more about what has been happening with Civilization V, the students have been blogging about their experiences.  Take a moment to browse through the hard work they have done.