My experience in sustainability is limited at best. Sure I turn the lights off when not in the room, recycle grocery store bags as trash-bin liners, save packets of ketchup…but beyond that I’m rather clueless. I hope to gain a deeper knowledge of what sustainability really means through this course. Currently I can understand a bit of how sustainability pertains to agricultural and environmental practices, but am curious as to how it can be applied in other sciences and arts.

John Seely Brown’s talk on manners of education has begun to sate that curiosity. Brown discusses the differences between what he calls “sage on a stage” sytle of teaching to a peer-based method of education. His research is compelling, and sparks some interesting questions about the necesity of expensive real world institutions that could easily be replaced by digital meeting places via the internet. It can be argued that real world schools are still in use largely to fulfill social purposes, however when it comes to hands on learning and experimentation the equipment and funding schools can provide a student are imperative.