Notsolongago,companieswere reinvented by teams.Communities of practicemayreinventthemyetagain –if managers learn to cultivate these fertileorganizational formswithoutdestroyingthem
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Integrating Instagram into Math Class - edSocialMedia - 0 views
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Teachers often face the question, "When are we going to use this?" This project is great because it gets students answering that question themselves. Students take a picture of something they see in the world and write their own math problem relating to the picture. This gets students thinking about why math is useful and pushes their problem-solving ability by making them formulate a good question. Once the student okays the project with the teacher, they are free to post with the class Instagram tag where other students can engage in a conversation about the problem. This is a great way to get students to engage in practical mathematics and it is easy to organize because it is almost entirely student-driven. This is a cool project that could be running year round. I could see myself setting this up and building a real-world problem bank with my classes.
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Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier - 5 views
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The best way for an executive to assess the valueof a community of practice is by listening to mem-bers’ stories, which can clarify the complex rela-tionships among activities, knowl-edge, and performance.
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What are communities of practice? In brief,they’re groups of people informally bound togetherby shared expertise and passion for a joint enter-prise
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managers cannot mandate communities of prac-tice. Instead, successful managers bring the rightpeople together, provide an infrastructure in whichcommunities can thrive, and measure the commu-nities’ value in nontraditional ways.
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The strength of communities of practice is self-perpetuating. As they generate knowledge, they re-inforce and renew themselves.
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This article discusses communities of practice from a business perspective, which I found interesting because CoPs truly to exist in all professions; they aren't strictly and education trend. The merit of CoPs, according to the author, is that people share their experiences and knowledge in free-flowing, creative ways that foster new approaches to solving problems. They discuss the various benefits of CoPs and then examine why they aren't more prevalent, concluding that though the concept has been around for centuries, it hasn't been widely accepted yet and therefore companies (and education) haven't spent a long time cultivating them and helping people learn to effectively develop them. They refer to CoPs as the new frontier and predict that they will become a more and more important part of knowledge acquisition for professionals in the future.
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Although many organizations create groups that include people of varying specialties to complete specific problems, people are organizing themselves into communities of practice, informal groups who share "expertise and passion" for a common interest. These communities are new to the business world because their spontaneous, informal nature makes them difficult to supervise. Managers cannot mandate communities of practice, they can only create a supportive environment. Members self select based on common interests and perceived advantage. The authors provide examples from Hill's Pet Nutrition and Hewlett-Packard. While communities should not be forced into creation, managers can cultivate them by identifying potential CoPs that will benefit the company's "strategic capabilities", provide infrastructure to them, and assess their value to the business through "nontraditional methods." Business managers need to realize the wealth of potential available to them through communities of practice.
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Prior to my studies in the Educational Technology program, I had never heard of the term Communities of Practice. Until I read this article, I have only seen research about CoP in education. This article begins by discussing CoP in business, and how long CoP has been around as well its benefits for businesses. I was really surprised to hear how long CoP has been around, you would think more businesses would invest the time to develop them. A couple examples mentioned show that it can take up to a year or more before change is implemented, but the long term benefits are worth it. Also, I noticed that another article broke down information in a table, much like the "Snapshot Comparison" section in this article. This is a nice way to compare things in an easy to read and understandable format.
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This article, while a bit longer, introduces and explains communities of practice in an in depth and thorough fashion. I enjoyed the comparison to real-life companies organization and the history coming all the way from Ancient Greece. Two of my favorite comments states that communities offer "creative ways that foster new approaches to problems" and "they give you both the golden eggs and golden goose that lays them". It makes me realize how essential deeper understanding and knowledge can be developed within these types of communities. The article also develops an understanding of a comparison chart of different types of work groups to show when using communities of learners are most effective.
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This is a great resource that focuses specifically on the use of communities of practice in business environments. However, the information is easily transferred to other areas of industry or academia. It addresses the fact that CoPs are different than the traditional approach of working in teams in that their success and usefulness can be difficult to measure. The author gives tips for how to evaluate the success of a CoP through the sytematic gathering of anecdotal evidence.
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This is a great resource for businesses to gain insights into the use of Communities of Practice. In this article, Wenger and Snyder discuss Communities of Practice and their value for organizations.
