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Essay / How unlearning shapes a person's interaction with the world: the iPod experiment
“The iPod experiment was a start, but to get a sense of the magnitude of the task we face , it's helpful to have an idea of how the schools got there. to be as they are, shaped by the values of a very different world” (Davidson 56). Indeed, the iPod experiment at Duke University was a surprising experience because no one really knew what would become of this new device designed as an audio player. It was questionable whether iPods could even be educational, until educators saw students born in the information age go to work. When students were given the opportunity to create their own classroom and their own ways of learning, without any strings attached from the university, it truly allowed them to shape their interaction with the world in a way that The old educational model could never enable them to do this. The world is constantly changing, which suggests that learning is nowhere as important as shaping a person's interaction with the world through unlearning, the only way to move away from a past that cannot suffice for the future. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original EssayUnlearning is not forgetting, but it is letting go of something we have already acquired. An important factor that helps with unlearning is being open and broad-minded. Cathy Davidson, a professor at Duke University, defines unlearning by saying, "Unlearning requires you to take inventory of your changed situation, take inventory of your current repertoire of skills, and have the confidence to to see your shortcomings and fix them. them” (Davidson 67). What she simply means is that you have to recognize your strengths and weaknesses. Doing this will not only allow people to improve in a way that will help them face a new challenge, but more importantly it will allow them to change their focus and methods in a way that might even create new areas of confidence . In some ways, unlearning changes what and how you learn. In fact, changing these two things will make it natural for an individual to unlearn, as it will allow them to focus on the present and future, not the past. Being open-minded will allow individuals to be aware of change in themselves and change in the world. Being open-minded and unlearning will ultimately make you a person better able to interact in an ever-changing world. Not only should people be more open-minded when it comes to unlearning, but they should also recognize the importance of working with others. . Working together has always been an important value, which has helped shape a very different world. In fact, this same value seems to have even more potential in the information age. Of the iPod, Davidson says: "Because everyone owned the device, sound suddenly played a new educational role in our classroom culture dominated by text and image...Interconnection was peat students who understood it before any of us. Students who had grown up digitally connected were attracted to the way the iPod could be used for collective learning” (Davidson 52). With this in mind, Davidson suggests that the old models are no longer useful. So it is time to unlearn or move away from the old model and create new models of education. She gives many examples of unlearning through.