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A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change

Douglas Thomas,

John Seely Brown

3.80 · Rating details · 715 ratings · 76 reviews

The twenty-first century is a world in constant change. In A New Culture of Learning, Doug Thomas and John Seely Brown pursue an understanding of how the forces of change, and emerging waves of interest associated with these forces, inspire and invite us to imagine a future of learning that is as powerful as it is optimistic. Typically, when we think of culture, we think o The twenty-first century is a world in constant change. In A New Culture of Learning, Doug Thomas and John Seely Brown pursue an understanding of how the forces of change, and emerging waves of interest associated with these forces, inspire and invite us to imagine a future of learning that is as powerful as it is optimistic. Typically, when we think of culture, we think of an existing, stable entity that changes and evolves over long periods of time. In A New Culture, Thomas and Brown explore a second sense of culture, one that responds to its surroundings organically. It not only adapts, it integrates change into its process as one of its environmental variables. By exploring play, innovation, and the cultivation of the imagination as cornerstones of learning, the authors create a vision of learning for the future that is achievable, scalable and one that grows along with the technology that fosters it and the people who engage with it. The result is a new form of culture in which knowledge is seen as fluid and evolving, the personal is both enhanced and refined in relation to the collective, and the ability to manage, negotiate and participate in the world is governed by the play of the imagination. Replete with stories, this is a book that looks at the challenges that our education and learning environments face in a fresh way. PRAISE FOR A NEW CULTURE OF LEARNING "A provocative and extremely important new paradigm of a 'culture of learning', appropriate for a world characterized by continual change. This is a must read for anyone interested in the future of education." James J. Duderstadt, President Emeritus, University of Michigan "Thomas and Brown are the John Dewey of the digital age." Cathy Davidson, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Duke University "A New Culture of Learning may provide for the digital media and learning movement what Thomas Paine's Common Sense did for the colonists during the American Revolution- a straightforward, direct explanation of what we are fighting for and what we are fighting against." Henry Jenkins, Provost's Professor, USC "A New Culture of Learning is at once persuasive and optimistic - a combination that is all too rare, but that flows directly from its authors' insights about learning in the digital age. Pearls of wisdom leap from almost every page." Paul Courant, Dean of Libraries, University of Michigan "Brilliant. Insightful. Revolutionary." Marcia Conner, author of The New Social Learning "Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown portray the new world of learning gracefully, vividly, and convincingly." Howard Gardner, Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education "Thomas and Brown make it clear that education is too often a mechanistic, solo activity delivered to the young. It doesn't have to be that way-learning can be a messy, social, playful, embedded, constant activity. We would do well to listen to their message." Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus "Anyone who fears, as I do, that today's public schools are dangerously close to being irrelevant must read this book. The authors provide a road map-and a lifeline-showing how schools can prosper under the most difficult conditions. It is a welcome departure from all the school bashing." John Merrow, Education Correspondent, PBS NewsHour "American education is at a crossroads. By illuminating how play helps to transform both information networks and experimentation, and how collective inquiry unleashes the power of imagination, A New Culture of Learning provides an irresistible path to the future." Joel Myerson, Director, Forum for the Future of Higher Education. ...more

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Paperback, 137 pages

Published January 4th 2011 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

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Feb 17, 2014 Kiri rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-science

I really enjoyed reading this book, which is full of interesting ideas and critiques. The main thesis is that the combination of "unlimited" access to information (i.e., the Internet) and an environment with enough structure and boundaries to inspire innovation leads to a "new culture" of learning: playful, exploratory, self-motivated, and *collective*.

Here, collective means that we have the opportunity to learn with and from many others, in a peer-based relationship, in contrast to traditional ...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Megan rated it it was amazing

Where imaginations play, learning happens...

