Learning something new and utilizing that information or experience for my second graders is very familiar as I build my professional repertoire. Explicitly learning something within my personal life does not happen as much, therefore choosing a topic to research and then learn it in four weeks was not only challenging, but intimidating and daunting. As this learning journey has unraveled throughout my blog posts (Knitting: Knot an easy task and Knitting: STILL Knot an easy task), I have learned a lot about myself as a learner and a person. When I was first faced with the decision with what to pick for this adventure, I was stumped. Many questions soared through my mind. What did I have time to learn? What do I have access to? Then for my CEP 810 course, we read an article called: How 12 teens invented a solar-powered tent for the homeless by Brittany Levine Beckman (2017). In this internet article, students saw a need in their community and took the necessary steps to fulfill that need: homeless people and their lack of shelter. These students worked with an MIT program that would help them prototype their tent design. The girls’ ambition to help their community created a flashback when I was in my church group and we made tie blankets for homeless shelters. I got to thinking about how I already learned how to crochet but what if I learned how to knit? This new skill could lead to helping my local community when I become better at it. This is when I knew that knitting would be my networked personal learning topic of choice. When it comes to learning a new skill, I have automatically gone to YouTube. Where I can pause and playback as many times as I need. This is how I ultimately learned how to crochet! So, when getting told I needed to find other resources in many different places it became a challenge. I would go to forums and social media, which led to immediate confusion because of the knitting jargon. I would go to affinity spaces like Reddit and struggle to search a specific question because I still didn’t know the jargon. A glossary of knitting terms and YouTube became my best friend for this project. Click here for all the resources that I utilized (or didn’t) during this knitting adventure. What did I learn throughout this knitting journey? Yes, I learned some basics of knitting like casting on, the knit stitch, binding off, how to hold the needles (still can’t hold them perfectly yet – still working on it), types of yarns best for beginners, and many other tips and tricks. But I also learned a lot about myself as a learner. I am more motivated to learn something new when I know who or what it could benefit. If I learned to knit, I could produce items for my family, friends, or even my community. I learned that I need a lot of breaks within learning so I don’t become frustrated. I also learned that I can’t have distractions while I’m learning something new, or else I might drop a stitch! My progress ended up being like a rollercoaster but a fun one! Check out the video below where I put my four-week knitting journey into a five minute video. What’s next? I am excited to say that I will continue my knitting journey now that I am getting the hang of it. But I will most likely stick with YouTube when I have questions or when I’m ready to learn a new stitch. On the other hand, I can still see myself utilizing other resources like social media and Reddit when I am ready to learn something new (especially if there is not a lot of jargon in my new skill of choice). I have learned the value in other people’s expertise, which may guide me in a new and rewarding learning experience. I wonder what I will pick next.
References Beckman, B. L. (2017, June 15). All-girl engineer team invents solar-powered tent for the homeless. Mashable. https://mashable.com/feature/diy-girls-solar-powered-tent-homeless#mIuwHqMM8Sq1. Wiersma, C. (2021). My Knitting Journey. [Video]. https://youtu.be/FZ34KOnL74o
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