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The challenge is to design serious games that leverage meaningful play to produce positive learning outcomes in the real world. I argue that serious games designed for educational purposes should follow an iterative design paradigm that integrates learning objectives with specific game tasks. Assessment of players´ knowledge before and after gameplay assists serious game designers with design modifications that support learning, thus enabling Video games to function as unorthodox language learning tools. I conduct experimental studies of Advanced English Language students who play EverQuest II to determine its feasibility as pedagogical tool for Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Based upon significant results, I conclude that in-game social interactions between ESL students and Native English speakers scaffold ESL students´ second language vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension skills.

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Ph.D. in Computer Science from Northwestern University, M.A. in Computer Science from Kent State University, B.S. in Mathematics from Tougaloo College. Her research interests include social computing, Human Computer Interaction, service service design, and serious games that promote learning and collaboration across multiple domains.

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