A New Culture of Learning Chapters 7-9

Chapter 7: 
Quote: "Up to and through the better part of the 20th century, regarding knowledge as a static, easily transmitted what made sense, and it was the primary principle we used to shape our understanding of learning and education.  Experts, for example, are people who are fully versed in the what of any given topic.  In short, we viewed ourselves primarily as homo sapiens.  In the 21st century, however, knowledge is becoming less a question of 'what is the information?' Moreover, in a culture of learning where the context in which information has meaning is subject to change, reconstruction, and appropriation, the concept of knowledge being a where takes on heightened import."
Question: As much as I want my students to learn all about information within a particular context, I still need to get them through their AP exams, so how do we find the balance between the rote memorized knowledge they MUST possess to pass their exams, and the fluidity of learning knowledge within a particular context?
Connection: Throughout this entire chapter I keps flashing back to a training video I watched in a previous career in sales.  This video can be applied to any group of people, including teachers and students.  I'm going to use another quote from the book to embody the video, "Culture, he says, does not create play; play creates culture."
Epiphany: The story about the students finding Iraq on a map was awesome.  I think I am going to use that this coming year.  I think I might have my students use Google Tour Builder to take me on a tour of the regions we will be studying in the Ancient World.  I hope they will produce some legendary results.

Chapter 8:
Quote: "Geeking out involves learning to navigate esoteric domains of knowledge and practice and participating in communities that traffic in these forms of expertise."
Question: I love learning the theory, however, I would also like some practical aplication, so my question is how do we easily assess if our students are in the "hanging Out, messing around, or geeking out categories, so we can differentiate our lesson pedagogy to help them advance to a more enriching classroom environment?
Connection, and then I slip into my Epiphany: This chapter made me think of my choice book, Daniel Pinks A Whole New Mind.  This chapter brings us three levels of knowledge formation in a digital space.  It is a shift in our understanding of both what knowledge is and how it is created.  I also have made the connection that our three badges for this course are taken from this chapter, we first got the hanging out badge, then we are working on the messing around, and our final badge is geeking out.  I like it!
 
Chapter 9: 
Quote: "Imageine an environment where evaluation is based on after-action reviews not to determine rewards but to continually enhance performance.  Imagine an environment where learning happens on a continuous basis because the participants are internally motivated to find, share, and filter new information on a near-constant basis."
Question: Is there a way to gamify the classroom and create this communal identity without technology?  I am not sure of the statis of my classrooms technology this coming year, but I would like to try to gamify my class.
Connection: I can see a clear connection to teacher observations.  Too many administrators use them as weapons to slash at teachers they don't particularly care for.  I have always thought an evaluation was a chance to see where a teacher is, and then to craft a roadmap to help the teacher improve.  There is also a connection to student assessments.  Assesments should be tools to demonstrate mastery, and let the student know where the holes in their mastery are, and identify areas where the teacher needs to work with the student more.
Ephphany:  I have a friend Dwayne.  He loves world of warcraft.  I remember in college (15 or so years ago) he would prefer to stay home from going out on the town to play his video games.  When we graduated many of my college buddies began playing WOrld of Warcraft as a way to keep in touch.  We no longer lived in the dorm next door to each other, and it was a way for them to still be in a community even when separated by distance.  I didn't play, I actually made fun of them for being "nerds."  I guess the joke is on me now, because I am secretly wishing that I had played so I would have a better understanding of the World of Warcraft dynamics.

 Keep Calm and Geek On. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2015.
 World of Warcraft. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2015. 

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