"What if, for example, questions were more important than answers? What if the key to learning were not the application of techniques but their invention? What if students were asking questions about things that really mattered to them?" ~Thomas

This might be one of the most thought provoking books I've read about learning in awhile...and I read a lot! Thomas explains how play is the key to learning and the most essential skill of the 21st century. This ...more

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Jul 22, 2017 Karel Baloun rated it really liked it

This 2011 book takes a while to get started, at least for this silicon valley reader who doesn’t need 1/3 of the book to explain how the internet has changed casual, lifestyle learning, especially from decade old research. Much less how engaging entertainment learning has become! Nevertheless, even these anecdotes are mostly enjoyable, and all the points are clearly supported and concise.

“We propose reversing the order of things. What if, for example, questions were more important than answers? ...more

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Jul 25, 2014 Carolyn Fitzpatrick rated it did not like it

Shelves: education-parenting

This is a very short book, only 100 pages long, but the author still manages to talk around the topic instead of delivering. He explains that "kids today" are even more ill-suited to lecture than students in the past. There is a lot of talk about how explicit knowledge, like the exact speed of light, is fine presented in the format of lecture or text, but to really understand a topic you need tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge comes from experience and interaction. In a learning environment, you g This is a very short book, only 100 pages long, but the author still manages to talk around the topic instead of delivering. He explains that "kids today" are even more ill-suited to lecture than students in the past. There is a lot of talk about how explicit knowledge, like the exact speed of light, is fine presented in the format of lecture or text, but to really understand a topic you need tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge comes from experience and interaction. In a learning environment, you get tacit knowledge by reading the experiences of others, experimenting, and contributing your comments and creations to the community. The author is very dismissive of explicit knowledge, and feels that students shouldn't be taught anything that can't just be Googled, to which I say: http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/extended_....

Even more frustrating is that he doesn't give any hints as to how teachers can actually do this in the classroom. I thought that we would actually learn how to "cultivate the imagination for a world of constant change," but no. He says that "The new culture of learning is about the kind of tension that develops when students with an interest... are faced with a set of constraints that allow them to act only within certain boundaries." So... examples? steps? case studies? no? The only hint he gives is to say that if a student has a passion for basketball, don't assign basketball themed story problems, instead ask "What is the best way to shoot a basketball?" and let him pursue his own answers. That isn't really very helpful to a teacher trying to design lesson plans. He also describes five characteristics of the "gamer disposition," but nothing about how to leverage these characteristics or what to do with the kids who AREN'T gamers.

Finally, there is the gender issue. The male pronoun is used almost exclusively to describe his students. Possibly because his students are almost exclusively gamers and he's decided that gamer = male. The only women mentioned in the book are a mom in an analogy who likes to game because it brings her family closer together, Annette Lareau's research on income versus access to education. The gamers in all of his examples are supportive and helpful of each other, and embrace diversity. To the author, MMOs are wonderful meritocracies, where everyone is welcome to play. There are a ton of articles out there describing how this is NOT reality, for example: http://www.forbes.com/sites/carolpinc.... Female characters in games are for the most part drawn to be eye candy, and gay and/or non-white characters are very rare. So I respectfully disagree with his conclusion that gamers are going to save the world. There are some gamers are nice, but quite a few are territorial and selfish. ...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Paul Signorelli rated it really liked it

Shelves: collaboration, training, innovation, e-learning, creativity, social-learning, workplace-learning-and-performance

If doing is learning, there's plenty to learn and do with the ideas Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown present in "A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change." Working with the theme of social/collaborative learning that we've also encountered in many other recent books and articles, Thomas and Brown take us through a stimulating and brief--but never cursory--exploration of "the kind of learning that will define the twenty-first century." And it won't, ...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Julie rated it liked it

Shelves: ed-higher-ed, ed-development, ed-theory, ed-web2-0

The book is a manifesto of BIG IDEAS. While maddeningly vague and sometimes frustratingly nonlinear, the authors' arguments offer a provocative and serious challenge to educators. By highlighting the strong suits of internet-based learning communities, they reveal how effectively (some) students can learn outside the traditional institutions of education. The challenge, as a college teacher, is how to adapt their ideas into a more traditional college classroom, semester, degree plan, etc.

