Back to Blogging - Again

Inspired by a tweet last night by @twhitford:

and the following brief conversation with @leah_whit:

along with a few conversations with some new teachers that I have been learning with lately... it is indeed time to start blogging again.

Last night on #wischat there was a conversation with @MelanieSSpencer and @JoeSanfelippofc on the definition of learning.  In addition, I have been in conversations with @JHenze44 about being addicted to learning.

What is learning, how do we define it, and is some learning more important than other learning?

This weekend on my way back from vacation I saw a school with a message board at the front that said, "We learn everyday if we are paying attention".  Can learning happen if we are not "trying" to learn?

I want our students to fall in love with learning.  I want them to extend their learning outside of the school day and school year.  I want them to be passionate about what they are learning and also supportive of others around them who may be interested in learning about other things.

I believe that the next 20 years are going to be completely different from the last 20; is the learning that "we" did different from the learning that our students need?  Here are two examples of students that are learning in ways "we" would've never thought of:

Check out this student, he just launched his 100th video and has 258+ subscribers and hundreds of thousands of views:


Or this student who started and manages a Facebook Fan Page for people who like One Direction:

Are the skills associated with the projects above important?  How important will they be in the next 20 years?  How much learning took place in order for these students to accomplish what they have already?  Are schools equipped to help students pursue these endeavors if they are important?  Can Facebook be important?

I would love to hear your thoughts on learning below.