Summary+of+History+learning

This is in a preliminary state, but my review of the history games seems to be taking me towards an argument for modding. I'm thinking that my response to the main question from the "non-midterm" is leading me towards the practical argument that modding is they way to go, and the articles about history games either have research about the learning effectiveness of //Civ// mods compared to other forms of delivery, or conceptual arguments for how to implement mods into learning about history. So far I've summarized only a few articles, and what I have would need some editing before I'd suggest including this in the larger paper. I'll expand more upon the modding, including both empirical and conceptual pieces, and it might end up being a nice piece of the paper.
 * Jerry 11/16/2010**

I do think that games that are designed explicitly for modding have a unique affordance that in many cases can be leveraged for Education. Modding as an affordance could be further subdivided into a) mods by teachers for teacher-directed instructional use of video games and b) mods by students, to display what they know (of history or other content).
 * Mike 11/30 **

**Reliving History** Akkerman, Admiraal, and Huizenga (2009) studied the combination of video game play and storification as a means for learning history. In their work, storification is the active process of forming a narrative that links characters, their motives and intentions, their actions, and their outcomes. The researchers used //Frequentie 1550//, a mobile game that utilizes mobile GPS phones to teach the history of medieval Amsterdam. One team of students would explore the city and view a map of medieval Amsterdam on their phones, while another team would use computers to follow the city team and guide them towards their objectives. The researchers were interested in the aspects of the game that would engage the students and foster the storification process, and collected data with respect to the different aspects of the game experience. Their research investigates the unique case of an e-learning experience that uses a game developed by educators and intended to be used simultaneously with the embodied experience of exploring the city in order to learn its history. Qualitative data and observations suggested that students did not pay much attention to the introductory coaching that provided back story for the game (Akkerman, Admiraal, and Huizenga, 2009). During the game, students received text messages and video messages that relayed narrative and objectives. Researchers observed that the students scrolled down to the last sentence of the text for directions, ignoring the narrative. They didn’t pay much attention to the narrative in the videos, only focusing on task. After a few days of game play, the researchers noted that the students began to pay more attention to these messages, and often reread and replayed them for understanding. During interactive components where students were encouraged to assume authorship and search for information, students who were were experienced with wikis and search engines were far more engaged than those who were inexperienced. In their summary, Akkerman, Admiraal, and Huizenga (2009) suggested that the computer teams that worked from a static location were able to gain a broader sense of the narrative of //Frequentie 1550//. They were able to use the internet, communication with the city team. the medieval map, and the game content to generate a sense of the whole picture in an abstract sense. On the other hand, the city team was juggling the learning experience with the experience of walking through the city with its sights and sounds, wafting in and out of the game flow experience. They lost a sense of the larger narrative, but when they did recreate historical narratives, experience real buildings, and take pictures of real landmarks, they gained a deeper and more meaningful understanding of a narrow piece of the narrative. The blend of information delivery within the context of an alternate reality game (ARG), a video game, and embodied experience makes this study truly unique.

**History Off-the-Shelf** Charksy and Mims (2008) offer suggestions for instructors who seek to use commercial video games in the classroom. They advocate contacting the public relations departments of video game developers in order to request donations, and teaming with academic researchers to collect data during the implementation and use of video games in the classroom. Games like //SimCity//, //Age of Empires//, and //Civilization// can be integrated into the curriculum, even if their content differs from the traditional texts. Charsky and Mims suggest having students play the games and then compare the content with historical reality, pointing out misperceptions and inaccuracies fostered by the game.

**Modding History** Moshirnia and Israel (2010) studied the educational potential of modified (or //modded//) video games. Students and instructors can mod commercial games to include educational content and learning affordances, while still retaining the production quality and the capacity for engagement that are often present in successful video games. Specifically, the researchers focused on the capacity to mod the look and abilities of characters, to change the maps and displays, and to create new text descriptions and challenges to spur new quests. The study assessed learning with a 20-item history test in line with state standards, and featured a pretest-posttest control group with PowerPoint instruction, a pretest-posttest group learning from an American Revolution mod of //Civilization IV//, and a posttest-only group that used the American Revolution mod. There was no significant difference between the knowledge gained in the PowerPoint pretest-posttest group compared to the mod pretest-posttest group, however there was a retention effect such that the mod learners were more likely to remember the information learned. In terms of delivery effectiveness, the game-playing participants underperformed on items that were based on information from the pop-up text, suggesting that the players don’t pay as much attention to the game text or interruptions in game play such as cut scenes. Performance on items that tested information gained from the appearance and abilities of the character sprites and the game displays was higher than the text pop ups.

Akkerman, S., Admiraal, W., & Huizenga, J. (2009). Storification in History education: A mobile game in and about medieval Amsterdam. //Computers & Education, 52//, 449-459.

Charsky, D., & Mims, C. (2008). Integrating commercial off-the-shelf video games into school curriculums. //Tech Trends, 52// (5), 38-44.

Moshirnia, A., & Israel, M. (2010). The educational efficacy of distinct information delivery systems in modified video games. //Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 21//(3), 383-405.