John Seely Brown

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, rel="nofollow" _target="_top">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… (more)

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, when presented with exactly the same information in exactly the same way, will learn different things.”

The book included a great analogy of a raiding party in the World of Warcraft game to explain how, within an open community, individuals learn through trial and error and elements of play. In it’s most simple formula, community passion play= new learning culture.… (more)