Reflecting Pools

Well, it’s time for me to quit my job and stay home to read my RSS feeds. Oh wait: it’s summer, so I can do this without guilt for 7 more weeks. I’m skimming, but I find so many fascinating ideas that I pursue more links. My RSS is the Pied Piper, and I’m the lemming!

Following links led me to the Mission to Learn blog, and I love it. I’ve always been interested in brain function and learning theory, so this one is right up my ally. Whether the topic is traits of super learners, or learning traits/themes that are common in web 2.0 learning, I found a lot to contemplate as I design learning activities for my own learners. Then the site led me to lots of widgets that I can add to my bog! I added a time and a weather widget (successfully, I might add), looked at the results, and deleted them because I didn’t want the blog to look cluttered. It was fun! See, I’m playing!

Then I hit Mission to Learn’s article about left brain, right brain, and learning variations in Is Your Brain in a Box. About two hours later I followed my last link, took my last test, and closed the blog. I can’t say I learned much that was new, but it was fun (and convenient) to see a number of resources brought together and available through one blog entry.

It was my trip to Cool Cat Teacher’s focus on Garr Reynolds’ post on Brain Rules: Twelve Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School by John Medina that led me to Amazon for a purchase. Reynolds’ post criticized multitasking as a means of being busy without being truly productive–a position I have long held. (Oh dear, does that mean I like blogs that agree with my beliefs? LOL) What was most impressive were the science, brain theory, and examples used to make the point; thus, the discussion of Medina’s book. I opted for the slow boat and free shipping, so I’ll let you know how it is in a couple of weeks.

My eyes are tired! Time to go look at the trees and sky for a while!

Filed under: Learning K12 2.0 and tagged learners, learning theory, left brain, right brain, web 2.0, widget