My College Guide has unearthed it’s fair share of unusual college classes. We recently discovered a few that, well, let’s just say that if the thought of leaving behind your clan breaks your heart, classes at both the University of Florida and the University of California Berkeley have offered or are offering a course about StarCraft, a hugely popular RTS (that’s Real Time Strategy for those not in the know).
monkeyworks illustration / Dave Mott
While the unusual class at UC Berkeley about StarCraft was student taught, it’s still worth noting, as even a DeCal class needs professor approval. To get DeCal approval, the proposed class in question has to prove that it’s not only meaty enough to fill a semester but that it provides some sort of value. And you thought StarCraft was mindless entertainment!
If you are wondering how in the world someone could hold a lecture around StarCraft, well, you only have to go so far as YouTube to watch the UC Berkeley StarCraft Class Lecture series.
The fact is, StarCraft and many other online games have long been thought to be a great skill-building educational platform in the areas of leadership, teamwork, and organization. In some cases, they can be used to study societal behavior and things like supply and demand. Games in general are thought to be one way in which we can change the world (watch Game Designer Jane Mcgonigal’s TED lecture for more behind that theory) so harnessing that do-good notion by enrolling in a game-oriented class might not be such a bad thing.
The recent course offering at the University of Florida takes it a little further. This unique college class also offers college credit in return for successful completion of the online college course and is professor led. Right now, colleges, universities, and beyond are toying with ways to create gaming experiences that get people to learn more about the world in general.
jerine / Jerine Lay
For example, Penn State University’s Amazing Race game hopes to promote global awareness by quizzing your geographic knowledge because, as stated on the site, “Without knowing national and international locations, you will not be able to effectively understand the critical context for world events.” Using Google Earth, this Faculty Fellows project is real-time and really effective (and don’t forget fun!).
Outside the college classroom, games are being used to tackle real world issues, like Superstruct, where players organize society and prepare for problems (just like in real life) to World Without Oil, which simulates a global oil crisis and tries to get players to figure out how to save energy. Another game, Fold It involves science and protein — and hopefully includes a cure for cancer and other diseases in there.
The bottom-line is that games can change the way people think and behave for the better — and provide a useful tool for studying human behavior. We chalk it up to one more wonderful reason why college is different from high school.
