Everything they learned, they learned from World of Warcraft -- or in this case, everything they taught. Congratulations are in order for WoW players and educators Lucas Gillispie and Peggy Sheehy, whose WoWinSchool program has earned a GAward for Best Use of Engagement Techniques in Education at the Gamification Summit 2013 taking place now in San Francisco. The award recognizes the effective use engagement techniques such as loyalty, gamification, and behavioral science in programs, apps, projects, campaigns, and companies.

"WoW in School: The Hero's Journey" is a full-year language arts course for middle school students. While the program was initially targeted for "at-risk" youths, Gillispie and Sheehy quickly saw that the approach was a hit with learners of all abilities and backgrounds.

Don't we wish our own teachers had been so open-minded and current? See how Gillispie and Sheehy win the hearts and minds of their young students in our in-depth interviews with the dynamic educators, Learn to game to game to learn and WoW goes to English class.

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Filed under: News items

It's frustrating to lose time when you need to fill those last few raid spots, yet the Raid Finder isn't coming up with the players you need. Or maybe you're the one who's seeking a raid group, but nothing seems to be shaking loose that night. In a recent Breakfast Topic on in-game help tools, WoW Insider reader PaulLloyd offered up a strikingly simple suggestion that gives both types of seekers one more avenue of hope: the old-school Raid browser.

The wha...? PaulLloyd's not referring to the Raid Finder tab in the contemporary Dungeon Finder feature. This relic of olden raiding days, folks, is the previous system found tucked inside the Social tab. Writes PaulLloyd:

This is the "find a raid" system that pre-dates LFR. You would list your interest in a certain raid, and when a raid group is looking for a certain role to be filled, they would look them up on this list. It would've saved me cancelling many raids if people would use it. Sadly, it is hidden away, forcing RLs to use trade chat for missing slots, which relies on people sitting around a city and watching trade chat, which means a huge number of people missing the message.

For those wondering "what the hell is the raid browser?" Open the social tab (default 'O'). Select 'Raid' tab. Click 'Other Raids' Button. If you're announcing your availability to a raid, use the 'Choose Raid' tab. If you're looking for people, use the 'Browse' tab.

While nobody's advocating using this older system as a replacement for the Raid Finder, it makes a fine adjunct tool that could come through if enough players and raid leaders give it a try. PaulLloyd observes that the system is fairly useless on his realm because players simply don't use it, but other players seem hopeful that it could offer a helpful backup method of finding raiders and raids. What do you think? Seems worth a try!

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Filed under: News items

Of all the cities in Azeroth, the one that seems to me most like a living, breathing city is coincidentally the one that's undead. The Undercity huddles beneath the ruins of Lordaeron, drenched in atmospheric detail: its hidden underground tunnel, an oft-confusing pinwheel layout and dangerous elevators that confound new visitors, the eerie ruins above with their invisible ghosts, the throne room with all its power struggles and heart-wrenching beauty -- and the Royal Apothecary Society. Who hasn't spent time cautiously exploring the Apothecarium, with its cages of groaning test subjects and burbling vats of green plague?

Many players haven't given much thought to the cadre of Forsaken apothecaries in an expansion or more, but you'd be a fool if you assumed they hadn't been busy. Their story has captured the imaginations of a group of players on Moon Guard (US), the all-Forsaken guild The Legion of Vengeance (formerly Hand of Vengeance). Named for the Forsaken forces sent to Northrend by Sylvanas Windrunner to wreak plague and vengeance upon the Lich King, this roleplaying group functions within the context of the Royal Apothecary Society itself, continuing its evil work in a fascinating adventure that's captivated its all-undead player roster.

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Filed under: Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

You've tried being clear, and you've tried being firm. Somebody's on your case in game, and they're not letting up. What are your options for managing in-game harassment?

Rule #1: Managing harassment is about protecting you and your enjoyment of the game, not about stopping or changing a harasser's behavior. You can't change other people. It's extremely unlikely that anything you do or say will inspire someone to see the light and become a thoughtful, more compassionate person. Managing harassment, then, is not about how to "fix" your harasser but how to extricate yourself from the situation so you can get on with playing your game.

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Filed under: Drama Mamas

"Help?! We don't need no stinkin' help playing WoW!" ... Well, except when we do. As streamlined as World of Warcraft is today, the gameplay isn't 100% intuitive or foolproof. Come on, surely everyone here has at least once noticed a loading screen tip that's inspired if not a revelation then a determination to remember to try something that way.

I'd venture to say that there are so many avenues of in-game help today that the very idea of in-game help is losing its training-wheels stigma. We have the dungeon journal, the What's Changed tab, the Core Abilities tab ... I use most of these at least somewhat regularly as I switch from alt to alt, to refresh my memory since the last time I dusted off that character. Which of these in-game help tools or others do you use? Is the level of detail there too light, too dense, or just right?

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

How many pieces of player-made gear is your character wearing right now? What if we specified PvE characters only? I'm betting you could count your crafted pieces on one hand -- and more likely, one finger or less. While recent buffs mean that crafted PvP gear still has legs (literally and figuratively) for players in transition and building mode, there aren't a whole lot of must-have PvE crafteds in the game anymore.

Player-made gear used to be a staple for leveling players, and many pieces were coveted even into the raiding game. Crafted blues and purples made all the difference in whether you could mow through the content or simply plink away. Today's players sail through the levels and clear raid content faster than they can gather the mats while a piece is still relevant. And leveling a production profession to make your own gear? To keep your skills on par with your level, you'll need to keep a hawkish eye on your adventuring XP, devoting regular sessions to pulling your crafting skills up to the bar. You can probably find crafted gear for sale in the auction house if you play on a realm with a robust economy, but the easiest path to power these days is simply to play a couple of hours and ding up another level.

