Video games have sometimes been touted as the gateway to increased computer literacy. Students can play games in the classroom, design their own games as a class activity (e.g. Kafai), or mod games — that is, to adapt an existing game (typically using a toolset) for some other purpose. Games with some degree of modding capability include; Neverwinter Nights, The Sims 2, Dungeon Siege, Second Life, Freedom Force VS. The Third Reich, and Half-Life, among others. Can game modding increase self-efficacy and motivation while teaching female students basic IT skills? Two students at Penn State University offered an extra curricular course, Gaming for Girls, in which an all-female class modded Warcraft 3 while learned some basic IT skills. Was it effective? The paper’s findings are somewhat inconclusive due to a small sample size, but it does provide interesting food for thought for how game modding could be an effective approach for engaging students. Click here to read the paper (PDF format).
Yucel, I., Zupko, J., & Seif El-Nasr, M. (2006). IT education, girls, and game modding. International Journal of Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 3(2).