April 20, 2026
Headlines

history

How a Teacher Used Civilization IV to Teach Roman History

Natalija Knaidele05 mins

Education Games Research had an account of a Canadian teacher, Dr. Shawn Graham, who employed a unique approach in using games in education. The teacher set up a scenario in the popular simulation game Civilization IV to allow students to become one of the factions in Ancient Rome’s “Year of the Four Emperors” that took place in 69 A.D. after the assassination of Nero. During that year, four successive Roman generals, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian in rapid succession marched on Rome with their legions and seized power.

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Brenda Romero on Teaching Controversial History with Gamification

Ivan Kuo04 mins

When Brenda Brathwaite Romero’s 7-year old daughter came home talking about the Middle Passage, she clearly didn’t understand its significance to American and black history. Instead, she thought of those slaves as going on a cruise. Romero needed her to understand the truth.

As a long-time game designer, Romero (then Brathwaite) gathered together some game pieces and 3 x 5 cards and on the spot created a prototype for a game she called The New World. By the time she and her daughter were done playing the game, they were both crying. The historical events impacted them in a new way. Not only did they understand the facts, they began to gain a deeper respect and empathy for those players of history.

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conspiracy code

Conspiracy Code Conspires to Teach American History

Kevin Shane03 mins

Conspiracy Code Teaches American History with Virtual Spies When considering the difference between gamified learning and game-based learning, Conspiracy Code is a perfect example of a game-based learning game. Conspiracy Code is a 3rd person action/puzzler game that teaches a high school American History curriculum. Students play the game as two teenagers named Eddie and Libby living…

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big history project

The Big History Project Teaches The Story of Humanity with Game Based Learning

Kevin Shane25 mins

What do you get when you cross a maverick historian, a tech legend, and game based learning techniques? You get The Big History Project, a revolutionary online initiative that challenges the way history is traditionally taught.

The online project, formerly only available to educators, is backed by Microsoft and championed by Bill Gates himself, is in its third year and is being used in over 100 schools across eight countries.

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Op-Ed: Counting Coup

Vincent Carrella01 mins

Eagle Feathers, Hoof-Prints and War Paint: The Achievements and Awards of the Indians of the Plains Vincent Carrella is the author of the novel Serpent Box (Harper/Perennial). He also writes Giphantia, a weekly blogazine. Imagine you live in a small community of interdependent people. Your very survival depends upon a single source of food and raw…

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