REFLECTIONS ON A NEW CULTURE OF LEARNING—CULTIVATING THE IMAGINATION FOR A WORLD OF CONSTANT CHANGE by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown
Chapter 7: Knowing, Making and Playing
Quote: "In the new information economy, expertise is less about having a stockpile of information or facts at one's disposal and increasingly about knowing how to find and evaluate information on a given topic." (1281). I chose this quote because it emphasizes an important change in our culture. "Knowledge" was at the heart of Greek Philosophy and shaped much of the development of our the modern world. However, it is becoming more the case today that location and understanding what to do with our knowledge is becoming more relevant.
Question: Do we lose something when we remix?
Connection: The element of play engages the learner and sees the learner as an active participant. This was definitely true in terms of my experiences in my 20% project. Much of the learning involved the element of play and definitely required active agency. I think that some subjects lend themselves to learners being more active in the process than others. For example, a science experiment makes it difficult for the learner to be a passive agent.
Epiphany: That meaning now arises from contextualization rather than interpretation. As a history teacher, I'm always trying to get my students to take the context into consideration to help them make more informed interpretations and thoughtful analyses.
Chapter 8: Hanging Out, Messing Around, And Geeking Out
Quote: "As people start to play in their environment, they rediscover the different possibilities opened up." (1439). This seems to be more the case with younger children than with high school students. The bridge to make the cognitive leap from one's relationship to others to one's relationship to the environment is not always easy to build.
Question: Is "Geeking Out" essential for learning for the 21st century student?
Connection: The EDL630 course has helped me develop my own social identity in terms of "hanging out". The longer this course runs, the more comfortable I'm becoming hanging out in spaces mediated by digital technology. In fact, I feel like something wonderful will be lost once it ends.
Epiphany: In today's world, we have so many resources at our fingertips, both social and technological. It seems anything is possible. I think the challenge of this is learning how to harness, access, and make use of all of these resources. I agree with Thomas and Brown that it is less about knowing what and more about knowing where and how to evaluate the knowledge. I often feel this way in my role as the Digital Teacher Leader at my school site.
Chapter 9: The New Culture of Learning for A World of Constant Change
Quote: "Play is more than something we do, it is who we are, and play precedes culture." (1682). I selected this quote because it is the necessary element that connects both information and experimentation, and it expresses itself in the way students are learning today.
Question: How do we fuse together the abundance of information and experimentation without losing site of outcomes?
Connection: The importance of using answers to find better questions rather than just asking questions. That the answers help us redirect are questions or research to solve problems. This reminded me of the inquiry process for my 20% project. Initially, I started with several questions. However, the more answers I discovered, the more these answers helped me to revise my questions or the more it lead me to ask other questions in order to resolve the problem.
Epiphany: The importance of the element of play in creating an open space for imagination. I'm not sure I completely agree that we need to care more about experimentation, play, and questions than about efficiency, outcomes, and answers. Outcomes are relevant if we are to continue to move forward. Although, we should not be obsessed with outcomes, we do need to consider where outcomes fit into the new culture of learning.
Chapter 7: Knowing, Making and Playing
Quote: "In the new information economy, expertise is less about having a stockpile of information or facts at one's disposal and increasingly about knowing how to find and evaluate information on a given topic." (1281). I chose this quote because it emphasizes an important change in our culture. "Knowledge" was at the heart of Greek Philosophy and shaped much of the development of our the modern world. However, it is becoming more the case today that location and understanding what to do with our knowledge is becoming more relevant.
Question: Do we lose something when we remix?
Connection: The element of play engages the learner and sees the learner as an active participant. This was definitely true in terms of my experiences in my 20% project. Much of the learning involved the element of play and definitely required active agency. I think that some subjects lend themselves to learners being more active in the process than others. For example, a science experiment makes it difficult for the learner to be a passive agent.
Epiphany: That meaning now arises from contextualization rather than interpretation. As a history teacher, I'm always trying to get my students to take the context into consideration to help them make more informed interpretations and thoughtful analyses.
Chapter 8: Hanging Out, Messing Around, And Geeking Out
Quote: "As people start to play in their environment, they rediscover the different possibilities opened up." (1439). This seems to be more the case with younger children than with high school students. The bridge to make the cognitive leap from one's relationship to others to one's relationship to the environment is not always easy to build.
Question: Is "Geeking Out" essential for learning for the 21st century student?
Connection: The EDL630 course has helped me develop my own social identity in terms of "hanging out". The longer this course runs, the more comfortable I'm becoming hanging out in spaces mediated by digital technology. In fact, I feel like something wonderful will be lost once it ends.
Epiphany: In today's world, we have so many resources at our fingertips, both social and technological. It seems anything is possible. I think the challenge of this is learning how to harness, access, and make use of all of these resources. I agree with Thomas and Brown that it is less about knowing what and more about knowing where and how to evaluate the knowledge. I often feel this way in my role as the Digital Teacher Leader at my school site.
Chapter 9: The New Culture of Learning for A World of Constant Change
Quote: "Play is more than something we do, it is who we are, and play precedes culture." (1682). I selected this quote because it is the necessary element that connects both information and experimentation, and it expresses itself in the way students are learning today.
Question: How do we fuse together the abundance of information and experimentation without losing site of outcomes?
Connection: The importance of using answers to find better questions rather than just asking questions. That the answers help us redirect are questions or research to solve problems. This reminded me of the inquiry process for my 20% project. Initially, I started with several questions. However, the more answers I discovered, the more these answers helped me to revise my questions or the more it lead me to ask other questions in order to resolve the problem.
Epiphany: The importance of the element of play in creating an open space for imagination. I'm not sure I completely agree that we need to care more about experimentation, play, and questions than about efficiency, outcomes, and answers. Outcomes are relevant if we are to continue to move forward. Although, we should not be obsessed with outcomes, we do need to consider where outcomes fit into the new culture of learning.
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