Part II-Blog Post #5

Personal Learning Networks are very important. They allow students to search and navigate the Internet to find pertinent information for individual projects done in class. Learning does not just exist within the classroom. It is a continuous process of seeking knowledge from other sources. Life is a learning process whether it be in the classroom or from personal experience. We can learn so much from other people in society. For instance, older people have such a large overview of knowledge for young people. When we allow ourselves to open our minds not just to classroom or textbook knowledge but realize that life is not just by the book but by experiences we have had with our families, our employment, and our experiences in school will lead us to a new and interesting path.

For instance, Randy Pausch (Randy Pausch Last Lecture:Achieving Your Childhood Dreams) had some very interesting things to say about teaching. In his monologue, Mr. Pausch mentioned some of his experiences in college when he was in graduate school. He said that he had met some in- teresting professors. He said that some of these teachers had a greater effect on him more than others. He did comment on his career as a college professor and elaborated on some of the interesting people he came in contact with along the way. He also mentioned his childhood and the things that he liked as a child. He really liked stuffed animals and going to Disney World. These were childhood treasures that he remembered throughout his adult- hood. These things brought wonderful memories to mind. He spoke about his family and the wonderful connection with his wife and children. Life can be a combination of pleasant things and some unpleasant things. We can learn from both experiences. The appalling thing that really got my attention in his monologue to the world was his experience with cancer. His overwhelming enthusiasm about an illness that they had no cure for especially got my attention. I noticed that he realized defeat in curing his illness but somehow he had made peace with it. I really thought that was very mature of him and I admired his zest for life! We should be so lucky to learn some- thing from this sad experience. We do not know what type of card life will deal us. But Randy Pausch was able to deal with the cards that were dealt him and allowed himself to grow right along with his family and friends.

I really got what was being said in that video and monologue. It's like I said in the beginning, life is not just strictly by the book but an abundance of other experiences. This helps us to grow mentally and spiritually. When we explore life and experience those sad things we learn to grow and teach others how to cope with whatever life brings us. We can teach younger ones about grown-up subjects and things in the world. As younger ones, children can learn how to deal with the more serious subjects and grasp the meaning of it all.

I also remembered one of Kelly Tenkely's blogs, How We Got to Now: a student created mini museum, where students were allowed to actually create inventions. The teacher allowed her students to have a mini museum of the many small inventions in a large auditorium. She allowed the students to be exploratory and creative. I'm sure it took a great deal of research and inquiry to create some of those inventions. They were able to think outside the box and put something together. The idea and concept of invention can be very exciting and different. Allowing young students the power of invention gives them the opportunity to focus on inventions for the future of society. Bravo! Bravo! I thought it was a great idea to put together. As adults we can learn so much from these younger ones.

Also Mr. Paul Andersen's  Blended Learning Cycle  brought some interesting points about learning. He spoke of six steps in the Blended Learning Cycle that should be followed carefully. They are as follows:
(1) Questions
(2) Investigation/Inquiry
(3) Video
(4) Elaboration
(5) Review
(6) Summary Quiz

In the video, he was able to take each one of his students through these steps to ensure that the class would incooperate The Learning Cycle into their classroom work. It is true if students are thinking about an idea or concept then that will enable them to do the research and look for reliable and informative material for the entire class to learn from. This will encourage research and investigation on the student's part. Questions will cause the student to inquire or look for the answers and do the necessary research.