Chapter 7
Quote: “They are homo sapiens, homo faber, and homo ludens – or humans who know, humans who make (things), and humans who play.” page 90. I chose this quote because it encompasses all three aspects of learning that the authors suggest using to recreate our educational system. Each piece of the trio is equally important as it touches on a different way that we as human beings learn and choosing a quote about a single form of learning would not have done justice to the chapter.
Question: How can I incorporate play into a math classroom?
Connection: For me, this chapter strongly reminded me of our class 20% project assignment. In our project we were researching questions to access the knowledge aspect referenced in the chapter, we were creating a resource to collect all of our research, and we were told to choose a topic that included an aspect of play. For my project, I chose cooking a gluten and corn free meal that finished with chocolate cake. In my mind, all cooking and baking has an aspect of play because there is joy in it and a need to be inventive with ingredients. Making was a part of both the online resource collection as well as the food itself. Knowing was connected by researching how to cook with gluten and corn free ingredients. To me, the 20% project was a perfect way to incorporate all of these aspects into our learning this semester.
Epiphany: The aspect of play creates a desire to find and meet the next challenge as well as a need for the learner to make leaps of intuition and take risks.
Chapter 8
Quote: I couldn’t find a single quote that I thought embodied the ideas of this chapter, so instead I chose three. “Hanging out, in her terms, is about learning how to be with others in spaces that are mediated by digital technology.” page 101. “The function of play in messing around, above all else, is to unpack and experiment with the familiar.” page 102. “Geeking out asks the question: How can I utilize the available resources, both social and technological, for deep exploration?” page 105. These three quotes describe the essence of the three stages of being in a technological world. Each level is distinct and they are necessarily built upon each other. You first need to learn how to exist in whatever technological media you are using, then you need to learn how to experiment with what you know within that medium before you can finally begin to explore the resource more deeply.
Question: How can I add all three levels of exploring and learning to be with technology into a math class?
Connection: For me this chapter really connected to the way that information was presented in our class. At first, I was baffled as to why so many resources were introduced all at once in the beginning of the semester, and it seemed incredibly overwhelming. After reading this chapter, I understand that in order to reach the “geeking out” stage as intended in the class, we needed to pass through both the hanging out and messing around phases in many different areas with many different resources so that we could use them to explore and create in our own content areas.
Epiphany: A journey of learning within a classroom setting is predicated upon a deep sense of trust in your instructor and their plan for the course they have laid out for you.
Chapter 9
Quote: “When we address problems like a puzzle or a game, we engage in acts of productive inquiry,” page 117.
Question: “And where imaginations play, learning happens.” page 118. I chose this quote because the entire chapter is about how imagination and play can be fantastic resources when it comes to learning.
Connection: In class, the goal of assignments was never to find an answer, a solution, or the best way to accomplish something. Our goals were always to find a way that worked for us, and that always led to more questions about how to improve. This is the heart of incorporating play into learning.
Epiphany: "The key to questing is not typical problem solving. It is innovation." Try being a pally on your epic and you’re KOS in Freeport. Video games are all about innovation.
Quote: “They are homo sapiens, homo faber, and homo ludens – or humans who know, humans who make (things), and humans who play.” page 90. I chose this quote because it encompasses all three aspects of learning that the authors suggest using to recreate our educational system. Each piece of the trio is equally important as it touches on a different way that we as human beings learn and choosing a quote about a single form of learning would not have done justice to the chapter.
Question: How can I incorporate play into a math classroom?
Connection: For me, this chapter strongly reminded me of our class 20% project assignment. In our project we were researching questions to access the knowledge aspect referenced in the chapter, we were creating a resource to collect all of our research, and we were told to choose a topic that included an aspect of play. For my project, I chose cooking a gluten and corn free meal that finished with chocolate cake. In my mind, all cooking and baking has an aspect of play because there is joy in it and a need to be inventive with ingredients. Making was a part of both the online resource collection as well as the food itself. Knowing was connected by researching how to cook with gluten and corn free ingredients. To me, the 20% project was a perfect way to incorporate all of these aspects into our learning this semester.
Epiphany: The aspect of play creates a desire to find and meet the next challenge as well as a need for the learner to make leaps of intuition and take risks.
Chapter 8
Quote: I couldn’t find a single quote that I thought embodied the ideas of this chapter, so instead I chose three. “Hanging out, in her terms, is about learning how to be with others in spaces that are mediated by digital technology.” page 101. “The function of play in messing around, above all else, is to unpack and experiment with the familiar.” page 102. “Geeking out asks the question: How can I utilize the available resources, both social and technological, for deep exploration?” page 105. These three quotes describe the essence of the three stages of being in a technological world. Each level is distinct and they are necessarily built upon each other. You first need to learn how to exist in whatever technological media you are using, then you need to learn how to experiment with what you know within that medium before you can finally begin to explore the resource more deeply.
Question: How can I add all three levels of exploring and learning to be with technology into a math class?
Connection: For me this chapter really connected to the way that information was presented in our class. At first, I was baffled as to why so many resources were introduced all at once in the beginning of the semester, and it seemed incredibly overwhelming. After reading this chapter, I understand that in order to reach the “geeking out” stage as intended in the class, we needed to pass through both the hanging out and messing around phases in many different areas with many different resources so that we could use them to explore and create in our own content areas.
Epiphany: A journey of learning within a classroom setting is predicated upon a deep sense of trust in your instructor and their plan for the course they have laid out for you.
Chapter 9
Quote: “When we address problems like a puzzle or a game, we engage in acts of productive inquiry,” page 117.
Question: “And where imaginations play, learning happens.” page 118. I chose this quote because the entire chapter is about how imagination and play can be fantastic resources when it comes to learning.
Connection: In class, the goal of assignments was never to find an answer, a solution, or the best way to accomplish something. Our goals were always to find a way that worked for us, and that always led to more questions about how to improve. This is the heart of incorporating play into learning.
Epiphany: "The key to questing is not typical problem solving. It is innovation." Try being a pally on your epic and you’re KOS in Freeport. Video games are all about innovation.