Relearning Education

Futurist Alvin Toffler said: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." His admonition is instructive in a world that is changing so fast that formal educational institutions can barely keep up. The role of innovators in such a dynamic learning environment is therefore especially significant not only for what they contribute, but also through the example they set for educators and trainers.

Supporting Young Inventors

In the 21st century, the clich� that modern educational systems must teach children to think for themselves is imperative. As many experts have said, it will be necessary to learn, unlearn, and relearn many times over the course of one lifetime in the years ahead. It is not just scores on a test that count, but the ability to translate lessons learned into tangible benefits.

Some young Americans exemplify this in a profound way. Take Grayson Rosenberger, for example. He was 15 years old when he invented a $15 skin covering for prosthetic limbs. His invention is important to amputees in countries where uncovered limbs are a taboo and where many people cannot afford the $1,000-plus for regular prosthetic coverings. Rosenberger's artificial skin is primitive - wrapped in Bubble Wrap and packing tape and molded with a heat gun - but it works. The young inventor won a $10,000 prize from the company that produces Bubble Wrap.

Another teenager with a great idea is Lisa Marie Wright. She was 16 when she invented a candle that burns itself out to prevent fires. One day, Wright returned home to find that her mother had accidentally left a candle burning all day. Although there was no fire, it inspired Wright to invent the auto/off candle - now called the Wright Candle. It took off, meeting a need that big corporations had failed to fill themselves. Wright stresses the importance of teamwork: She had help creating her invention, she says. For her efforts, Wright was inducted into the National Gallery of America's Young Inventors.

Other teenage innovators have recently created such useful gadgets as a pedal-powered lawn mower, a five-day cat feeder, and even a bendable broom - proof that young people can make a positive contribution to society long before they graduate from high school or college. The key, say experts, is providing a home and educational environment that nurtures and rewards imagination and creativity.

State-of-the-Art Playgrounds

Is the big blue ring in the center of the playground a sculpture or a merry-go-round or both? The designers of the $1 million Stapleton Central Park playground in Denver, Colorado, which opened in September 2007, hope that children and parents think it is both.

A similar sentiment has inspired the designers of a playground near the South Street Seaport in New York City - a result of a public/private partnership. The city is employing trained "play workers" to help children not only to play in, but also to understand, the specially designed objects, including zones of sand and water, ramps, blocks, and gaskets, that are a far cry from the swings and slides of the traditional playground. The purpose is to spur imagination and creativity - even a sense of mystery and wonder - in addition to exercise.

Denver and New York City are at the forefront of a nationwide playground revolution, say experts. In order to lure children away from sedentary activities such as watching television or chatting online, modern playgrounds have to be multifaceted, offering different learning experiences more in tune with today's young lifestyles. Playgrounds also must be visually more attractive to a generation accustomed to displays of spectacular color and imagery on their television and computer screens.

Modern playground designers also are more conscious of population diversity - and not only in terms of ethnicity and gender. In Logan, Utah, Angels' Landing playground was designed specifically for accessibility by architects with Utah State University's Center for Persons With Disabilities. The playground's toys are designed so that the disability or ability of the user doesn't separate who can play with them.

The Americans With Disabilities Act, signed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, makes it illegal in the United States to discriminate against the physically challenged. As a result, all new and altered playgrounds in the United States must be accessible to the disabled. However, Angels' Landing goes beyond the standards of the act, with an emphasis on safety as well as access.

The World Simulation

Imagine a classroom transformed into a microcosm of the world. That's what is happening at Kansas State University in a cultural anthropology class. It is called the World Simulation, a radical experiment in learning that harnesses the traditional concept of the map to digital technology.

It works like this: A map is created that mimics the geographical, biological, and environmental diversity of the real world. It is then overlaid onto a map of the actual classroom, and students are asked to imagine living in the environment indicated by the part of the world map that corresponds with the part of the classroom where they are located.

The class is divided into groups of about 12 to 20 students. Each group is asked to create its own culture to survive in its own unique environment, as the part of the map targeted to them indicates. The experiment takes about 75 to 100 minutes and covers 650 years - from 1450 to 2100. It takes place in a large room where all the groups - or "cultures" - are encouraged to interact with one another. The simulation is recorded onto five roaming digital video cameras and edited onto one "world history" video.

The idea is the brainchild of Michael Wesch, assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University. He says the experiment grew out of his experience in dealing with disinterested and bored students who knew little about cultures other than their own. His idea is to marry digital technology to the traditional classroom.

Educational Video Games

Video games are not just for entertainment anymore. Educators have always known that learning is most effective when students of any age enjoy the experience - even more so when it is interactive. So it was inevitable that educational innovators would harness the immense popularity of the video game to learning.

A number of companies are leading the way. Among them are Virtual Heroes, Inc., which has produced video games to help train army recruits and to teach children about math, science, and engineering. Breakaway Games has an even broader mandate - to create games to teach trainees in the hotel, banking, and even medical fields. It also has partnered with entertainment companies including Disney and ABC to produce games based on simulations of great historic events, such as the Battle of Waterloo. Morphonix sells video games that teach kids about the complicated world of the human brain. For example, "Journey Into the Brain" (for 7 to 11 year olds) asks the question: "What would you do if there was something odd going on inside your best friend's brain?"

Unfortunately, not all school systems and industry-based training programs easily embrace video games as an educational tool - some adhering to the antiquated notion that enjoyment and education are mutually exclusive. So Web Wise Kids gives games away to schools for free. That way, it says, it can reach more kids with its message of Internet safety. The nonprofit company, which is funded by donations from the U.S. Congress and a large number of private companies, creates games based on realistic scenarios involving cyber-stalking, Internet predators, pirating software, and cyber-bullying. Kids help video detectives solve real-life mysteries.

Educational institutions, like many pillars of society, tend to be conservative and resistant to change. Innovators like Web Wise Kids have learned that it is not only the quality of the games that is important - and ensuring their appeal to a broad spectrum of users across ethnic and gender lines - but also the way they are promoted and marketed. Decisions on whether a company should be profit or nonprofit and sources of funding, for example, are key decisions that can impact success.

David Pitts is an author and journalist whose articles about education and other topics have appeared in Education Week, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Christian Science Monitor, and other major U.S. newspapers and magazines.

The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. government.