Check out this great event co-sponsored by the Duke Franklin Humanities Institute and Wake Forest University, which is free for Duke faculty, staff and graduate students to attend. These are “low-tech” games that have shown improvement to in-class teaching and learning experiences (See: How Reacting to the Past Games “Made Me Want to Come to Class and Learn”…)
Having personally participated in two of these “Reacting To The Past” simulations, I asked game creator Tony Crider to speak at the CIT Showcase 2012 session on games for learning. Tony explained that the game he designed, “the Pluto Debate,” boosted engagement and discussion amongst the undergraduate students in his college astronomy class.
Duke faculty fellow Adeline Koh is helping organize this event, and she has included this suggestion in her blog post: “For a 60-second introduction to RTTP, check out the exchange between Alex Trebek and professor Stephanie Jass: https://youtu.be/pwRORs3PaZs“
Especially if you don’t consider yourself a “gamer,” I highly recommend attending and participating in at least one of these sessions. You will take part in a well-designed, thoughtful game using principles that can be useful to implement in any learning environment. As a participant, you might even find yourself gaining a fresh perspective on world history in a more active way than watching the new Spielberg movie. Please note: Daniel Day-Lewis is not yet confirmed to play Abraham Lincoln at the “Reacting to the Past” conference, however it appears that Charles Dickens and even Frederick Douglass may be there.
Check out student perspectives on RTTP below: