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Hey there and welcome to this deep dive on how our brains learn,

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especially in this tech saturated world we're living in.

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You guys sent in some excerpts from chapter three, Learners,

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and whoa, it is dense but fascinating.

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Thankfully we have expert speaker here

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to help us unpack it all.

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So are you ready to have your mind blown about how we learn?

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I'm ready, let's do it.

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This chapter really digs deep into how our brains

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are wired for learning.

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And it's way more than just memorizing facts.

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OK, so let's get into it.

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The first thing that really struck me

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was how social our brains are.

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I mean, obviously we know we're social creatures,

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but the research in here takes it to a whole new level.

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Oh, absolutely.

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The authors talk about this idea of shared intentionality.

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Basically our brains are hardwired to not only understand

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other people's perspectives, but also

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to reflect on our own intentions and then evaluate outcomes

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based on these social norms.

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It's this crazy dance between individual thought

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and then shared understanding.

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It's really what makes us different.

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So wait, it's not just about me knowing what you're thinking.

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It's also about us having this shared goal

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and feeling like we're on the same page.

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Exactly.

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And think about how crucial that is for collaboration,

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for building trust.

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It explains why feeling understood is so rewarding to us.

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It literally lights up our brains in a way

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that's similar to physical pleasure.

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No way.

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That's wild.

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And speaking of brains, Leading Up the Chapter also

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mentions that physical pain and social pain,

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they activate similar areas in the brain.

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So heartbreak really is that real.

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It just goes to show how deeply rooted social connection is

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to us as humans.

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It's as basic as our response to physical stimuli.

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We as humans are wired to connect, to learn from each other,

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and to be deeply affected by those social interactions.

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Which makes a lot of sense.

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No wonder we learn and thrive in these engaging environments.

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And we just shrivel up in boring lectures.

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Our brains are craving that social interaction to really learn.

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Right.

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And that actually leads us to the next point, brain plasticity.

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The chapter really challenges this idea

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that we're stuck with the brain we're born with.

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Throughout our lives, our brains are always

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forming new neural pathways as we learn and adapt.

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And this is especially true when we're younger.

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It's like our brains are rewiring themselves

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based on what we experience.

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So if we're in an enriching environment,

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like a classroom that's full of creative projects

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and discussions, those experiences

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are actually changing our brains for the better.

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Yeah, exactly.

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Think about it like this.

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Every interaction, every experience, even every book

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we read, it's like we're shaping the landscape of our brains.

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These things actually shape the physical structure

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of our brains.

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They're creating new connections and strengthening

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the ones that are already there.

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And this concept of brain plasticity,

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this whole idea that our brains can rewire themselves,

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it's especially relevant when we think about how technology

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impacts our brains.

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Oh, totally.

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There's always this debate about whether tech

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is good or bad for us.

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Like, is all this screen time really

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going to turn our brains to mush?

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I've definitely wondered about that.

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Yeah, and the chap says it's not that simple.

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It's not really about rotting our brains.

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It's more like it's changing them.

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Technology is literally shaping how our brains work

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and not always in the ways we might think.

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OK, so how IS tech changing our brains?

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I remember the chapter mentioned some pretty interesting

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studies about that.

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Yeah, so one study looked at expert violinists,

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and they found that these violinists actually

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have more gray matter in certain areas of their brains

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compared to other musicians.

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Really?

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Yeah.

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Specifically in the motor cortex,

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which controls fine motor skills and the cerebellum, which

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is all about coordination.

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It's like their brains physically adapted

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to the demands of playing the violin at such a high level.

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So the areas of their brains that

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are responsible for those intricate finger movements

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actually got bigger because of how much they practice?

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Exactly.

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It just goes to show how our brains can really

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adapt to whatever we're doing.

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And these changes, they're not just

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limited to physical skills either.

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The chapter also talked about this study

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on London cab drivers.

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Oh, yeah.

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I think I've heard about this.

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Don't they have to memorize crazy detailed maps of the city

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to get their licenses?

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Exactly.

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They have to know every single street, every back alley,

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like the back of their hand.

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And the research actually found that these cab drivers have

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larger hippocampi compared to the general population.

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And remind me, what's the hippocampus again?

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It's the part of our brain that's

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responsible for spatial memory and navigation.

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Oh, right.

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OK, that makes sense.

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So is this more proof that our environments, even

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our tech environments, can shape our brains?

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Exactly.

