West Nottinghamshire College at Mansfield, UK has been modding NWN since 2005. Those of us who followed the Bioware’s Wednesday newsletter would have read about their educational NWN project at one time or another.

The project has also been reported in the news, here’s one write-up, and here’s another. On Jan 12, 2007, BBC News released yet another follow-up. [Citation: BBC News. (2007). Computer Game to Boost Key Skills [Electronic Version]. Retrieved January 22, 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6254989.stm]

Summary:

Lead by Nigel Oldman, the computer science teachers at West Nottinghamshire College modded NWN (version 1) into an educational game that teaches teenage students literacy and numeracy.

In this mod, players have to make decisions about what to take and how to progress using mathematics and their literacy skills. In one example, they have to figure the area of a galleon in order to bring enough things onboard for their journey. Mistakes in calculation result in the galleon sinking on the way and players not able to progress to the next level.

Frustrated students would knock on the staff room door and not let the teacher go until they learned how to calculate area… In the two years since the project began, about 700 students at West Nottinghamshire College (Mansfield, England) have played the game. Achievement of key skills has trebled to 94%.

West Notts premiered the game at this week’s Bett show on educational technology at London’s Olympia.

NWN game mod developed by computer science teachers at West Notts College

I would be really interested to get in touch with someone from West Notts and see if there’s some way we can collaborate. May be they would like to present their project here in the U.S.?