Online games, replay

From my other blog:
While checking out the site for the ASTD (American Society for Training & Development. http://www.astd.org/astd). I found to blogs with content relevant to homework and the Thinkerer. Here is one of those that seem to fit better in this blog:
http://learningcircuits.blogspot.com/
One of the items in this blog dealt with on-line games in learning and fMRI research.

http://learningcircuits.blogspot.com/2005/10/online-gaming-as-learning-tool.html

Byron Reeves of Stanford. Findings:
- People were more excited when they got to pick their own avatars rather then getting assigned one
- People were more excited in a rich media environment
- The story for the game had a big effect on excitement

Speaking of online games, Second Life ( http://secondlife.com/ ) has a program supporting educational projects.

Campus: Second Life program: … we offer educators some land on a temporary basis to use as a 'headquarters' for their class to meet. Details about Campus: Second Life can be found here: http://www.secondlife.com/csl

There are ten such projects operating now:
Exploring healthcare applications in Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing
Multiplayer Game Design"
Introduction to Sociological Perspectives on Education
Designing Digital Communities
Human Computer Interface
Urban Planning in the Gaming World
Foundations of Instructional Technology
Introduction to International Business
Digital Collaboration in Architecture
Art in Virtual Worlds

I intend to look into them and report on their experiences if possible.