Created as a collaboration between the Council of Europe’s HISTOLAB project and the Historical Games Network, we’ve created a tutorial explores how teachers can begin to use historical videogames in their classes. It uses two games developed by Charles Games (Attentat 1942 and Svoboda 1945) as examples.
HGN co-convenors Esther Wright, Iain Donald and Nick Webber explore how these games can be used to engage students with specific elements of Czech history during and after the Second World War, and explore themes of resistance and civilian experience of the conflict. They also consider ways of encouraging students to think about the role of memory and family history, and what the role of the historian is in making sense of the past. The video highlights some general principles and guidelines in using videogames in history classes, as well as possible challenges that this might pose.
The tutorial – number 6. in the series – and supporting resources, can be accessed via the HISTOLAB website.