Charles Explorer logo
🇬🇧

Computer games in historical education

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2022

Abstract

Computer games have become a daily part of the student's lifes. They serve as a filler of free time and as an opportunity to realx. A large part of these games are historically themed computer games across various genres. However, strategy games are most often set in history. Everyone has come across a computer game with a historical theme. Historical computer games also have a significant impact on the perception of history. Students often encouter historically themed computer games before historical education at school. The games therefore shape the students' view and opinion on history itself, determine their interest, or lack there of, in this subject.

At the beginning of my contribution, I would focus on the evaluation of professional historical research on computer games, their reflection in the Czech historical communitiy (e.g. texts by Jan Kremer, Ivan Šedivý, or Tomáš Mikeska). Wheter they are given enough attention. In the second part of my post, I would focus on the educational aspect of games. Whether the games really have didactic utility and can be beneficial in teaching about history. Furthermore, I would like to present suggestions for various possibilities of involving computer games in the teaching about history. Presentation of arguments as to wether such involvement is at all realistic and acceptable or vice versa.