After reading the two texts A New Culture of Learning (Thomas & Seely Brown, 2011) and Connectivism (Siemens, 2004) and watching the video Rethinking Learning: The 21st Century Learner by MacArthur Foundation 5 major themes resonated with me regarding the requirements of new learning environments.
Those themes are:
Environment: One of the basic requirements for new learning is the environment its conducted in. That environment must allow for creative freedom yet provide a safe structured surrounding such as the classroom. With a combination of digital learning and the rules and regulations provided by schools, learning establishments and corporate environments, the learner can explore using the unlimited resources whilst being instructed by the teacher.
As a non-teaching professional, my interpretation of the modern classroom in a typical westernized school has a teacher leading its students at the head of the class. However with the video Rethinking Learning: The 21st Century Learner by MacArthur Foundation you realize that those classrooms are changing not only creating new digitally focused schools which incorporates digital media at its core, but also our current brick and mortar schools adapting to the change by providing new age technologies in the classroom on a reoccurring basis whilst still providing the traditional learning techniques we are accustomed too.
These environments may give the foundations for the student to kick start their education adventure, but this environment can only do so much, which leads to the movement to incorporate similar traits when the student returns home. Fortunately for most, we can still be connected to those unlimited resources at home, whilst including the additional fun elements such as the educational side of gaming. As an occasional “gamer” myself I never thought about the learning potential encompassed within the digital games today.
Perhaps I have approached the subject more as an adult and not experienced it as a child. The lessons children learned from today’s games are impressive, even when just scratching the surface. Games such as the Civilization series teach the user a vast variety of different skills such as resource management, economics, geography and more. PC and console games come in all types of flavors and despite some of their adult content, they all can help the user learn. The Call of Duty franchise for example can provide the player a brief history of World War 2 but still be to offensive for a child, but on its own merit still have educational values.
On the other end of the spectrum we have Minecraft, a game I have yet to explore, but one with unlimited learning potential. User can build anything and everything within the gaming sandbox. I have seen via YouTube videos some amazing creations created by some young individuals that have me perplexed as to how they made it. Some of these games, even on mobile devices, the only way to succeed or to move on to the next level is via collaboration. One game I am fumbling around with today is Pokémon Go. The game itself is a revolution using augmented reality at its core and has continued to evolve since its initial release but its main goal as with all Pokémon related content… you gotta catch them all! However, some Pokémon you can only catch via raids, with some of these raids require a team of 3 or more to successfully defeat. Its not possible to catch them all unless you work together. Trying to do that in a big city might be an easier, but what about the Pokémon Go players in smaller communities like me in State College. How can I find a small group or team of people to help catch that level 5 Pokémon that I need to complete the set? For me the answer was a combination of network and interaction. I initially joined a local Facebook group that discussed all things Pokémon Go. It would mention sittings, spawn spots, raid locations etc. This was a stroke of genius, but it could also be outdated by the time I read the post. Pokémon Go is all about the now. The critters could only be on location for a short moment in time. The next step was to join a local Discord group. This group would provide news, sittings, raid spots etc all in the now. You can see who was heading to XYZ raid on campus and if it was worth the trip. This had made the game more enjoyable as not only were we making progress in the game, but we were also creating a community that we spoke with online and in person on a subject matter we were all passionate about.
Network: Being connected to the vast information hub such as the internet provides us with an unlimited resource network which continues to grow. According to the latest statistics in January 2020 there were in excess of 4,4 billion internet users globally with the average user being connected to the web for over 6 hours and 43 minutes per day. Meanwhile as the amount of time we spend connected the internet continues to grow, more and more information is being placed online with over 500,000 websites created every 24 hours. One amazing facet of the web is navigating issues, problems and situations that we are unfamiliar with. I have stumbled across countless technical issues, problems with my household pets, travel related dilemmas that I cannot figure out, but fortunately for ALL of us the web is littered with answers. Most of any questions which have you stumped can be answered via community driven forums, however there are also question and answer related websites such as Quora.com, StackExchange.com and Answers.com. These websites pop up regularly when I try to “google” (see included search bar below) something that has me perplexed. I merely see the internet as an endless information resource but its much more than that. In its basic form the internet is a vast network of computers that are connected enabling the transmission of information. However, on this vast network you are also connected with additional information resources such as you and I. The internet enables users not only to access stored data, but to connect and communicate with people all over the world. With access to this endless resource of knowledge it opens infinite possibilities for learning in the classroom as well as continuation of learning at the home.