One th ...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Carl rated it liked it

The ideas presented point to some ways of integrating a new model of education into the classroom. The power of inquiry, play, and the collective are keys to any good classroom. And for the most part I am on board with what they are saying. But it does become quite clear that this book serves more as a hopeful aspiration blind to the everyday workings of the classroom. I am confident neither author has taught in the elementary school or high school setting, leaving us a book not based in reality ...more

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Jun 20, 2019 Elina Salminen rated it liked it

John Seely Brown was introduced to me (in conversation, not in person) as a visionary who will turn by brain inside out. Which admittedly is a pretty tough expectation to live up to. But as I was reading his collaboration with Douglas Thomas, I was fluctuating between rolling my eyes and going "Well, that's kind of interesting."

So, the good: Thomas and Seely Brown make an argument that learning has already changed, and that the education system needs to catch up. The change is reflected best in John Seely Brown was introduced to me (in conversation, not in person) as a visionary who will turn by brain inside out. Which admittedly is a pretty tough expectation to live up to. But as I was reading his collaboration with Douglas Thomas, I was fluctuating between rolling my eyes and going "Well, that's kind of interesting."

So, the good: Thomas and Seely Brown make an argument that learning has already changed, and that the education system needs to catch up. The change is reflected best in online environments ranging from gaming to nerding out about Harry Potter, and consists of constant learning driven by publicly available resources and personal motivation. Furthermore, it's increasingly a collective enterprise, inquiry-based, and "tacit" (a term inspired by Polanyi), ie, not reducible to lists of facts you can master. Some of their examples raise good questions: if most US undergraduates cannot point to Iraq on a paper map but most of them can find it on Google Maps and think about things like satellite view vs map view in the process, what do we make of it. Do we live in dark times of alternative facts and ignorance, or are we actually seeing a reasonable shift from rote learning to deeper engagement and thinking? Or, you know, which shades of gray between those two extremes do we actually inhabit?

It seems like surely there is much to draw on there, and maybe I'm just not visionary enough to appreciate some of their arguments. But in places they seem naive about the limits of "personal motivation" - or maybe I'm naive about what the goals of education should be. They mention the importance of boundaries and structure to prevent aimless floundering amidst the Internet of Wonderful Things, but their examples seem to trust that as long as you let people geek out on things, meaningful learning will occur. In places they seem downright unrealistic, enthusiastically quoting a University of Michigan Vice Provost who argued UM "really" trains 250,000 students each year because enrolled students share their learning online.

I think there's food for thought here, especially the relationship between public knowledge(-making) and personal motivation. For me, the disjuncture lies in the fact that the book doesn't really offer a convincing roadmap to actually operationalize any of the claims they make. If the goal is to gamify everything, they don't really give the reader an idea of how to do it, apart from presenting it as a thing that just organically happens. Perhaps this is partly because the book came out in 2011, but the ideas it presents are no longer hugely radical (there's an entire gameful learning center at UM now, for example) but also not nuanced by observations about actual gameful learning in higher ed. ...more

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Mar 01, 2017 Jody Frodahl added it

In the book A New Culture of Learning, Thomas and Brown pose the following question: “What happens to learning when we move from the stable infrastructure of the twentieth century to the fluid infrastructure of the twenty-first century, where technology is constantly creating and responding to change?” (17). Through analogy to gaming communities, blogs, and other collectives (content-neutral platforms that are defined by the interactions among participants), the authors present a new vision for In the book A New Culture of Learning, Thomas and Brown pose the following question: “What happens to learning when we move from the stable infrastructure of the twentieth century to the fluid infrastructure of the twenty-first century, where technology is constantly creating and responding to change?” (17). Through analogy to gaming communities, blogs, and other collectives (content-neutral platforms that are defined by the interactions among participants), the authors present a new vision for learning that is interactive, social, and playful.