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It's like our brains are always rewiring themselves

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based on what we expose them to,

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whether that's playing an instrument, navigating a city,

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or even just scrolling through social media.

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Which I guess brings us to a super important point

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about technology's impact on learning attention.

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In today's world, we are constantly

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bombarded with notifications, updates, information,

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all fighting for our attention.

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The chapter calls this continuous partial attention.

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Continuous partial attention.

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So instead of giving our full focus to just one thing,

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our brains are bouncing back and forth between a million

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things at once.

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Yeah, exactly.

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And that might seem like it's efficient,

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but the chapter argues that it can really

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mess with our ability to focus and really process information.

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It's almost like we're just skimming the surface of information

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instead of really diving deep.

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I feel that.

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You know, it's like, I'll start one task,

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then I see a notification, I click on it,

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then I'm on another tab, and then suddenly I've

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gotten nothing done.

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Yeah, it's so common these days, especially

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with how connected we are.

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But it just makes you wonder how being

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in that constant state of partial attention,

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how is that changing the way we learn,

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especially for younger generations who've grown up

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immersed in technology?

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And that actually is the perfect transition

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to the next section, digital natives.

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I'm so curious to hear what the chapter has

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to say about how kids are handling this tech-filled world.

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Yeah, so one really interesting idea

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is this thing called skills inversion.

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Skills inversion, what is that?

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So basically it means that a lot of times students are actually

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more tech savvy than their teachers.

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They've grown up with smartphones and tablets

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and the internet literally at their fingertips, which

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makes sense.

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They are digital natives, after all.

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But I'm curious, how does this whole skills inversion thing

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actually play out in the classroom?

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Well, it creates a really interesting dynamic.

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The chapter talks about how this generation of learners,

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they really thrive on collaboration,

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on creation, on actively solving problems.

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They're not content just sitting back

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and absorbing information.

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They want to engage with it, really get in there

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and make it their own.

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So instead of looking at all this technology as a distraction,

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maybe we should be thinking about how

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to use it in a way that actually works

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with how they learn best.

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Exactly.

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And it goes way beyond just using devices in the classroom.

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It's about really rethinking the entire learning experience.

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Creating ways for students to use their digital fluency

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to solve real world problems, to work together on projects

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that actually mean something, to basically become

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these active architects of their own learning.

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I love that active architects of their own learning.

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That's so much more empowering than just sitting there

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and listening to a lecture, totally.

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And it really gets to the heart of what

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this chapter is all about.

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This need for a huge shift in how we think about education

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in the 21st century.

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It's time to move away from memorizing facts

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and taking standardized tests and move

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towards stuff like critical thinking and creativity

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and collaboration and digital literacy.

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It's about giving them the tools they need, not just

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for the jobs that exist right now,

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but for jobs that we haven't even thought of yet.

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Exactly.

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It's about preparing them for a world that is constantly

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changing and evolving.

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Wow, this has been eye-opening.

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I feel like I need to go back and rethink everything

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I thought I knew about learning.

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Me too.

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It really makes you realize we're all lifelong learners

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and that the world of learning is always changing.

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And speaking of changing this deep dive,

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wouldn't be complete without talking about the ethics

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of all this technology, especially when it comes

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to young people.

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The chapter uses this phrase, digital dossiers, which

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honestly sounds kind of creepy.

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Yeah, it's a little unsettling, right?

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Yeah.

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It refers to how everything we do online, our social media,

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our search history, all of it creates this digital footprint

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that can have real consequences in the real world.

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So what I post online today could come back to bite me years

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from now when I'm applying for jobs

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or trying to build a professional network.

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Exactly.

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And for young people who are still figuring out who they are

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and navigating all those social situations,

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it can feel even more intense.

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It makes you think, what's our responsibility as a society

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to protect kids' privacy when so much of their lives are online?

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Right.

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That's exactly the kind of conversation

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we need to be having.

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The chapter doesn't give us easy answers,

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but it really pushes us to think critically

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about how technology is impacting learning,

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how it's impacting trialed.

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And what it means to be human in this digital world.

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Those are some deep but very important things to think about.

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And on that note, I think we've officially

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finished our deep dive into learners.

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It's been quite the journey.

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And like any good journey, we're left

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with more questions than answers.

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So to everyone listening, we'll leave you with this.

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If our brains are always adapting and tech is always evolving,

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what does that mean for the future of learning?

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What kind of world do we want to create for ourselves

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and for the generations after us?

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Keep those questions in mind, and until next time,

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happy learning.