I was extremely interested in Gee's idea of portfolio people, specifically the idea that to be successful in today's job market it is more important to have a variety of diverse experiences than to be very knowledgeable in a narrow field. I found myself identifying with this outlook, particularly as I look back on my own work experiences, where there have been some common elements but where my overall experiences have been much more diverse.

In looking for links between this week's articles, I found myself considering the two MIT articles within the framework of the pedagogies of the Gee piece. Particularly the portion of the Gee article that laid out his Bill of Rights for all children: The right to lots of situated practice, the right to overt instruction, the right to critical framing, and the right to be allowed to produce and transform knowledge not just consume it.

I was interested in the way the Boyd article fit within the right to lots of situated practice. She talked about the difference between the way teens who have internet access at home and those who can only access it in public locations like school or a library participate on myspace. The teens with limited mainly public access still used the site but there experience was much more narrow than those with home access who could spend more time working on their profiles and using the other features of the site to a greater extent. This seemed to be a real world example of situated practice and how it is limited or denied to those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds. It also seemed to be an example of how those with access have more chances to produce and transform knowledge, while those with less access are again forced into the more marginalized role of consumers. I also felt that Boyd's discussion of the the creation of a copy/paste culture was a fantastic example of Gee's explanation of the difference between learning and knowledge building. It is unimportant if a teen understands html code as long as he/she knows how to find someone else who does they will still be able to create an awesome profile page.

In the Goldman and Booker article I found myself looking at the case studies as examples of situated practice, overt instruction, critical framing, and the opportunity to create and transform knowledge. The film project in particular served as a beautiful example of how all four of those learning objectives could be implemented in a single classroom experience. I also thought the film project was an excellent example of a community of practice and found myself thinking about Gee's statement that in a community of practice they bond through a common endeavor and not affective ties because it seemed clear from the descriptions of the project that the teens had indeed bonded more of their shared participation in the project first and then through the project they developed affective ties.