Using Computer Games to Teach

Chapter 12 reminded me of when a few schools a couple of years ago decided to use videogames to help teach students through virtual scenarios. Patkin states that “the structure of the simulation somewhat resembles a game” (210). Back in 2006, the University of Minnesota created a mod with the game Neverwinter Nights to create scenarios to help teach journalism skills. It wasn’t a perfect simulation as it was missing many of the key aspects that Patkin describes the Virtual Organization to have, but it is a step in that general direction, such as providing students with quests in order to complete a level.

Here are some articles about schools using this game to teach:
Teaching journalism with Neverwinter Nights
Computer game to boost key skill

I guess this has already been done with Second Life’s online courses, which is an interesting topic since it combines virtual reality education with online education. I just thought it'd be interesting to see the use of already made computer games like Neverwinter Nights, or Civilization III to teach class as opposed to the forever changing, social-networking kind of world of Second Life.