Several years ago, I attended a conference presentation in which a professor of French talked how she was using "The Sims" in her instruction. Her presentation was extremely compelling, and there were a large number of instructors who later attended her workshop on "The Sims". Instructional uses of simulations and serious gaming have become mainstream, and that is not surprising since sims can allow students to experience real-life problem solving with little of the risk "real-life" might have. Simulations and/or Gaming are being use to train surgeons, soldiers, financial analysts and diplomats. If you've not thought about including a sim in your teaching, even just as supplemental material, this might be the time to investigate the possibilities. Here are a few to stimulate your imagination:
Though these are not free, the web sites can give you an idea of how serious games can be:
http://virtualheroes.com/
http://www.virtualpeace.org/index.php
These are free:
http://www.thepodgame.com/
http://www.amanda-warner.com/samples/flowerstand/index.html