Will making computer science more fun attract college students?

Answers sought to Computer Science enrollments that continue their swoon:

With a severe shortage of college-trained IT workers across the U.S., what's it going to take to get more students to pursue computer science studies? Two researchers think they have an answer: computer game-inspired lesson plans.

The researchers were recently awarded $147,000 in National Science Foundation (NSF) grants to create interactive computer game models and sample course curriculums that colleges and universities could use to inspire would-be techies.

"Nationwide, we're facing a real shortage of computer scientists, so if we can make the field more interesting, that is a goal many people are interested in pursuing," said Scott Wallace, an assistant professor of computer science at Washington State University, Vancouver. "The idea of using games in computer science education isn't super new. It's been increasing in the last 10 to 15 years."