Cool Stuff and "Obviously Brilliant!"

From our friends up at MSU (Communications Arts Program)

The Tech Tour continued with two stops at Michigan State University.

The first visit was with Yong Zhao, a professor at MSU's College of Education and an expert on the use of technology in education. Zhao has some real problems with the way schools are using technology these days. "Most schools are trying to solve the problems of the past," he said. "They are so worried about low test scores and dropout rates. Those are symptoms, not the real problem. Maybe the real problem is that school is irrelevant to students' lives."

The heart of that problem is a technological one, Zhao argues. "We ban them from MySpace, from blogging, from practically everything on the Internet," he said, when the Web is the very foundation of students' lives today. "All the billions spent connecting schools has been wasted, really more than wasted," Zhao said. "My kids get more experience with technology at Best Buy than they do at school." Zhao said students should be encouraged to use the Web however they please in learning. He also said the Web creates a digital farmer's market, in which people -- no matter what their age or education -- can offer products and services.

Students can quickly move from being digital consumers to being digital producers in everything from design to writing. "It's time to change not only what we teach but how we teach," Zhao said. Zhao is also involved in an effort between MSU and the Chinese government to create the Confucius Institute, which will offer online language courses in Mandarin Chinese. Working with the China Central Radio and Television University in Beijing, MSU officials are creating an immersive video game to help students learn Chinese language and culture. The game will be played by large numbers online; the more Chinese you learn, the more spiffs you earn in the game. It's cool stuff. More here.