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Best apps for kids featuring problem-solving - 0 views
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Guideline on Censorship: Don't Let it Become an Issue in Your Schools - 0 views
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Teachers should be encouraged to think through a rationale for any book to be read to or by the entire class. For primary teachers, who may read aloud many picture books to their classes each week, a written rationale is not practical. However, teachers should be prepared to explain their choices, stating why the book was chosen and what the objectives are in terms of the problems, needs, or interests of their individual class.
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Obviously, the teacher should be thoroughly familiar with all assigned selections. In short, professional responsibility means not only selecting print and nonprint materials, but also possessing a willingness and ability to defend the choices made.
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Appropriateness Factors to be considered in assessing the appropriateness of books are children's interests, the age level and/or maturity of children in relation to the book being considered, and the content, format and illustration.
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Breadth of Coverage Books may present problems of stereotyping with respect to sex and to race. Religion, politics, and questions of morality or patriotism are issues about which there are considerable differences of opinion. The importance of such books may lie mainly, or only, in their historical viewpoint and should be presented as such to children who read them. Teachers and librarians should be aware of these considerations and should make every effort to provide materials which present alternate points of view. Historically there have always been those who have recognized the offensiveness of these materials. Children, like adults exposed to new ideas, can accept or reject them, based on input from all viewpoints. All opinions require protection under the First Amendment.
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IF and AFTER censorship problems arise (and before a formal complaint procedure is initiated), here are some approaches and considerations: Be sure to inform your principal of any complaint, and how you plan to handle it. Urge your principal to read or view the material objected to. Afterwards, share with him/her your reasons for using the material with children. Also, try to get a school board member and a local minister, rabbi, or priest to read or look at the material. If a parent complains about material, insisting on an immediate discussion about it, defer such a discussion; make an appointment with him/her for a later time. At the same time, assure the parent that you have a concern for the child's interest. Neither you nor the parent should be in the position of discussing material without careful consideration beforehand of the factors that are to be discussed. Do not defend materials on the spur of the moment. Apart from being unfair to all concerned, and particularly to children, it is your professional duty to present your views thoughtfully and with consideration. Reread or review the material in question, even though you may already be familiar with it. Identify its strengths. Put down in writing why you believe it is proper and useful in your teaching program. Collect reviews of the material from such publications as Language Arts, English Journal, Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Horn Book, School Library Journal, and other professional publications. There may be three to five parents, other than the complaining parents, who may be particularly supportive of your teaching objectives. Request that they read or view the material being questioned and invite their written reactions, addressed to you and your principal
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Project K-Nect Math Initiative - 0 views
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Project K-Nect is designed to create a supplemental resource for secondary at-risk students to focus on increasing their math skills through a common and popular technology - mobile smartphones.
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Project K-Nect provided smartphones to allow students to communicate and collaborate with teachers, tutors, and other students. This technology allowed the students the ability to master math skills and knowledge.
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In North Carolina, about 100 ninth-grade students in four schools in North Carolina have been issued smartphones for use in their math classes. They use the phones to network among themselves on problems, receive instruction from teachers, play math-improving games, or watch an animation showing the problem being solved.
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Through a grant from a smartphone maker, students were given devices that would allow them to contact other students and tutors about math problems when not at school. It also gave them access to materials for class that they otherwise would not have had away from school. While this wouldn't be applicable in all schools, the social networking aspect of the program helped students better manage their personal learning experience.
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Up2Me Kids - Kids' Home - 2 views
www.up2meforkids.com.au
up2me kids problem solving environment Resources education technology learning
shared by Patricia Smeyers on 17 Mar 10
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Logic Puzzles by Puzzle Baron - 0 views
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This website is a problem solving software example for math. This matrix logic puzzle website is a great way to get students to solve word problems with math. Each word problem is a different situation and the website gives the students a matrix to use to solve each logic puzzle. It gives the students clues and they can check their answers as they go along to see how they are doing.
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The Big6 Skills - Problem Solving, Decision Making Skills - 0 views
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elearnspace. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age - 6 views
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The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today.
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Knowledge is growing exponentially. In many fields the life of knowledge is now measured in months and years.
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The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years and is doubling every 18 months according to the American Society of Training and Documentation (ASTD).
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Learning now occurs in a variety of ways – through communities of practice, personal networks, and through completion of work-related tasks.
