Learning: First Day Jitters

I definitely had a first day (or should I say week?) jitters despite the absence of coffee–maybe because there were too many firsts for me. First time to enroll in this non-traditional mode of learning. First time to crunch up my brain again after a long time. First time to actively participate (because it is required) in an online discussion.

For my course EDS 103, the first module that we have to read is all about Learning. We were given a warm-up activity to define “learning” with our own knowledge and our own words. Then it expanded to learning the definition of learning from the definitions of the others. I find this activity amazing, because I was able to come up with a more elaborate meaning from the keywords provided by my co-learners. I think it simply shows the essence of being in a “community.” Being in a community also means learning in the community.

My key takeaway from this week’s lesson is that learning is not just all about product or its outcome. It is a continuous process that involves different elements such as change, stimuli, and experiences. Learning is not all about “knowing what” but more on “knowing how.” A true learning goes beyond acquiring new knowledge, or skills and memorizing words–it is a transformative process that enables you to interpret and understand the real world differently.