According to the authors, learning groups that mirror collectives foster the self-directed learning and imagination that is necessary in the rapidly changing world of the 21st Century. In a collective, “people move in and out of the group at various times for various reasons, and their participation may vary based on topic, interest, experience, or need” (54). Members of a collective share a passion for a similar topic and are intrinsically motivated to discover and learn. The authors justify their belief that education would operate more effectively if structured to resemble a collective platform for learning by citing the ability of blogs (a type of collective) to educate. They claim that in a blog there is a “shift in authorship and authority” (65) which is similar to the shift that has resulted in education due to digital media. In a blog, individuals are not only influenced by the information but are also able to influence the information by providing comments and external links. Clearly, the active participation of others is fundamental to the process of learning in a blog. Therefore, it makes sense to argue that education would be greatly improved if restructured to “mimic the interactivity that modern media invites” (66). Thomas and Brown clearly explain how structuring education to be more fluid, like the collectives that have shown how to foster authentic learning, is a necessary component for cultivating a new culture of learning.

Also, the authors argue that learning must be social and playful. Education experts such as Prensky have shown that an ideal learning environment includes one in which students make connections that are grounded in experience and based on student-passions. The authors of this book cite studies by Lareau that show how “general attitudes toward learning and specific approaches to skills or areas of interest” greatly influence learning (72). When learning is part of the social environment, people learn by watching and experiencing the digital world around them. In addition, the authors make the statement that “play...is probably the most overlooked aspect in understanding how learning functions in culture” (97). When people “play” they discover different possibilities which can cause a shift in perspective. Through play, people interact and create meaning. Thomas and Brown conclude that “play reveals a structure of learning that is radically different from the one that most schools or other formal learning environments provide, and which is well suited to the notions of a world in constant flux” (97). Play is an essential component of the inquiry-based learning emphasized in innovative 21st Century classrooms..

In the book A New Culture of Learning, authors Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown create a moving proposal for the change that is needed to education. Their vision is optimistic yet practical. While they passionately argue that education needs to be personalized, playful, and “messy”, they also acknowledge the importance of structure and boundaries in the proposed learning collectives. They provide analogies that help to justify their proposed changes. I especially appreciated the gaming analogy. They wrote, “we look to gamers because they don’t just embrace change, they demand it. Their world is in a state of constant flux, and it must continually be reinvented and reimagined through acts of collective imagination. That’s what makes the game fun. But while players defeat bosses, kill monsters, coordinate raids, find new armor, and read blogs, wikis, and forums, learning happens, too” (115). This book provides relevant anecdotes to justify the underlying theme that people of all ages learn by doing, asking new questions, and working together to solve problems. With an emphasis on informal learning, it is a must read for educators who truly seek a new vision for 21st Century learning. Douglas Thomas, associate professor in Communication at USC, has focused his research on how technology and culture intersect and provides valuable insights in the book about the necessary change to education being a cultural shift in attitude. He has also published journals on game research which greatly contributed to the analogy connecting learning to video games. John Seely Brown, scientist, scholar, and cofounder of the Institute for Research on Learning integrated principles from his book The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion to propose a plan that makes the learning required in the 21st Century possible. ...more

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Jun 09, 2018 Ahmed Hamad rated it it was ok

I don't think I like this book. While it provides some cool ideas about a new age of learning, the dramatization and overstatement of how cool these ideas are sucks. Using the internet and the tools that technology has provided us with to connect for learning certainly can be helpful, but to go ahead and claim that we should make this the center of a new age of learning is dangerous. It can easily lead to the deterioration of education and the facilities of the mind along with it. It is understa ...more

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Mar 14, 2019 Andrew A. rated it liked it

Quick read with some good ideas laid out in an easy to read/understand format. Not 100% on board with the whole conclusion though, talking about World of Warcraft being the pinnacle of, "indwelling," and, "collective." I was a gamer as a kid and while I see the argument being made, there's a line between translating that problem-solving to the real world. I would've liked to see people listed as WOW players who have contributed in some way, with a thesis, or research, or an invention of some kin ...more

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Aug 30, 2018 Marco rated it liked it

