Great piece discussing how 4 universities are using social networks to do community outreach:

4 Universities Use Social Networks to Engage Community

Gets me thinking about how we can use gamed-up social networks to build community WITHIN the university.  Imagine a system where students have avatars, ability meters, and levels, take on “quests” on and off campus, can form impromptu “guilds” to complete assignments, and have a constant leaderboard to monitor each other’s performance.  If you’re interesting in working on such a project, contact me!  (frankcrocco@gmail.com)