Chapter 9 concludes our topic by reminding us of the principles of informal learning: that learning should be constant and available in all settings. A key point the chapter touched upon was the need for a connection between formal and informal settings.

I agree that it is essential to connect new technologies with informal learning settings. Cellphone applications and interactive websites allow students to continue their learning experience outside of the museum or classroom. It is also beneficial that whenever someone has a spark of interest, the information can be at his or her fingertips. Students can look up information before this sudden curiosity dissipates. By using Twitter and Facebook, students can show their friends cool new things that they learn. At the rate that people read social feeds, they can be reading and sharing their learning experiences with their friends.

Field trips are an important tool for connecting informal and formal setting education. A topic that is introduced on a field trip might excite the students about a certain subject and entice them to learn about the topic when it comes up in a formal setting. When the field trip host organization provides ways to continue learning after the day of the field trip, the excitement experienced can continue to influence the way the student treats the topic. However, simply going on a field trip does not accomplish this goal. The field trip itself has to be planned and prepared. Out of what I noticed on my trips to various museums, the most effective way to excite students was to provide either demonstrations or tour guides to talk to the students about what they are looking at. Without these features, I have noticed, students do not focus much about what is learned. Rather they simply get excited for the games or random little buttons on the exhibit without really understanding the purpose behind them. A teacher, parent or guide can direct that excitement towards the knowledge presented in the exhibit.