A Bigger Fish to Fry : Assessing Learning in World of Warcraft

Abstract

In light of recent academic attention towards the educational potential of games, this article offers Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory of the mind (M.I.) as a way to assess the learning process in playing massively multiplayer online role-play games (MMORPG). The eight intelligences present a summary of abilities much valued in cultural, social and economic professional practice whereby cultivating them prepares individuals for professional fields. This article presents how MMORPG WORLD OF WARCRAFT (Blizzard 2004) offers rich experiences in which intelligences are addressed. Game practices are surveyed to this end with M.I. not as criteria but as reference point.