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Know-how and know-what is being supplemented with know-where (the understanding of where to find knowledge needed).
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onstructivism suggests that learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences
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These theories do not address learning that occurs outside of people (i.e. learning that is stored and manipulated by technology)
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Asserts that technology is rewiring our brains, as the tools people use define and shape their thinking. And that the continuously shifting nature of connections makes learning not completely under the control of the participant. Though the starting point of connectivism is the individual, their knowledge is influenced by and influences a network.
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This article draws comparisons between behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism and how they all relate to connectivism. Connectivism has come about with the age of technology, and has gradually become its own learning theory.
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Provides an overview of learning theories in terms of creating instructional environments. Discusses principles and limitations of connectivism and concludes that how people work and function is altered when new tools are utilized. Connectivism provides insight in to learning and tasks.
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This is is a good breakdown on the history of the connectivism theory and school of thought. It highlights how it the theory is beneficial in our digital age because other theories like behaviorism, cognitivism,and constructivism operate under the tenet that learning occurs by majority inside of a person. It reiterates the point that the network or "pipe" is more important than the content within it.
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Explanation of connectivism, including contrasts to behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Interesting quote: "The pipe is more important than the content within the pipe. Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today." I'm not sure I totally agree with that statement...
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Very interesting piece on the how the half-life of knowledge is shrinking. The amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the last 10 years and is doubling every 18 months.
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George Siemens ideas on the limitations of traditional learning theories and connectivism.
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This articles gives information about the basic thought behind Connectivism. This article even gives the background information about the limitations of behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism in the realm of technology and knowledge.
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This background paper reviews the limitations of common learning theories in the digital age. Siemens then describes connectivism.
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"Connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical." This is a fantastic quote in this article. Our foundations for education are highly impacting the way we learn and soak up the knowledge around us. Everyone in this world needs to gain more knowledge, learn new techniques, and grow their thinking to become a harder worker, more valuable asset, and a better person in general. It is critical for the society to build on the foundations of their knowledge now so we can overcome those future problems and struggles in the future. Technology is opening doors for people to create, develop, and build knew foundations of education.
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The resource discusses the need for a changing view of learning due to the development of technology tools to aid learning and information sharing. Many learning theories have not incorporated the use of technology or connectivity. Previous learning theories such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism have limitations presented in this article to support the need for connectivism. An important thought stated by the author, "We derive our competence from forming connections". This article states the importance of experience to learn knowledge.
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In this piece, Siemens explores behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism and their deficits when it comes to learning in the digital world. He explains how Connectivism addresses the change in learning in that it is no longer an internal activity because of technology.
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This article gives an overview and background of traditional learning theory and their limitations. Then it provides an alternative theory for a digital age, Connectivism. This article gives a brief overview of Connectivism and its principles.
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This is the original paper written by George Siemens introducing the idea of connectivisim. The main problem Siemens identifies with previous learning theories is that they do not account for learning stored outside the person. With technology developments, we no longer need to remember details. We can use our brain space to connect details and expand our knowledge.
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Communities of practice: a brief introduction - 1 views
neillthew.typepad.com/...communities-of-practice.pdf
EdTech543 education technology resources elearning
shared by kcastello on 10 Sep 12
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In this article, Wenger defines Communities of Practice (COP) as a "tribe learning to survive," (p. 1) although learning isn't always the goal of the group but can be an outcome. Members are committed to their community and create a shared practice of networking for a specific purpose. Originally associations and groups, the Internet is extending the reach of COPs and increasing the flow of information.
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Etienne Wenger seeks to simplify communities of practice by elaborating on three distinct features that make a a community of practice different than a community. A community of practice is defined by its' domain, the shared connection based on a common interest; the community; a group of individuals that interact with each other through collaborative activities; the practice, common experiences and resources to take on similar problems. The text is particularly user friendly in that it offers provides charts that contextual types of activities that would make a community a community of practice such as: visits, mapping knowledge, problem solving, etc.
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Wenger identifies CoP's as"groups of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly". Here it is indicated that three main things must be present to call it a CoP: the domain, the community, and the practice. One item that stood out to me is that a community is not by default a CoP. Rather, a CoP must not solely be a community of interest but a CoP is a community that is built on the acquisition of skills, knowledge, or practice within the community. CoP's can come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and domains. All are vested in the "bettering" of individuals.
