University of Florida Gives Up, Gives Credit for Playing Starcraft

So, there’s a class, at the University of Florida, that’s called “21st Century Skills in Starcraft”. How the hell do they justify that? Well…

With society becoming increasingly technology-based and fast-paced, it is important for professionals to be highly proficient in skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, resource management, and adaptive decision making. These skills are fundamental in Starcraft and therefore make the game a highly effective environment for students to analyze and take action in complex situations. Computer and video games of all types have become a major part of today’s entertainment and technology worlds. Also, online education is an area of intense growth with many employers and professions using online courses and workshops for career development. This course synthesizes the three threads of 21st Century skill development, gaming, and online education into an innovative and experiential approach that encourages students to identify, learn, and practice crucial skills and apply and relate them to real-world situations.

We ran that through Babelfish’s invaluable “Academic” setting and found that what this actually means is the instructor, Nathaniel Poling, wanted to see if he could get away with giving out credits for Zerg rushing.

It gets better: it’s an honors course, and it’s entirely online. Who says the University of Florida isn’t a serious school?

[ via CrunchGear ]