The Thin Red Line – Call of Duty in the Classroom

Call of Duty: Black Ops has undoubtedly become one of 2010’s best selling games. Treyarch and Activision have created an exciting, albeit brief, solo campaign and a stellar online multiplayer platform that will keep gamers coming back for months. They’ve even thrown in some zombies for good measure! But with all this aside, I wonder if Black Ops should occupy a corner of my classroom?

As I’ve said before, not a day goes by that I don’t hear a conversation about Call of Duty: Black Ops in one of my classes, in the hallways, or at the lunch table. From a societal standpoint, there’s always something that people need to talk about around the water cooler. In this case, Black Ops seems to be that something. But from an educational standpoint, there is a thin red line between what should and shouldn’t be discussed in a classroom.

There is no doubt that Black Ops, along with other war games such as the new Medal of Honor and Bad Company all satisfy a niche in the video game market. They all put the player into war-like situations and force him or her to fight to the end. I remember playing Medal of Honor: Frontline on the Playstation 2 and being in awe at having to fight my way up the beach in Normandy. I actually pictured myself alongside my grandfather shooting and ducking for my life. But is this educational?

In a military history course, for sure! I can see the obvious benefits to having a group of students work their way up the beach in Normandy in a video game while they are discussing D-Day in class. I can see the obvious benefits to have students work their way through a Vietnam landing zone while discussing the Ho Chi Minh trail. In one sense, there seems to be no better way to immerse students into the history. And believe it or not, these games are mostly accurate.

Additionally, while students play games like Black Ops online in multi-player matches, they may gain certain benefits from playing socially with other people. Group communication, establishing roles, and compromise are all parts of these online experiences. And certainly in moderation, this type of online communication could help students to communicate outside of the online world.

In the end, it’s still important for educators and parents to remember that some games have a mature rating because they incorporate mature themes. While I do agree with the current rating system, educators and parents need to be cautious about using video games in the classroom or home just for the sake of using a video game that is popular and exciting. Moderation is key! Too much of anything isn’t always a good thing. And even though there are some benefits to playing games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, it ultimately becomes a choice of the teacher or parent to step behind or across that thin red line.