Warning: this is a stream-of-consciousness post.

I have been thinking a bit about the nature of education, how people learn, cognitive styles and how these new collaboration technologies might work together.

In addition, I have a 5 year old who has taught me alot about how people learn based on their passions. First it was trains, so we saw videos about trains, read train books, read train literature (thomas the tank engine - the original British stories), visited train museums, rode trains, etc. I learned all the parts of a train, including boilers, couplers, tenders, compression brakes, etc. Now, this guy is an expert on trains and he's not even literate. We've since moved on to Star Wars which has spawned learning in mythology, Joseph Campbell, heroism, space, planets, jet propulsion, robots, the art of war and model making.

I've also learned alot about how adults learn through my sister. She can do electrical wiring, plumbing, painting, etc. even though she's never gone to school for any of these subjects. Instead, she's a visual learner and she's aspirational - she wants a nice house. So, her aspirations motivate her to learn what she needs. She gets her education through half hour programs on Home & Garden Television (HGTV).

In the past, I’ve been a book learner. Lately, however, I’ve been more of an auditory and stream-of-consciousness learner, meaning that I pick up new stuff based on web exploration. I am an avid listener of National Public Radio and learn alot about current events, politics, book and music reviews, etc. just by listening to NPR in the background. Now I’m meditating on podcasts and how it’s like radio, not like radio and what it allows for.

How do YOU learn? Are you a reader? Are you kinesthetic? Do you like to watch? What technologies would help you when you’re mastering a new topic? How does your learning curve accelerate when you’ve discovered a new passion? Are you like Benjamin and it’s everything train 24/7? Or do you unconsciously build your knowledge base over time?