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May 26, 2024 · In an era long before high-speed internet and immersive VR, The Oregon Trail revolutionized history education by transporting students into a simulation of the past. Rather than passively reading a textbook, kids could step into the worn boots of a pioneer and navigate the westward journey themselves.
- The Oregon Trail as A Teaching Tool
- Land Acknowledgement
- Paths Not Taken
- Rethinking The Game Design
- When Rivers Were Trails
- Future Directions
- Exploring History
- Exodusters
In terms of engaging children, Oregon Trail was wildly successful. As a way of critically engaging with U.S. historythough, the game had a number of serious limitations. For one, the fact that early-game overhunting led to late-game food shortages was never impressed on my brain in childhood. While I gleefully participated in the destruction of the...
More serious are some of the unquestioned assumptions about U.S. history in the game. Rawitsch included encounters with Native Americans in the game, and to his credit made a conscious decision to avoid hostile encounters with them. Left unspoken, however, is the fact that these settlers were moving across a country that was rapidly dispossessing N...
Consider other facets, too. Oregon was settled almost exclusively by Euroamericans who wanted to build a state for themselves. There was a small French trapper community who had intermingled with Native Americans in Oregon who remain largely forgotten today; early American settlers were unlikely to commemorate people who frequently intermarriedwith...
One approach to fixing this has been simply remaking Oregon Trail to depict more indigenous figures, and in a less passive light. Oregon Trail has been updated and remade on the Apple Store, and this time, indigenous characters are actually playable. The designers worked with historians and consultants to ensure that the representation didn’t lapse...
Another game that looks at this issue is When Rivers Were Trails. Here, the perspective is exclusively an indigenous one. Set in the 1890s, players assume the role of an Anishinaabeg tribe member displaced from their land who heads to California. The game’s narrative is rooted in the multiple crises facing Native Americans by the end of the ninetee...
Of course, as with most good ideas, there are a few different ways to explore some of these themes that either have not yet been tapped or have been done less successfully. Few remember it, but MECC, the same company that released Oregon Trail, also created a game about the Underground Railroad. It was called Freedom! The project had grown out from...
Consider, too, exploration of North America before Euroamerican settlement was fully felt. There’s a strange sentiment that persists among some people that it took Europeans to fully explore North America, but the truth is that there are stories of Native American explorers. Moncacht-apé, a member of the Natchez tribe in Mississippi, told a French ...
Finally, what about the African American experience outside of slavery? In the 1870s, many African Americans began leaving the South after Reconstruction had ended and as white governments began violently reimposing control over African Americans. A large migration of people headed to Kansas in what became known as the Exoduster movement. A game on...
- Zeb Larson
Mar 29, 2018 · The Oregon Trail does a good job with that — the game flows with a narrative, and engages players by giving them a choice even in simple things like their names and people in their family.
Dec 2, 2021 · At its heart, Dyson said, The Oregon Trail stands out for a simpler reason: “It’s a good game.” It mixes resource management with an engaging “hero’s journey” narrative. “The game is very well balanced,” he said.
Dec 2, 2018 · Step into the shoes of pioneers on the Oregon Trail with this classroom simulation. Navigate challenges, make crucial decisions, and gain insight into the historical significance of this iconic journey of westward expansion.
The Oregon Trail game is an educational tool that teaches players about the hardships and risks faced by pioneers during their westward migration. It also imparts lessons in decision-making, resource management, and problem-solving, making it a valuable educational game that combines history with interactive learning.
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Dec 1, 2023 · Explore engaging Oregon Trail games and lesson activities for an immersive educational experience. From digital simulations to hands-on projects, discover innovative ways to teach history with critical thinking skills while embarking on an educational journey.
