Last night during our weekly #njed Twitter chat (and subsequent teachercast.tv live video feed), we discussed how and why you should take learning outside.
We came up with, as current and former teachers, a number of reasons. Learning shouldn't be confined to the four walls that surround you. In fact, the only thing walls are good for is keeping bugs out.
When it comes to learning - you can learn anywhere as long as there is a group of people who want to learn and there is someone there willing to facilitate. Some of my best lessons were outside, walking the campus and asking questions to students. There minds weren't pent up looking at the same thing. They were learning via nature.
I bring this up because our students just went on a trip to the local Apple Store. And while it wasn't nature, it was a trip. The useds iMacs, Mac Books, and iPads to crunch numbers and use that app to figure out real world finance issues.
It was fantastic. The staff was helpful, the kids wanted to use the tech, and the trip went better than planned. Learning can happen anywhere, as long as you have the drive to learn.
Kudos to the people at the store - you did a great job!
