CONNECTION: During Sam's Story, Sam mentioned how the interest was in the comments from the forum rather than the game itself. "His friends are most interested in 'what my comments were and who commented on me'" (Kindle Loc 127). This instantly made me think of Instagram (and other social networking platforms), There is this strong desire to get as many "likes" on your pictures or "retweets," etc. I know people who have deleted their posts because they did not get enough likes within 15 minutes of posting (crazy right?). EPIPHANY: Douglas Thomas section about teaching "Massively Multiplayer Online Games and the University of Southern California" was very eye opening. The fact that he wrote his class off as a failure just because the students only wanted to talk about the game seemed like something most teachers can relate to. Plot twist! They all read the heavy theoretical reading and could apply it to their work! Every teacher's dream! I appreciate Thomas ability to reconsider the "proof" that his experiment worked. Flexibility is so crucial in teaching.
The widespread availability of technology has fundamentally changed the way we learn about the world. We no longer need to solely learn about the world around us, but rather engage with it.
QUESTION: The text suggests that the new culture of learning has us embrace the uncomfortability with not knowing something. How could I create lessons that embodied this change? CONNECTION: I connected with the dismissal of standardization. I have a really hard time accepting that our students' knowledge should be assessed on the same scale. My credential program preaches equity so I feel like standardization is the dragon we must slay to really achieve equity in our schools. EPIPHANY: This chapter was short and sweet so I felt like I didn't have a true "epiphany" but you could say it made me "hmmm...." The chapter talks about switching our sense of culture. The authors would rather move toward a culture you would encounter in a science experiment that is able to grow and flourish on its own. It is an interesting idea to ponder (hmmmm....). Chapter Three: QUOTE: "the belief that most of what we know will remain relatively unchanged for a long enough period of time to be worth the effort of transferring it" (Kindle Loc 406). The "belief" refers to this idea that what we are teaching was once valuable but is no longer viable. There are less and less "unchanging" lessons that we need to teach. QUESTION: How can I incorporate play into my English classroom? CONNECTION: One of this chapter's examples came from one of my FAVORITE childhood books....Harry Potter! I could completely relate to the engagement of the story. I actually grew up with the characters. I was relatively the same age as Harry and the gang when the books came out. As I was changing, so were my favorite characters. I think it would be really cool to teach a series in a classroom. I do not think I have been in any English class that read more than one book in a series. I think that would be something really cool. EPIPHANY: Like the last chapter, I did not have a true epiphany. However, the comparison of Wikipedia to Encyclopedia Britannica really surprised me. I grew up being told Wikipedia was not reliable. I usually ignored my teachers and still used it as a starting point. I like the idea of a collaborative encyclopedia. I think it would be cool to create a "class-pedia" where my students added helpful information about the different books we read (everything cited of course). Stay tuned for the next installment! Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, KY: CreateSpace?
3 Comments
2/2/2016 09:49:40 pm
I love your concept of the "class-pedia." I love the connotation that each member of the class knows what they know and are willing to share. It goes with my epiphany from chapter 2 of the culture of the classroom being the medium that grows the knowledge. As the teacher I am not the authority that dispenses knowledge, but together we can build the knowledge base that will prepare us for tomorrow.
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Sophia Monaco
2/4/2016 07:47:34 am
First off, great use of Spongebob! :) And overall great post! I liked the way you connected Sam's story to Instagram. It is amazing how important comments are when you post something! I also like your idea of teaching a book series in your classroom. It would be great to watch how the student connect more and more to the characters as the series continues. I wish some of my English teachers had done that.
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Morgan Conroy
5/19/2016 08:59:21 am
Sarah great post! As always :)
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