I had an interesting conversation with a teacher about alternatives to reading textbooks. I suggested considering using games and simulations as interactive texts, an idea I’ve blogged about before. To give her an idea about the possibilities out there, I shared the following resources.
https://games2teach.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/where-do-i-start/ – A good introduction to using online games including some very popular examples for comparison.
http://socialstudiescentral.com/?q=content/online-interactive-simulations – Links to lots of historical simulations.
http://gamingthepast.net/ – Blog with lots of examples and other info. (Look down the right-hand menu bar for links to simulations as well as information on creating and using simulations.)
http://seriousgames.msu.edu/games.php – Games with a serious message such as the health, environment, etc.
http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/ – Games that advocate for societal change.
http://www.icivics.org/games – Civics games exploring the Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court, etc. Some are very detailed.
http://www.mcvideogame.com/ – A game parody that is critical of McDonald’s. (See screenshot at top.) A very nice example of social commentary through gaming.
ESL Technology.com 