Dubstep

Thomas and Douglas (2011) stated that "seeing information as a resource can help us stop thinking of learning as an isolated process of information absorption and start thinking of it as a cultural and social process of engaging with the constantly changing world around us" (p. 531).  This past weekend my son turned 14 and had a couple of friends for a sleep over.  One of the boys brought over his iPod and introduced me to dub step, a genre I was unfamiliar with.  Click on the Skrillex and/or Chrispy clips below to get a sample.

My son's friend then decided to take his passion for dub step further and created his own tracks using a free demo for fl studio (http://www.image-line.com/documents/flstudio.html).  The music he creates is entirely self taught, however, what separates this from musical teachings of the past (I sure played a mean trombone in Jr. High) is that he is immersed in a  participatory environment.  He not only created the tracks, but uploaded them to Youtube to share with his friends and family, soliciting feedback on his ability to generate a proper "drop down."  Now he is publishing his tracks with available feedback to inform future iterations of his recordings.


So yes, the world is changing.  My son's friend is learning how to dub step and has devised a way to do so that works best for his learning.  I wonder how he learns in his Jr. High school. How is he afforded the opportunity to inquire into something he is passionate about and have access to technologies that support this?  How would a school accommodate for this type of scenario?   If our world is changing and we are to embrace change, what can we anticipate the next evolution to look like?  How will learning evolve?

Thomas, D. & Brown, J.S. (2011)  A new culture of learning: Cultivating the

imagination for a world of constant change. [Kindle version].  Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/New-Culture-Learning-Cultivatingebook/dp/B004RZH0BG/ref=sr_1_?ie=UTF8&m=AZC9TZ4UC9CFC&s=digial-text&qid=1307924795&sr=1-1