Telltale's The Walking Dead Game Used in High School Ethics Class [Video]

A high school in Norway is using the popular The Walking Dead game developed by Telltale Games as a teaching tool to help students in their ethics class identify moral dilemmas and discuss their ramifications.

The game, based on the popular comic book series by Robert Kirkman that is also the basis of the television show of the same name, is used by Nordahl Grieg high school in Bergen, Norway to explore different ethical problems and seen them played out. In this news report (which is in Norwegian, so users must turn on closed captions to understand what is being said) explains how the game can be used as a teaching tool. The teacher plays through the game, and when a big decision in the game comes up the students must come to a consensus concerning what must be done by the player. Tobias Staaby, the teacher who introduced the game to the class, explains his reasoning behind playing the video game with his students:

"I want a good catalyst for discussions about ethical theories or ethical dilemmas. This game provides the students with a space they can navigate and discuss within based on the curriculum."

Staaby also explains that he used The Walking Dead over other games because it offers unique situations that students may not have thought of. As the player goes through the game and certain situations come up the game is paused and students must make a decision over how to progress in the game. Students vote anonymously on their laptops when dialog choices appear, and afterwards the class discusses what happened to further their understanding of different ethical models and how people react to moral decisions. The students seem to react positively to the use of The Walking Dead game, and Staaby hopes that in the years to come other teachers use similar practices to help students learn.
The Walking Dead, much like other Telltale Games such as The Wolf Among Us, gives players the chance to interact with different characters by picking different dialog options that will affect how the game's story plays out. The game's story was praised by critics when the game was first released, so it makes sense that eventually it would be used in some form of academia eventually. Perhaps other teachers will begin to use more interactive lesson plans using video games in the future to help students stay engage in their education.