A Virtual Experience of China

Mike Wendland reports for the Detroit Free Press on a new interactive game that teaches students of all ages Chinese language and culture. Zon/New Chengo teaches through fun, interactive activities and can be used alone or in a classroom setting.

Yong Zhao, a distinguished professor of educational psychology and technology at Michigan State University, is also a respected researcher in Chinese education. He is originally from a poor area in the Sichuan Province. Zhao started working on the game in 2001, intending it to be "fun and educational" and to give players "a vicarious, virtual experience of China."

Zon/New Chengo is a multiplayer role-playing game that gets players to move up through Chinese society from "tourist" to "citizen." At each stage of the play, quests and challenges are encountered. Players also have access to educational material, including tutors in Chinese, and can create and join in social activities. The game is Web-based so nothing needs to be downloaded. It is free for now but in the future, Zhao plans for there to be a small monthly fee.

Zhao hopes to create future editions aimed at specific audiences or groups, like business people, students at varying levels, travelers, and more. To play Zon/New Chengo, go to the game website and register. Once you enter your information and create an avatar, your avatar will appear in the Beijing airport and your first quest will begin. This is a great game for students interested in Chinese language and culture, especially after the dreadful earthquakes in Sichuan and before the coming Beijing Olympics.

SOURCE: "MSU professor creates online game to teach Chinese culture, language" 06/16/08
photo courtesy of McPig, used under this Creative Commons license

Teaching Mandarin in Ohio

What enhances acquisition of another language? Most would say regular exposure to a native speaker. And even better, a native speaker who is also a trained and experienced teacher. In Ohio, videoconferencing is bringing Mandarin Chinese, the most widely spoken language in the world, to select sixth grade classrooms. (English is the second most widely spoken language.)

In the Columbus Dispatch, Kevin Joy sums up the uses of a range of tools adding "spark" to classrooms in central Ohio. In addition to SMARTboards, podcasts, Moodle and MP3 players, he reports on how some central Ohio schools use videoconferencing to teach Mandarin to sixth graders. Two televisions, a camera and microphone allow Dun Zhang, a teacher at Bishop Hartley High School in Columbus, to teach live, daily, 40-minute classes to sixth graders at Trinity Elementary School near Grandview Heights and classes in Newark and New Philadelphia, Ohio.

Zhang can see and hear the students in the linked classrooms on one screen, split so everyone can see and hear each other in real time. The other screen displays Zhang's notes; an electronic pen lets her highlight particular points or trouble spots or just help answer student questions. Students like the notes display especially. A student in a Columbus classroom, Brianne, said, "You can see what she's writing. Her hand isn't in the way...You get a better view of the notes." Though students also use pen-and-paper workbooks, the class focuses on dialogue to really teach the students the language.

Trinity isn't just using videoconferencing for Zhang's class. Recently, students videoconferenced with a class of high school students in Taiwan. There are plans for other Trinity classes to virtually visit a museum and also to talk to an author. Though the videoconferenced Mandarin class has its technical drawbacks at times, like occasional screen freezes and subsequent audio delays and lack of one-on-one time with a teacher, students and staff welcome the addition to their curriculum and the excitement it offers. Another Columbus student, Valerie, said of the Mandarin class, "It's so much different than what we usually do...It makes you look smart, and you're excited to come to class."

Foreign language instruction through videoconferencing creates more options for students -- now, with the right equipment and access, schools, no matter where they are located, can offer more than French and/or Spanish -- and can level the playing field for rural school districts. Videoconferencing can also enhance language acquisition and fluency in general and truly prepare students for a more global future. There are many videoconferencing options, from VoiceThread to WiZiQ to Skype, with varying benefits (and drawbacks) for teachers and students. Our earlier entry, "ooVoo? Yugma? WiZiQ? How Do You Get Connected?," discusses a few of the free options out there.

SOURCE: "Plugged in: New technology adding spark to schools " 03/05/08
photo courtesy of kevindooley, used under this Creative Commons license