Using massively-multiplayer online role-playing games to enhance collaborative learning and teaching in the Australian high school classroom

Following the large uptake of Internet access and e-learning resources in high schools, the authors believe that the fusion of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) with games design and play theory can be tested and applied to teaching practice. This paper reports on the status of a two-stage project to develop and test the use of massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for promoting CSCL through instructional gaming in schools. It presents the findings of the first stage of the project, in which teachers and students of English and Science at a high school in Western Australia were involved in a pilot study as "proof of concept."