Crafting my own gear and being able to make a coveted piece for a friend or guildie used to be a highlight of the game for me, but my most recent characters have simply never given crafted gear a second thought. Has player-made gear become irrelevant in today's game? Would you prefer more of an emphasis on crafted gear, or are you just as happy to see it fade?

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Deep in the heart of steamy Stranglethorn Vale, within the golden city of Zul'Gurub, gathers a savage band of Zandalari trolls. Loyal to neither the Horde nor the Alliance, these players embrace a fierce roleplaying ethic that can be both fascinating and intimidating to newcomers. Yet Atal Zanza Aka is esteemed by other guilds on Argent Dawn (RP-EU) and has become a vital (if quantitatively small) ingredient in the roleplaying community.

We visited with guild leader Zazajin to explore this niche of WoW roleplaying and find out how this guild manages to thrive in as antagonistic role that sweeps it away from the well-traveled paths and populated city centers of Azeroth.

WoW Insider: It would appear that making a troll character for Atal Zanza Aka is full-throttle roleplaying not for the faint of heart, would you agree?

Zazajin: Our guild is indeed first and foremost a roleplaying guild. We formed as a breakaway from the Loa Atal Ai (a Darkspear-based trollish guild which serves the Horde but includes different troll tribes) during the occupation of the Echo Isles, and abandoned the Horde to serve the Zandalari and preserve trollish culture, which our characters felt was threatened under the Horde's regime and thus moved to Zul'Gurub to try to preserve that culture. We're made up of various troll tribes, much like the Zandalari themselves. We've members from the Amani (forest trolls), Drakkari (frost trolls), farraki (sand trolls), Gurubashi (jungle trolls), and Zandalari (those trolls that stand up straight, haha).

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Filed under: RP, Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame

I'm not one to make a big deal out of a minor itch. Whether it's an annoying person, irritating behavior, or a frustrating situation, I can keep on rolling without interruption. But oh, there comes the inevitable straw that breaks the camel's back. For me in Mists, it was the ookin' dook flingers and dear Li Li (bless her heart) who tag-teamed to destroy my last nerve. Individually, I think I could handle them, but since the moment I found my quest logs on both factions simultaneously logjammed by the pair of them, I've cut a wide path around both. No more hozen. No more strident brats. So, so done.

Sometimes a new thing seems enjoyable at first, but after repeated exposure to it, it begins grating on your nerves until you just can't take another second. Beyond grating characters -- no more talk about annoying NPCs -- is there something else in Mists of Pandaria that's become the target of your own ire? Maybe it's a quest type that's worn out its appeal, a running joke that's lost its edge, or a trending group or raid behavior that frustrates you to tears. Is there some aspect of the game that you wish would quietly, completely wink out of existence overnight? Is there something prevalent in today's game that makes you clap your hands over your eyes and screech "Enough!"?

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

Whether you're a guild officer guiding the collective bank storage of an entire guild or a banker alt managing a one-account guild vault, how do you keep things guild bank storage under control? What does it take? Chaotic guild banks have broken many a lesser volunteer who drowned under the unrelenting barrage of items. If you're a neatnik, please, please tell us. This organization thing -- how is it done?

Talk tabs with us. What tabs do you maintain in your guild bank? Your single-player guild bank? How do you keep guild members from simply hurling items into the bank wherever they find an open slot? What kind of maintenance is involved -- do you have a dedicated officer or a set amount of time to prune and organize on a regular basis?

Surely there's a method to the madness of guild banking, a way you keep your vault from turning into the Anne Stickney Home for Wayward Everythings. Help!

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Filed under: Breakfast Topics

It was a massive multiplayer success for this massively multiplayer game: On March 20, the Thundering Hammer Clan of Feathermoon (US-Horde) successfully brought together more than 120 players from multiple roleplay realms in what might have been WoW's first large-scale, player-run cross-realm event. In bringing together three full raid groups from half a dozen realms, the Kosh'harg roleplay gathering of Horde clans helped demonstrate how to pull off a major cross-realm event and explore the possibilities and limitations of CRZ (cross-realm zone) mechanics.

What can other players learn from the Kosh'harg about organizing a CRZ event? We went behind the scenes with Kosh'harg organizer Thorgrun (GM of the Thundering Hammer Clan).

WoW Insider: It sounds like the event was a smash success. Congratulations!

Thorgrun: The Kosh'harg was an amazing success. At the peak of the event we had three full raid groups and a number of ungrouped local attendees, bringing us up over 120 players from a dozen different realms who joined us in Nagrand for the festivities.

How much did you and other organizers know beforehand about realm and zone loads with regard to cross-realm mechanics?

We only knew what has been published and widely publicized, namely that the CRZ mechanic is designed to populate low-pop zones with players from associated realms and when population grows to a certain point to split those players off into separate zones. We also knew that players from any North American realm could be brought into any zone on a host realm just by being grouped with a majority of members from that realm – i.e., two Feathermoon players can host a third player from say, Farstriders, in their version of the zone, or alternatively a 5-man group of Feathermoon players could host an entire raid of CRZ players, provided no more than four of them were from the same realm in that particular raid. This is the mechanic that we used to "anchor" our event firmly on one server's seed of the Nagrand zone.

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Filed under: RP, Interviews, 15 Minutes of Fame