Thing #1 – Lifelong Learning and Learning 2.0

This is a blog about exploring the 23 Things and documenting my personal growth.  Setting up the blog was a simple procedure (no stress), and it reminded me of setting up a Facebook or email account – no difficulties with the process.  I would like to learn all that I can about the 2.0 web tools to be more comfortable with these technologies and so that I can use them to enhance my students’ learning.

How appropriate – that the first of these 23 Things is a short video that defines learning and then calls for reflection on what it means to be a lifelong learner. The video was a good summation, and I agree with the main theme, that learning lasts a lifetime and should be by design.  The most challenging habit for me is Habit # 3, to view problems as challenges and as growth opportunities and not to see them as roadblocks.  This statement reminds me that lessons are not only learned in the classroom, but also through day-to-day living.   For example, I have learned from past mistakes how to troubleshoot by solving problems that are broken down into smaller, more manageable parts – essential to know for math class, but also an important life skill.

The habit that will be the most valuable to me as I work through this course is Habit #4, remembering to trust in my abilities as a competent and efficient learner.  There is a lot of writing in this course, and I sometimes spend too much time on word choice and on overthinking my ideas before I can come up with the “right” thoughts.  Reflection is sometimes more difficult and a much slower process for me than already knowing what the “right” answer is.   In other words, writing becomes a learning challenge – I mean opportunity, and Habit # 4 will keep me going.

The easiest habit for me (and the most enjoyable) is Habit # 2, accepting responsibility for my own education, because I love doing research and keeping informed, and I am always learning something new about something.  The video says, “Break out of the box,” and that we are to be intentional about self-education.   I have discovered (or learned) that sometimes learning is not “cookie cutter,” and it is oftentimes an out-of-the-box approach.   I am usually on a fact-finding mission at work or at home and always trying to connect all of the dots. 

Hmmm, I wonder – how could it even be possible to be a teacher and to not enjoy learning?