Interaction: In Sam’s Story we got to meet Sam a young eager coder in the making. The youngster was introduced to Scratch a free programming language which comes with its own online community. Sam throws everything he’s got into the platform and creates his first program. After completing the program Sam submits it for revision to the wide-open voice of Scratch’s online presence. That voice can provide insight, advice, tips and tricks whereas also providing praise and complements. The way in which people can interact with online platforms such as Scratch, Instagram, YouTube and more fascinates me. Learning from people “in the know”. As I try to relate to Sam’s situation, I recall a time towards the end of 2019 when our garbage disposal broke. My initial response was “lets get someone in to fix it”, however as a penny pinching (also known as TIGHT) individual, once I realized the cost of “getting someone in to fix it” I decided, “perhaps we can do fix it”. I am not the savviest when it comes to home improvements, but after “googling my error” I found a through yet easy to understand guide to changing your garbage disposal. This video not only provided a step-by-step process as to how to change a garbage disposal, but it shown how to change MY MODEL of garbage disposal. Adding to that, any comments, advice or pointers I requested via the videos comment section were fortunately answered promptly. It was like having my very own handyman on call. Not all situations present themselves like this, as I have had many questions to other issues go unanswered. The two-way interaction available today for all communities is amazing, we may not all be masters of any given subject, but we have the ability to connect with them. One additional web 2.0 technology I have noticed rearing its head recently is interactive TV shows (see video). I noticed a couple of shows on Netflix, one was the interactive movie called Bandersnatch which gives the viewer multiple options throughout the story using the remote control at home. I also noticed a more suitable and enjoyable TV show with my old mucker (I wish) Bear Grylls. Again, like that of Bandersnatch, we are given a “choose your own adventure” style option throughout the show with each outcome giving different results. One outcome leads to safety, the other could lead to tragedy. Despite both examples mentioned here were prerecorded years ago, it still gives the viewer the chance to decide their own outcome.
Imagination: Another key requirement in creating new learning environments is the imagination of the student, the teacher and all that are involved in the learning process. Keeping an all options on the table approach to teaching provides unlimited learning experiences. I know firsthand doing similar mundane tasks on a weekly if not daily basis. Life becomes dull fast especially when stuck in a repetitive cycle. Same must be felt in the classroom, not just for the student but also for the teacher. If every day was different to the last, surely that would breed excitement for all of those involved. The teacher needs to provide their own imagination to the learning environment they are the ones leading the children through their educational adventure. Fortunately, teachers are exploring their imaginative side, introducing new methods such as gaming (for your leisure purposes I have embedded a fun game below), flipping the classroom and holding class outside of the classroom. Field trips themselves open a world of questions to students, introducing them to an environment they are unfamiliar with, but yet curious to know more. I recall as a student who was lucky to go on a couple of field trips the pure excitement you got for doing something different and the joys of not being in the classroom. Imagine a school that everyday was different, nothing is regular or normal, each day would feel like a new experience. Of course, schools have deeper issues such as bullying and personal matters that can intertwine with a student’s education, however making the learning environment a joy to be in would create a positive platform for us all to build on.
Play free games at Kongregate
Community: As we traversed through the stories represented in A New Culture of Learning (Thomas & Seely Brown, 2011) we are introduced to Tom who at 41 was diagnosed with diabetes. Tom made regular visits to his doctor to try and learn about his new condition, with the medical practitioner providing adequate information but not filling the questions Tom desired most. Fortunately for Tom he found the answers and more to his questions via an online community focused on living with diabetes. Communities such as this exist in all shapes and sizes and throughout the lockdown, I too have found a community which has helped with dealing with a personal problem here at home. Weight loss! Throughout the COVID19 pandemic I and my wife, began a quest to shed unwanted weight via a low carb approach. However, we soon found the meals and methods we were familiar with very restricted. However, we were pleasantly surprised about the online community we stumbled upon via multiple Facebook groups. These groups provided us recipes, hacks, cooking techniques the works. Fast forward 4 months and the weight has dropped off. The communities available to us these days are endless. If you are trying to find the next best method to give your dog dreadlocks… guess what? There is a community for that. Well, in all honesty there might not be a dread locking dog community, but if there is a subject matter that is missing its community you could be the one to start it. I have learned so much about carbohydrates, weight loss and cooking these past 6 months that I have my previous 40 years.
These 5 core components of a new learning environment are often intertwined with each other, and may not even exist without each other. Of course there are other elements that can make up a new learning environment such as culture, positivity and flexibility, however these basic foundations resonate with me in order for providing the core structure for learning to blossom.