Quote: Page 97. "Much of what makes play powerful as a tool for learning is our ability to engage in experimentation." I choose this quote because play seems to be the common occuring factor throughout this book and in my chemistry class I love providing my students with time to experiment while learning the content. I never really connected play with this experimentation until I read this quote but now I believe they go hand-in-hand.
Question: Do you think about play as a disposition or as a game?
Connection: I see a connection with this chapter and our 20% project. The goal was not about an output but rather about an outcome...and play was a focus around this learning. This project offered each student a choice within boundaries. My 20% project is my time to have fun, struggle, research and enjoy learning something new with my daughter. This is play to me.
Epiphany/Aha: I don't think I offer my students enough choice and play in my classroom. Through this time to play my students will be able to discover and inquire about science so it is meaningful to them....not how it is meaningful to me.
Chapter 8
Quote: Page 104 "The ability to engage with media and technology in an intense, autonomous, and interest-driven way is a unique feature of today's media environment." The key terms here are technology and interest-driven. These are two aspects of today's classroom that are very crucial for engagement. I think about myself and my interests while searching the web. If day after day I was asked to research something that I had no interest in, I would be completing the task to simply get it off my to-do list. There would be no personal connection made, no depth of understanding. My fear is this is what is happening in classrooms today.
Question: Do your students see the power of communication and collaboration with the internet?
Connection: The obvious connection with this chapter and our technology class at CSUSM is that as we progress through this unit our professors' hope is that we will move from hanging out ------> to messing around ------> to geeking out. We will see the value of the internet as a collection of resources to implement into our classroom. Resources that ultimately will transfer to a higher order of thinking and learning for our students.
Epiphany/Aha: Again, not about me and my learning but about watching my daughter connect with people who make YouTube videos. My daughter is obsessed with watching specific channels on YouTube and specific people that make videos about make-up. What is so funny to me is that a few months ago I found that she had been commenting on these YouTube videos and for the first time she received a comment back from the star of the video (they come to my email address)...and you would have thought it was Christmas here! My daughter was SO excited to see what they replied and she could hardly contain herself that someone "famous" thought her comment was good enough to get a response (these channels she watches have a million plus subscribers). She had been hanging out watching the videos for over year, then began to messing around and commenting/replying to YouTube channels. I'm sure before I know it she will be geeking out (I don't think she is there yet). My point of telling you this story is that my daughter is making connections online, in areas that interest her. She is connecting with people that without the internet and YouTube she would have never known about...as a mother this is authentic learning and my 9 years old already engaging in authentic audiences. On a weekly (sometimes more) I get an email notification that is for my 9 year old. :)
Chapter 9
Quote: Page 117-118. "As we watch the world move to a state of near-constant change and flux, we believe that connecting play and imagination may be the single most important step in unleashing the new culture of learning." I choose this quote because our world and lives change everyday. Science changes every day. Making connections with that change and our students is important. Along with connections, proving opportunities for play based learning either using technology or not should be a key aspect of every lesson we plan.
Question: Do you agree that connecting play and imagination is the key to creating innovative and creative students? Or do you believe the child's environment plays a bigger role in their destiny?
Connection: A connection I have with this final chapter is our tech class this semester. This class offers us many opportunity to play around using social media. Through this play we are making connections with other educators, whom we can learn from and seek advice from while we are beginning our journeys as teachers. This class is helping us to create that online presence that will not only help us as professionals but will also provide us with a tool our students can use as well. After all it is all about our students at the end of the day, and through this technology class I have learned valuable skills that will help engage my students in creative play using the internet.
Epiphany/Aha: I know I need to implement more opportunities for my students to have choices, play, be creative and innovative on their terms. They need to discover the science and use technology as a tool to enhance their learning. I need to come to school prepared with a platform for them to engage in authentic learning beyond my classroom walls.