Exploring the Use of the Fort McMoney Documentary-Game in Grade 9 Geography Classrooms Mike Farley Teacher and Department Coordinator of Canadian and World Studies, University of Toronto Schools
The docu-game Fort McMoney, unlike any research assignment, gives the player a HUGE variety of perspectives, and we can see the full spectrum of the socio-economic impact of the oil sands. Talking to the homeless in Fort McMurray provides an opinion that is just as rich and useful as interviewing the mayor. - Student survey response
Personal Introduction I would like to thank the Newton Foundation for its generous support of this research. In the late 90s I graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours degree in International Development Studies. I subsequently earned a B.Ed from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE/UT). I have been teaching middle and high school Geography and Social Studies for 14 years in the Toronto District School Board and currently at University of Toronto Schools (UTS). UTS is a university
preparatory school, grades 7 through 12, affiliated with the University of Toronto. I have been using digital games with my classes for over ten years and in 2013 founded ChangeGamer, an organization comprised of teachers and academics who are passionate about game-based learning (www.changegamer.ca). I am a frequent presenter at conferences in Canada and the United States and a number of my game-related and non game-related activities have been published in a variety of sources.
A Context for My Research I liked the element of endlessness that came with playing Fort McMoney and how you felt like you had never explored enough, that there was a whole world hidden by one decision. - Student survey response A little over ten years ago I stumbled across a game called PAX Warrior that put you in the shoes of General Romeo Dallaire in the months leading
up to the Rwandan genocide. The thought of using a digital game in class had never occurred to me, but I was teaching a Grade 12 World Issues 43