This panel will promote the use of digital games in the history classroom as a way to engage students in historical analysis and critique in a medium that they already use, in many cases, on a daily basis. It will reveal how to overcome the technological and financial barriers for including games on the syllabus. The panel will also provide specific examples of digital game assignments and projects for survey classes and upper division courses as well as history classes at high schools, community colleges, small liberal arts colleges, and universities. This assignment discussion will explore the advantages and disadvantages of using popular digital games, such as Assassin’s Creed, and educational games, such as Mission US, for history classes.

Furthermore, this panel will discuss their success and failures with digital game development in the history classroom using development tools such as Twine, GameMaker, and RPG Maker. It will explore how many of the tools used by history students for research paper assignments and live action role play games (like Reacting to the Past) can be utilized for digital game development as well. Finally, this panel will consider the longstanding relationship between historians and digital game development. This consideration will come just after the 50th anniversary of The Oregon Trail, which debuted in a Minnesota junior high classroom in December 1971.