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Entertainment-driven technologies trek into the classroom, workplace

Contact: Scott Schopieray, College of Education, (517) 432-4329, schopie1@msu.edu; or Geoff Koch, University Relations, (517) 432-0924, kochg@msu.edu 

Social networking. Texting. Tagging. Blogging. Podcasting. Vidcasting.

Count these among the many tech skills that today transcend the world of entertainment. In fact, mastery of these somewhat arcane – at least to those in the 45-and-older camp – arts is required to fully participate in all aspects of the knowledge economy, including the university classroom.

At least that’s the position of Scott Schopieray, assistant director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, in the highly ranked MSU College of Education. Schopieray, who also has just finished his doctorate in learning, technology and culture, sees an embrace of consumer-driven media, such as blogs, as essential to career advancement.

"I…use blogs every day to keep up on what the newest thoughts are on education," Schopieray told The Washington Post in an April 4 article exploring teacher-bloggers. "I have my own research…but I can't be an expert in my domain and also be one in every other domain, so I use blogs posted by other educators in order to capitalize on their expertise."

Schopieray evangelizes new technologies to his colleagues, who in turn help their students see how online tinkering – such as participating in the MySpace or YouTube communities – is very much situated in an increasingly networked and global marketplace. Figuring out how to make the most of such Web-based tools likely will yield big professional payoffs.

As evidence, he points to the current buzz surrounding Web 2.0, the idea of a more participatory and transparent online world. Web 2.0 technologies are pouring into many business and academic contexts – see the video-laden blog at http://edblogs.educ.msu.edu/ctt/ for the Center for Teaching and Technology as just one example. Many technologists, including Schopieary, believe that huge returns await for those who find new ways to use and extend these tools.

Which is why incoming MSU students – many of them blogging, tagging and texting teens – aren’t necessarily being driven to distraction. Rather, these students perhaps are preparing for knowledge economy success.