Has anyone ever told you not to play MMORPGs because they can make you dumb? Well, you can counter with this: Dr. Constance Steinkuehler, assistant professor in the Educational Communication & Technology program for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has argued that MMOs are, in fact, educational.

During a presentation made during the Toronto's Future Play 2007 conference for game educators and developers, Dr. Steinkuehler decided to do play Lineage, Lineage II, and World of Warcraft herself in order to find out what productive things would come out of these MMORPGs. She walked away armed with knowledge of military tactics.

Dr. Steinkuehler also based her findings on her observations of the literacy practices in MMOs, the complexity of the MMO language, the scientific basis behind statistical comparisons in WoW, and the creativity of the modding community. She refers to MMORPGs as the "third space" between home and work.

As a result of her research, Dr. Steinkuehler is now running an after school gaming club for at-risk youths, attention deficit-disordered who are failing English, or otherwise struggling students. Kind of makes you wish that your professor was this cool, doesn't it?