Chapter Seven:
QUOTE: "Play provides the opportunity to leap, experiment, fail, and continue to play with different outcomes—in other words to riddle one’s way through a mystery. That leap is more than simply a means to cross the chasm between what you know and what you want to achieve" (Kindle Loc 1385). Play took over this chapter. I like the idea that play takes away the negative connotation so unrightfully attached to learning. It begins to be a chore for students. QUESTION: What if we replaced the word 'learn' with 'play?' CONNECTION: This chapter made me think of my little sister and her Minecraft obsession. She is in 5th grade and plays that game non stop. In this game, she is using all three dimensions of learning: knowing, making, and playing. She is playing a game, watching YouTube tutorials, and talking to her best friend Mason while they battle it out together. She learns from her mistakes but the greatest part of it is that she is not scared of failure. It is so cool to watch her...just not for too long, otherwise I'm pulled into a long conversation about Ender-things and I can feel my eyes glazing over now! EPIPHANY: This chapter made me think of scientists. They are the first profession I think of that "plays." They find an idea, seek out answers, and tinker with the process. I do not think this process is unique to science, however. In writing, we play and tinker all the time. I can honestly say that the 5 paragraph essay format needs tinkering. Students should feel free to "play" with their writing. If the main goal of their writing is to get a certain message across, then by all means, play away! I want my students to find the best way to get their message across. Chapter Eight: QUOTE: "The richness of experience and social agency produced by hanging out and the sense of embodiment and personal agency created by messing around, combined with the sense of making, produces what we think is the ultimate goal of indwelling: learning" (Kindle Loc 1469). This book is titled, A New Culture of Learning, so it seems appropriate that all these stages come together to form the ultimate goal: learning! QUESTION: How can I utilize these stages in my classroom? CONNECTION: This chapter talked about the new form of agency developed during "Messing Around." This website serves as my way of messing around. I have plans for this website. I want it to immortalize all my favorite parts about teaching and literature! I have not published all my 'messes' but stay tuned! EPIPHANY: I think I finally get why we are reading this book. I agreed with all the points brought up in the beginning of this book but I was waiting for this to get to a solution. These are what our badges are called! I know get it! At first, we were "hanging out"--Just getting our feet wet in the whole digital world. As we move forward this semester, I am excited to see it all culminate in the "geeking out" badge. Chapter Nine: QUOTE: "Only when we care about experimentation, play, and questions more than efficiency, outcomes, and answers do we have a space that is truly open to the imagination. And where imaginations play, learning happens" (Kindle Loc 1688). Yes, I know this is these are the last sentences of the book but they encapsulate what this whole book is getting at. More play, more imagination, more learning. We as budding educators need to use the boundless resources around us and inspire our students. I feel like I just walked out of a inspirational seminar and now I'm pumped! QUESTION: Are multi player games able to be integrated into my future classroom? CONNECTION: “Imagine an environment where evaluation is based on after-action reviews not to determine rewards but to continually enhance performance” (Kindle Loc 1495). This is my dream classroom! I always feel so bad grading papers because I have to put a number on all their hard work when all I really want to do is see them improve. I know that I am operating under the constraints of my teaching set up right now, but my future classroom (fingers crossed) will be less "reward" based and more focused on enhancing my students' abilities. EPIPHANY: Confession time...I totally made fun of my cousins for playing World of Warcraft. Who know it was so intricate? I'm pretty sure I saw a movie trailer for this game too. I guess I owe them an apology.
5 Comments
Sophia Monaco
2/9/2016 08:22:46 am
A little disappointed with the lack of memes, but I'll get over it :) I liked your epiphany in chapter 8, I had a similar epiphany! I began to see the connection to our class and experience with creating our PLNs. I also like your question in chapter 9. I loved how this chapter talked about the amazing aspects of multiplayer games and I wonder what aspects I can bring into my class.
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2/10/2016 07:14:28 pm
Hey Sarah!
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Ryan Murphy
2/12/2016 07:17:29 am
Hello Sarah,
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Morgan Conroy
2/18/2016 12:54:53 pm
Hey Sarah!
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Trevor Rawlings
5/11/2016 06:58:22 pm
Whaddup Sarah! I'm commenting super late, but I really like what the author had to say about minecraft. My brother is significantly older than your sister (16), but plays a lot of minecraft with his friends. Recently, I saw some students in one of my assist classes working together to plan and build a city together. I would say all of these people described are learning a lot by "playing".
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May 2016
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