Ch.1: Arc-of-Life Learning
Quote: The quote that really sums up this chapter is, “...learning is taking place in day-to-day life through the fusion of vast informational resources with very personal, specific needs and action.” All of the stories were just everyday stories, just day-to-day life. The point of this chapter was to show that resources abound and the ease of access makes it so that people can learn and connect with minimal effort, if motivated to.
Question: Many communities can be positive but what about trolls and bullies? How do we protect our younger students, while still allowing for authentic connections?
Connection: Another quote that resonated with my own experience with the 20% project was that, “everything- and everyone- around us can be seen as resources for learning.” Just by participating in the project and talking about it, I have found resources in the unlikeliest of places. Not only can it build new connections but it can strengthen existing ones.
Epiphany: This chapter brought to mind my own site’s PLCs and how we are generally on our own to meet and discuss needs, share resources, and drive our own learning. At first this felt very strange and leaderless, but after short time we realized it was much more useful. For that system to be effective, leadership must support that and be responsive to needs as well.
Question: Many communities can be positive but what about trolls and bullies? How do we protect our younger students, while still allowing for authentic connections?
Connection: Another quote that resonated with my own experience with the 20% project was that, “everything- and everyone- around us can be seen as resources for learning.” Just by participating in the project and talking about it, I have found resources in the unlikeliest of places. Not only can it build new connections but it can strengthen existing ones.
Epiphany: This chapter brought to mind my own site’s PLCs and how we are generally on our own to meet and discuss needs, share resources, and drive our own learning. At first this felt very strange and leaderless, but after short time we realized it was much more useful. For that system to be effective, leadership must support that and be responsive to needs as well.
Ch.2: A Tale of Two Cultures
Quote: “One of the basic principles of this kind of cultivation is that you don’t interfere with the process, because it is the process itself that is interesting.” I thought this best represented this chapter because it was all about “the process”. Classrooms of the past were too “mechanical” in nature, just a series of tasks to master, with little regard for the process. Whereas the type of learning students experience outside of school is entirely about the process of learning something. The author argues that by viewing schools as more of an environment the focus shifts less to adapting and more to being fluid and evolving.
Question: Will lesson plans and extensive planning become obsolete?
Connection: One of the most interesting thing about the 20% project is watching the various processes of learning of our peers. The community aspect is what is interesting to me, both different learners and communities of like-minded learners.
Epiphany: After reading this chapter I recall many teachers that I have worked with as a sub or TA before I got my teaching contract, and the best classrooms were always those that allowed organic things to happen. A discussion that led to something different yet valuable, a science experiment that perhaps failed but provided a valuable experience, but how do we create learning like this all the time in a consistent manner?
Question: Will lesson plans and extensive planning become obsolete?
Connection: One of the most interesting thing about the 20% project is watching the various processes of learning of our peers. The community aspect is what is interesting to me, both different learners and communities of like-minded learners.
Epiphany: After reading this chapter I recall many teachers that I have worked with as a sub or TA before I got my teaching contract, and the best classrooms were always those that allowed organic things to happen. A discussion that led to something different yet valuable, a science experiment that perhaps failed but provided a valuable experience, but how do we create learning like this all the time in a consistent manner?
Ch.3: Embracing Change
Quote: "Change motivates and challenges. it makes it clear when things are obsolete or have outlived their usefulness." This chapter was all about why the ways of the past are being left in the past, whether we like it or not, in favor of more efficient and more valuable experiences. I think this is hard for the older generation to accept, as they've created their static repertoire of materials that haven't changed much, due to the encyclopedia-model type of teaching. It is hard enough for new teachers to wrap their head around, but as teachers try new things out the hope is that they will gradually embrace the change.
Question: Coming from a perspective of someone that works with at-risk students, I notice some of my students crave structure and look to school as one of the few sources of stability in life. How do we maintain comfort of stability of the classroom environment, while pushing students to explore, create, and learn in an ever changing digital landscape?
Connection: This course has been a huge change from traditional graduate classes. The fully online nature of it makes it different of course, but with the use of our community and our various social media requirements, I feel more connected with my peers than I did in any classes in college before. My teaching credential program was also at SDSU, also run as a cohort, and I did feel close to those peers. This is the only other time I've felt that way. and I have met only a handful of them face to face. Not only have I connected with my peers, but I find myself meeting people at conferences that I follow on twitter, and then following and communicating with them after through blogs or twitterchats. The learning process is so much more thorough and accountable this way, and I can feel the benefits of this "change" first hand.
Epiphany: My "a-ha" moment in this chapter came when I read the quote "What happens, then, when you are dealing with change on a weekly, daily, or even hourly basis?" which almost perfectly describes the atmosphere of my classroom. At the juvenile detention facility I work in, my unit is mostly kids that got in trouble at various camps and are sent to us as a sort of "time-out". I rarely have a student more than 2 weeks, and sometimes it can be a few days or even a few hours. The old way of teaching is difficult, frustrating, and often inefficient. Perhaps this new learning process provides a solution to that.
Question: Coming from a perspective of someone that works with at-risk students, I notice some of my students crave structure and look to school as one of the few sources of stability in life. How do we maintain comfort of stability of the classroom environment, while pushing students to explore, create, and learn in an ever changing digital landscape?
Connection: This course has been a huge change from traditional graduate classes. The fully online nature of it makes it different of course, but with the use of our community and our various social media requirements, I feel more connected with my peers than I did in any classes in college before. My teaching credential program was also at SDSU, also run as a cohort, and I did feel close to those peers. This is the only other time I've felt that way. and I have met only a handful of them face to face. Not only have I connected with my peers, but I find myself meeting people at conferences that I follow on twitter, and then following and communicating with them after through blogs or twitterchats. The learning process is so much more thorough and accountable this way, and I can feel the benefits of this "change" first hand.
Epiphany: My "a-ha" moment in this chapter came when I read the quote "What happens, then, when you are dealing with change on a weekly, daily, or even hourly basis?" which almost perfectly describes the atmosphere of my classroom. At the juvenile detention facility I work in, my unit is mostly kids that got in trouble at various camps and are sent to us as a sort of "time-out". I rarely have a student more than 2 weeks, and sometimes it can be a few days or even a few hours. The old way of teaching is difficult, frustrating, and often inefficient. Perhaps this new learning process provides a solution to that.