Quote: "Learning from others is neither new nor revolutionary; it has just been ignored by most of our educational institutions" (pg. 51).
Explanation: Why has it been ignored? Is it really being ignored totally, or is it just not a widespread idea that has been enforced by the districts? I just hope that it becomes more widespread soon so that teachers really think about it.
Question: How can I let go of the reigns in my own classroom just enough to allow for the freedom of the students but make sure that I keep control of the room.
Connection: Peer-to-peer learning was big at High Tech. We had the students work together to figure out different things in order to help each other learn more. When we worked on writing paragraphs, when one person would ask for help on a certain aspect of their writing, they would be able to go back to their peers and help them out. This helped the "teacher" to learn the material better by explaining it and allowed their peers to gain the information without having to come to me.
Ch. 5
Quote: "Throughout life, people engage in a process of continuous learning about things in which they have a personal investment" (pg. 57).
Explanation: I think that this quote is really important throughout this entire book. We really want to give our students the tools and passion to continue to learn about everything they can. And that also means that we have to be ready to be life long learners and continue to change with the institution of education.
Question: How can I encourage my students to pursue their passions through online collectives?
Connection: I connected with the idea of continuing to learn and be invested in things that we really want to learn about. Being forced to learn facts that we can just spit back onto a test is not the way to learn and it is not how we should be teaching our students.
Epiphany: I have had students who refuse to participate in class and do not want to answer questions when discussing with the whole class. Reading about how personal learning and ideas can be to people really gave me a different understanding. Some students process differently and are just not wanting to share what they are thinking.
Ch. 6
Quote: "As a result, teaching tends to focus on eliminating the source of the problem: the student's imagination" (pg. 79)
Explanation: WHOA WHOA WHOA. I absolutely disagree with this. There are definitely some teachers who tend to have more boring classes, but that is to the specific teachers. I feel like this book is very anti-teacher...
Question: Don't we need both tacit and explicit knowledge to learn?
Connection: The main point that I connected with was when they were talking about the old culture of learning. I, of course, am a product of this culture. Well, the end of that culture when they were just starting to bring in some new ideals. However, I was still having to take multiple state tests and was being taught specifically to the test. I absolutely do not want that for my students.
Epiphany: I was reading the bit about the students not being able to use their imagination to pick topics. They are a product of the teachers who make all of the decisions and have exact expectations. I want to make sure that my classroom has plenty of student voice and choice.