The Future of Historical Simulations

Abstract

The purpose of my original study was to examine the range of software simulations marketed for history students and to evaluate their individual worth as teaching aids in higher education. From the simulations that I had already seen in operation in schools and at exhibitions, I had formu lated the hypothesis that history simulations (as distinct from, say, econo mic simulations) were not suitable for higher educational needs. For example, at the 1986 'History and Computing' Conference at West field College, London, the simulation, 1914 (Cambridge University Press) was ondisplay. Based on the information received from the simulation program, the user/s make decisions that relate to a six weeks period of the First World War. They then study the consequences of their decision-making. Even though users may notch up a considerable number of computer-allocated points through successfully engaging in battles, the outcome of 1914 is preordained by the realities of history. The program forces users into being an inevitable part of the French retreat. Thus users with no points, and those with a myriad of points, still find themselves with their backs up against the walls of Paris by the end of the game. If the point of the exercise is to show students that the French were unsuccessful in their first major war of the century, a far less elaborate device would suffice. The skills that users may have acquired in the course of this simulation relate to military strategy and tactics: these, however, are scarcely requirements for a modern historian. The best pedagogic history use that could result from the game derives from its support material, the back-up in terms of maps and information sheets. Sifting through these parerga, students might become familiar with a few of the sources used by historians to study particular events or sequences although these still very much lie within the sphere of the military historian. Furthermore, the introduction to such sources scarcely justifies requiring undergraduates a priori to operate a computerised simulation package for several hours. Played as a game, this simulation might provide a point of interest beyond the tedium of the classroom for 12-15 year olds; thus school hi story teachers might generate a more sympathetic reception to their lessons