A couple of teachers have recently been starting some conversations about the role that video games might play in the future of learning. In fact, our shop teacher has been in discussions with a game designer at a local military training base to design a game to virtually (and safely) teach students about using some of the finger-chomping machines in our woodshop. The military is increasingly using virtual worlds to train soldiers.

Now comes Canada – The New World. I read about it last week in our local newspaper, and saw it again in David Warlick‘s blog. It’s a new video game based on award-winning, best-seller Sid Meier’s Civilization III game.

The game allows participants to play their way through Canadian history as the English, the French or as a mamber of the First Nations. The real catch is that the game allows participants to make decisions of who to join forces with, where to fight or retreat or where to explore next. This is real partipatory history!

The game can be downloaded for free for those who already have Civilization III.
Add this to the growing list of virtual spaces that are emerging that hold huge potential as engaging learning tools…Just think where this could fit in our “softer” schools.

Technorati tags: education, teaching, technology, HistoriCanada, Canada