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This article looks at the bones of communities of practice. This is an easy read, an introduction to communities of practice, which explains important characteristics, activities, concepts behind, and concepts applied in the case of communities of practice. It looks at traditional classroom learning compared to communities of practice.
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For those who have never heard of communities of practice, this resource explains it well. What are communities of practice, what do communities of practice look like, where does the concept come from and how it is being applied is all covered.
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This is a brief but comprehensive introduction as to what communities of practice are by Etienne Wenger. One important aspect addressed is that learning is a product of a community of practice whether intentionally or not. It also gives multiple examples of what a common community of practice can look like such as problem solving, discussing developments, and visits. The concept came to be as a learning model by Wenger and Jean Lave. The concepts has many applications but a couple common places these communities are seen are organizations, government, education, and technology.
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Is PowerPoint in the Classroom 'Evil'? - NYTimes.com - 1 views
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The World at Your Fingertips: Education Technology Opens Doors | Edutopia - 0 views
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. Teachers who plan to use computers with cooperative groups, for instance, need to experience what it's like working together around a computer. They can then see the kinds of issues that are likely to arise and be more prepared to deal with them in their own classrooms.
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Technology brings into the classroom more interesting and diverse materials than ever before possible
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ore time for learning gives students the opportunity to wrestle with complex, real-life problems instead of being moved through material at a predetermined pace.
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True knowledge -- understanding -- develops through exploration, rumination, interpretation, judgment, and the application of information. Thoughtful work on projects and problems requires roaming through complex resources, seeking inspiration, messing around, making missteps and mistakes, and experiencing serendipitous discoveries.
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Technology in Language Arts - School Computing - 0 views
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http://www.gatesfoundation.org/learning/Documents/innovation-esl-education-mobile-learn... - 0 views
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Philosophy of Education (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - 0 views
plato.stanford.edu/...education-philosophy
epistemology EdTech504 philosophy theories education EdTech543
shared by Gretel Patch on 03 Sep 12
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While not all societies channel sufficient resources into support for educational activities and institutions, all at the very least acknowledge their centrality—and for good reasons
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While not all societies channel sufficient resources into support for educational activities and institutions, all at the very least acknowledge their centrality—and for good reasons
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While not all societies channel sufficient resources into support for educational activities and institutions, all at the very least acknowledge their centrality—and for good reasons
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While not all societies channel sufficient resources into support for educational activities and institutions, all at the very least acknowledge their centrality—and for good reasons
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within a few years they can read, write, calculate, and act (at least often) in culturally-appropriate ways
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education also serves as a social-sorting mechanism and undoubtedly has enormous impact on the economic fate of the individual.
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education equips individuals with the skills and substantive knowledge that allows them to define and to pursue their own goals, and also allows them to participate in the life of their community as full-fledged, autonomous citizens
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groups depend for their continuing survival on educational processes, as do the larger societies and nation-states of which they are part
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The great social importance of education is underscored, too, by the fact that when a society is shaken by a crisis, this often is taken as a sign of educational breakdown; education, and educators, become scapegoats.
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education as transmission of knowledge versus education as the fostering of inquiry and reasoning skills that are conducive to the development of autonomy
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how learning is possible, and what is it to have learned something—two sets of issues that relate to the question of the capacities and potentialities that are present at birth, and also to the process (and stages) of human development and to what degree this process is flexible and hence can be influenced or manipulated
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education and maintenance of the class structure of society, and the issue of whether different classes or cultural groups can—justly—be given educational programs that differ in content or in aims
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relation between education and social reform, centering upon whether education is essentially conservative, or whether it can be an (or, the) agent of social change
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These features make the phenomena and problems of education of great interest to a wide range of socially-concerned intellectuals, who bring with them their own favored conceptual frameworks—concepts, theories and ideologies, methods of analysis and argumentation, metaphysical and other assumptions, criteria for selecting evidence that has relevance for the problems that they consider central, and the like.
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for although education can occur in schools, so can mis-education (as Dewey pointed out), and many other things can take place there that are educationally orthogonal (such as the provision of free or subsidized lunches, or the development of social networks); and it also must be recognized that education can occur in the home, in libraries and museums, in churches and clubs, in solitary interaction with the public media, and the like