Shelves: pedagogy-transformation, collectiveactionstakengag

Some interesting insights on the transition from a teaching-centered to a learner-centered and more distributed, peer-to-peer, interactive culture of learning. Aside from some insights, the book is overrated and a bit shallow in the core argument it makes. Less of a book's core argument and more like a series of blog posts on a technology magazine. You might want to read it if you have a spare day during a weekend and have not much else to do, OR if the topic is very dear to you

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Jul 16, 2019 Anip Sharma rated it it was amazing

Elucidates the new culture of learning that is the need of the hour in the 21st century by focussing on the interplay of knowing making and playing. extremely inclined to the idea presented about collective indwelling and how people and learning flourish in an environment with tremendous resources and defined boundaries.

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Sep 03, 2017 Eric rated it liked it

Shelves: masters, dead-tree

This was a throwback to the "Web 2.0" hysteria for me. Reading it in today's context shows how overstated were the claims that the Internet was going to transform culture into a collaborative, understanding utopia. Nevertheless, there are some very helpful concepts in this book, most notably for me the concept of a "collective" as opposed to a "community."

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Jun 18, 2018 Michelle rated it it was ok

They have a moderately interesting idea with no clear way of how you implement this in areas of teaching that do not directly lend themselves to World of Warcraft or the like. But maybe I just don't get it. Also would be curious to know (I will google it) if more men than women play these"MMOs" b/c these solutions seemed male-oriented. Still, some ideas that I will ponder.

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Oct 17, 2018 Guyada rated it it was ok

Summary: World of Warcraft saves the world and brings paradise to Earth. The basic idea is not bad but a lot in the book is too simplified or modified to fit the authors` purpose and lacks broader context. ...more

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Aug 22, 2018 Carolyn rated it it was amazing

This book is at least 7 years old and I have read it three times. It is an inspiring, easy read. Great for facilities or policymakers. If you loved Ken Robinson's TedTalk you will love this book. I like it better than Robinson's books.

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Feb 16, 2018 Sarah Maier rated it really liked it

The discussion on how gamers learn was quite interesting. My husband is a gamer and a great learner. A good, fast read.

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Jun 17, 2019 Linda Rosario rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A must for educators and researchers.

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Jun 10, 2019 Rebecca Hermann rated it really liked it

Great overview and concept but didn't go as deep into application as I would have liked.

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May 16, 2019 Kirsten rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

An exciting read for me. I love the ideas, but think putting them into practice is going to be far more difficult to execute than the authors would like to admit.

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Jan 28, 2015 Dale rated it liked it

Shelves: education

I think this book works as a proper starting point and introduction to emerging models of collaborative learning in participatory online communities. The authors do well to highlight the potential benefits of self-directed creative inquiry and collaborative problem solving, and they shine a light on the topic of tacit vs. explicit learning, and tease new models of information literacy. I would have liked to see a more meaningful discussion of the practical application of these big ideas, across I think this book works as a proper starting point and introduction to emerging models of collaborative learning in participatory online communities. The authors do well to highlight the potential benefits of self-directed creative inquiry and collaborative problem solving, and they shine a light on the topic of tacit vs. explicit learning, and tease new models of information literacy. I would have liked to see a more meaningful discussion of the practical application of these big ideas, across a variety of learning contexts. The glossy, manifesto-style presentation of this book's worthy ideas, enshrouds some of the limitations of the methods put forward. Notably missing is any discussion of the challenges and roadblocks to the implementation of these new models. Anecdotal evidence of a man who taught himself to code by Googling solutions is all well and good, but is freestyling your way through blog tutorials and discussion forums really the best path to computer science mastery? Perhaps there are better hybrid models of tacit and explicit learning, that aren't served by the dichotomous framing presented in this book. I think the next logical step in this discussion is to apply a more rigorous analysis of these forms of self-directed, community-driven learning, and parse out where they excel, where they fall short, and how they can be improved. I would have liked to see the authors apply the same level of critical analysis, used to examine traditional instruction and learning, to these promising new models. Without that critical anchor, we risk drifting off into breathless, techno-utopian dreamscapes.

