Ugochi Acholonu 2/22/02 STS145: Final Paper Oregon Trail and the Evolution of Educational Games The underlying goals of education is to provide students with the skills and knowledge that they need to become contributing members of the work force and to society. To ensure that this goal is met, educators, government officials, and administrators continually monitor the ever-changing economic, social, and global aspects of the world so that they may update the curriculum in schools to help students face the new realities of the time. Thus, in the late 70s, when it became evident that computers would not just be restricted for corporations and the economically elite, schools drastically changed their philosophies to incorporate this new technology. One way that educators introduced computers to the students was through educational software games. One of the most popular educational games that has ever been used in schools and in homes is the Oregon Trail Series. Released in 1979, to public schools all over the US, Oregon Trail was students’ perennial favorite. In the following case history, I will explore the issues of the accuracy of the simulation and its educational benefit. But first, I shall give you a detailed description and history of the formation of this simulation. Oregon Trail was the brainchild of three undergraduates at Carleton College in Minnesota. In 1971 Don Rawitsch, Paul Dillenberger, and Bill Heinemann created a text-based role-playing game, which focused on the experiences of those who crossed the US to get to Oregon. Don Rawitsch is largely credited with the content of the game. In an interview given in May 1999 to the Stanford ESC program, Mr. Rawitsch stated that “The three of us (Rawitsch, 1Dillenberger, and Bill Heinemann) were completing our practice teaching in Minneapolis, and they (both math teachers) were using a computer system in their classes. I was teaching U.S. history and asked them the fateful question, "Can't we do something with the computer in my class?" Out of this question came the creation of what is now know as The Oregon Trail. The original Oregon Trail was a multi-user game where up to 16 students were able play simultaneously. Each student played the role of a leader of one of the wagons in the wagon train. The students had to navigate their way through rivers, forests, and forts with the hope of making it safely across the country to Oregon (A more detailed description of the game will come later). In 1974 Don Rawitsch received his degree and then gained employment at the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC). MECC was a newly formed state organization that was looking to integrate computing into the school’s curriculum. It had only been in existence for a year when Mr. Rawitsch joined the team. While at MECC, Rawitsch installed the text-based Oregon Trail game that he created as an undergraduate, onto the MECC computers. Oregon Trail soon became an office favorite. Through the help and insight of Wayne Studor, co-designer of games such as Time Navigator and Super Munchers, Rawitsch and Studor were able to revamp the game so that it could be commercially viable. Thus in 1979, MECC and Apple produced the first graphic based Oregon Trail game titled Elementary Volume 6. It was released for the use of all public schools in the US only. Due to the growing popularity of the game in schools, MECC, Apple Computers, and The Learning Company released the first commercial version in 1985. The 5.5 floppy disk was sold for a unit price of $29.95, and was meant to be played on the Apple II’s and IBM’s Tandy Computers. 2Oregon Trail: A History To Remember Expansion and exploration has characterized the American culture throughout its existence. Fueled by the philosophy of Manifest Destiny, the boundaries of American culture have stretched far beyond the borders of the North American continent. One of the periods where the United States gained its greatest amount of land was during the western expansion period of the 1840s and 1850s. On account of the overcrowding in cities and the new acquisitions in the West, the United States government encouraged citizens to move westward. One of the most popular routes travelers took to access these lands was the Oregon Trail. This 2000 mile trek, stretching from Independence, Missouri to Willamette County, Oregon, took four to six months to complete, and was filled with diseases, hardships, and violence. The Oregon Trail simulation tries introduce students the obstacles and the triumphs that these early settlers experienced. The original game starts out by asking the user to select an occupation. The selected occupation will determine how much money the user will start out with. For example, if a student were to selects the occupation of “blacksmith”, she will receive a starting balance of $800. This starting balance is important because the first thing the user must do is buy supplies for her long journey. As the captain of a covered wagon, the user must buy items like oxen, clothes, bullets, axles, wheels, wagon tongues, and food. After taking care of her occupation and supplies, the player begins her journey. While traveling, the player must make many decisions that will affect the outcome of the game. Some of these decisions include the following: talking with other travelers, bartering items, rationing of food, determining the travel speed, buying supplies at forts, and hunting. Because each choice has benefits and consequences, therefore the user must weigh each option carefully. In addition, 3the player is challenged with random obstacles that the user must figure out how to navigate such as snakebites, illness, bad water, and robbery. The player wins when she reaches Willamette, Oregon. At this point the player accumulate points based on how fast she arrived to Oregon, the health of her wagon party, the supplies left over, and her occupation. Those who chose occupation that resulted in a lower starting balance received more points than those who started with a greater balance. Oregon Trail: Educator of the Masses? There is no formal agency or group that designates which software programs are educational or not. Each individual company does its own categorization. As with movies, the rating/category helps determine who will use and purchase the product, and what the consumer believe they will receive from the product.
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