Mod3_WK5-6
Question:
Do you believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold proposed in his discussion of the evolution of Wikipedia as a collectively developed encyclopedia? How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?
Response:
Rheingold alludes to the fact that humans succeed through collaborative effort and when they all work in concert. I tend to agree with this statement. The evolution of Open Universities and Open software resources (e.g., UNIX etc) support the fact that there is a consistent effort for people wanting to work in harmony. Secondly, technology can facilitate the exchange of information and expanded access to a global environment – hence collaboration. The constructivist approach to learning is facilitated by the internet because the theory focuses on making connections and making meaning in the learning process.Technology such as the internet links together individuals who share common goals and interest. As an instructional tool, the internet enables distance learning by connecting people separated by time and space. It promotes peer learning by bringing learners together in the same space so that they can share their knowledge and insights, communicating with each other to help each other learn. If supported by effective communications, groups of different sexes, mixed cultures, varying learning styles, abilities, socioeconomic status, and age can bring a wealth of knowledge and perspective to authentic, challenging tasks. Effective communications is critical to knowledge construction. If web-based courses are designed with a constructivist approach in mind, the learners will be encouraged through self-directed learning. They will perform critical analysis through exploring an expanded environment. Learners are engaged, and reflect on their experiences and they navigate, create and construct their own unique knowledge bases.
References
Driscoll, Mary P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction. (3rd ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Publishing
Rheingold, H. (2008, February): Howard Rheingold on collaboration. [Video file]. Retrieved on October 12th, 2010 from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html
I noticed that most of your blog referred to the using the internet as the medium for collaboration. How would you propose to use collaboration without the internet?
ReplyDeleteSandra;
ReplyDeleteThinking about your comment "support the fact that there is a consistent effort for people wanting to work in harmony" Don't you think as a Howard Rheingold said, we work in a collaborative because of the internet exist the necessity to look for another ways to make business more efficient that working alone. Is a response to the globalization. What do you think?
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ReplyDeleteBob and G,
ReplyDeleteAlthough my focus expanded on collaboration and internet usage, let's talk about how people and huge organizations display their need to work in harmony. How they learn from one another, share and construct knowledge based on the need build on existing knowledge. Remember when you were in high school and as a student you always belonged to some click? Some group of people who had something in common with you? A group that you shared your ideas and learned from? Perhaps you were part of the hip crowd or maybe you were part of what some saw as the nerdy group. Whatever the category, people are seldom standing alone. They join forces, share ideas, help each other grow and do things together. Maybe now the tool that puts these groups together is called "FaceBook", "YouTube" or perhaps "Linkein"?
Now ranked as third, American Airlines was once the industry's largest carrier. They've lost market share due to other carriers mergers and acquisitions. In September Southwest Airlines acquired Airtran for $1.4 billion, whereas Delta acquired Alaska airlines in 2008. These types of acquisitions shows that most companies will work together and in harmony if the incentives are there. However, this scenario puts American in a tenuous position, particularly considering its peers are unlikely to sit on their hands amid signals that the consumer market is turning a corner and business travel is picking up.
Sorry Bob, I got carried away with the analogies above. To get back to your question in terms of other technologies, how about media, conferences, wikis and the internet. According Streff (2010), "Technology allows us to use constructivist theory in a global collaboration in several ways. Driscoll (2009) suggests five constructivist conditions for learning. First, conferencing allows us to connect on a social level, to know that we are not alone, to experience the world on a larger scale is just on the horizon. Second, media allows for the creation of realistic environments that can simulated reality. Third, Wikis allow for individuals to collaborate and discuss different viewpoint to reach a consensus. Fourth, the internet provides learners the freedom to explore and control their learning. Lastly, as an individual belonging to multiple communities, knowledge is acquired and constructed in different ways and additional connections are formed". You point these out quite nicely in your blog (smile).
ReplyDeleteReference
Streff, Bob. (2010). Collaboration. Retrieved on Oct 17th, 2010 from http://streffr.blogspot.com/2010/10/colaboration.html#comments