2 Playing History. Reflections on Mobile and Location-based Learning

In this chapter, the author analyses the ways in which mobile and location-based technologies can be used as micro-learning tools. He focuses on Frequency 1550, a mobile city game that was developed by the Dutch Waag Society in Amsterdam in 2005. In this game, small groups of pupils, aged 12 to 14, playfully acquire specific historical knowledge about the city of Amsterdam. With the help of the Internet, smart phones and GPS technology, Amsterdam changes into a medieval playing-field. After a brief description of the activities of Waag Society, the author describes the pilot of Frequency 1550, the game’s provisional didactic results, and research plans related to these results. The game will be played ten times in the period 2006-2007. At the end of this chapter, the author describes existing plans for a Dutch National Historical Museum and the role micro-games such as Frequency 1550 could play in this respect.