A New Culture of Learning

[Vinnie Vrotny]

This spring, the Executive Board of the Independent School Special Interest Group (SIG-IS) of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) decided to sponsor a summer group book reading. After a bit of discussion, the group selected the new book by John Seely Brown and Doug Thomas, A New Culture of Learning.

 

After this evening's, Thursday, July 20th,  #isedchat Twitter chat, we will continue the conversation asynchronously here in the ISENET Ning book discussion area.

 

Each week, I will be posting a new prompt for the week.

 

Then, sometime in late August or early September, the ISTE SIG-IS will be hosting a synchronous web conference with John Seely Brown to conclude the conversation.

 

I look forward to the conversations and discussions which will arise from this book.

 

[Lorri Carroll]

Thanks for setting this up Vinnie. I look forward to discussing the book tonight and continuing the conversation here. A web conference with John Seely Brown is an amazing addition to all of it! Thanks again!

[Lorri Carroll]

Here is the archive from tonight's #isedchat discussion. 

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Lz3k-UzT-ENb68qHI5lKctVx_iW5kl9...

[Vinnie Vrotny]

In A New Culture of Learning, Brown and Thomas define this new environment as

The new culture of learning actually comprises two elements. The first is a massive information network that provides almost unlimited access and resources to learn about anything. The second is a bounded and structured environment that allows for unlimited agency to build and experiment with things within those boundaries

Within each of our schools, what are we doing to develop and cultivate this new environment? Specifically

• Are we constructing information networks that have unlimited access to everything? Or do we construct barriers to that access (filtering, limiting numbers and types of devices, developing policies that prohibit learning outside the defined curriculum)? If not, what conditions must change to break down these walls?
• Have we constructed an environments that allows for unlimited agency to build and experiment within a bounded, structured environment? If not, what changes can be made to facilitate that shift?

[Marti Weston]

Here's a great interview with the authors at Henry Jenkins' blog. http://henryjenkins.org/2011/01/a_new_culture_of_learning_an_i.html  

Jenkins also wrote a great blurb on the third page of the book (along with a few other notables)..  Jenkins' blog, Confessions of an Aca-Fan is fun to read.

[Vinnie Vrotny]

Richard Kassissieh, the Director of Information Technology at the Caitlin Gables School in Portland, Oregon, wrote a wonderful reflection and summary of last week's #isedchat on his blog, Kassblog.

 

Please check it out.