I am very much a believer in the core ideas laid out by the authors. As someone with a great deal of experience (too much, by some estimations) with the online communities that form around games like World of Warcraft and Eve Online, I spend a lot of time marveling at the sheer volume of learning, analysis and supplementary content created by their participants. I agree that there is much to be gained from the study of these communities of practice. Pursuing new models of learning and instruction is going to be an increasingly critical topic of discussion, but in order to do have that discussion, we are going to need to get in the weeds. A New Culture of Learning provides a good, somewhat romantic, 50,000 foot view of the landscape. I'm looking forward to digging into more nuanced and actionable content.
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Jan 15, 2012 Katie rated it it was ok

This slim volume provided some interesting food for thought regarding education in the 21st century. The culmination is primarily an argument for utilizing gaming as valid learning platform. Although well-reasoned and supported, it failed to address several problems incuding: meeting state and national standards, evaluation and how to deal with students who do not succeed in the gaming culture. What this book does bring to the table is an interesting discussion of tacit vs. explicit learning. Mo ...more

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May 28, 2013 Corrie Campbell rated it liked it

Shelves: education

Seely Brown and Thomas hit the nail on the head when they talk about knowledge in the context of education: "In the twenty-first century...knowledge is becoming less a question of 'What is the information?' and more of a 'Where is the information?'" Seely Brown and Thomas replicate a 2006 survey where 18 to 24 year olds attempted to "find Iraq" on a map and 63% were deemed "geographically illiterate" because they could not. However, they added a twist and gave their students a computer instead o ...more

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Feb 13, 2016 Stan Skrabut rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: education

About a month ago, Dr. Cliff Harbour, Associate Professor at the University of Wyoming College of Education, recommended that I read Thomas and Brown's book, A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change*. He knew I was constantly questioning the role of education and learning, and he thought this would be an interesting read for me. This book is one of many taking a hard look at education and learning, and finding they are not one in the same. Read more

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Sep 01, 2011 Vanessa rated it really liked it

A New Culture of Learning crystallized my cluster of experiences with the open ed movement--it's a good primer on empowering students to take responsibility for and invest in their education. The authors address peer learning, learning collectives, and the importance of play all in accessible, optimistic prose.

It's also prompted me to re-evaluate the structure of my P2PU poetry course< /a> to reflect more self-directed projects and learner buy-in.

I think perhaps that the authors are too op ...more

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Jun 10, 2011 Paul rated it liked it

This was a relatively short book with one simple theme; the process of learning is evolving and you can either fight it or take advantage.

The new culture of learning is based around the prevalence of information and potential learning resources. Students now learn more from the process of learning and the communities fostered than from the factual information that is fed to them. Students also learn best when they are able to follow their passions. In the words of the author, “Different people, ...more

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Jan 25, 2014 Steve Oelschlager rated it really liked it

Interesting discussion on the difference between teaching and learning, how the instability of knowledge calls for different learning models, and the call for lifelong learning as a requirement for the times we live in. Also the idea that learning is a participatory process as opposed to a passive data dump from the teacher to the student. Finally, how the internet not only expands our knowledge base but puts us in touch with other people or "collectives" with whom we can learn together. I was n ...more

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Jul 22, 2014 Penny rated it liked it

2 1/2 stars, really. It's not bad as an introduction to get people thinking about teaching and learning in a new way, with an eye toward leveraging 21st century technology to build 21st century skills. It's light on detail and practical advice, though. That's a problem mainly because when you go on too long about how "our old way of teaching doesn't work" and then offer no serious solutions (hint: turning students loose to play World of Warcraft, without any explicit description of how you're go ...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Bonnie Irwin rated it liked it

Shelves: higher-ed

A lot of food for thought in this book, recommended by a presenter at the AAC&U Conference. The authors point out the benefits of a social environment for learning and learning that is generated by the community rather than dispensed from the front of a classroom. mmo's are the ideal environment for learning, the authors claim, from which educators can learn a lot. One huge question that they never do answer still remains: how might we get students interested in something that they need to l ...more

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