•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?
First, I agree with Rheingold’s assessment of human interactive being competitive in nature. Secondly, I believe that any form of competition is an opportunity to interact (communicate and collaborate) with others who share the same purpose. This is done in sports, as well as in businesses and companies and politics, as Rheingold pointed out. I don’t think that competition has to be viewed as a barbaric act all the time either; as it can and often times does result in individuals actually working together to achieve a common goal, as we can see when we consider Wikipedia’s history. Regarding Wikipedia, Sanger (2012) says “Our goal…is to create a free encyclopedia; indeed, the largest encyclopedia in history, both in terms of breadth and in terms of depth. We also want Wikipedia to be a reliable resource.” Taking the place of an encyclopedia, individuals had to come together and work collectively in order to achieve the intended goal. I’m sure that competition amongst individuals played a part in the process; but the end result came into fruition.
•How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?
“Technology is increasingly viewed as an “optimal medium for the application of constructivist principles to learning (Murphy 1997b)” (“How Does Technology,” n.d.). As this theory focuses on making connections and making meaning in the learning process, the various technological tools that are incorporated into instruction make it possible for learners to produce, direct, and construct their own knowledge base. Furthermore, this theory allows for a learner centered approach to providing instruction, as well as teach learners to be self directed and an active participant in his or her learning experience. Through this theory, learners are encouraged to use various technologies to communicate and collaborate with their peers in hopes that they will learn the content from one another. The author of the “How Does Technology Facilitate Constructive Learning” article supports this by saying “It facilitates a self-directed approach to learning and actively engages learners in higher-order thinking and problem solving (O’Carroll 1997).” (n.d.).
•Find a current research study that has been conducted in the last 5 years that supports collaboration as an effective tool for learning. Include the link and reference for this study in your blog.
Lomas, C., Burke, M., and Page, C. (2008). Collaboration tools. Retrieved April 5, 2012 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3020.pdf
References:
How does technology facilitate constructivist learning? (n.d.). Retrieved April 5, 2012 from http://www.calpro-online.org/eric/docs/brown/brown01_05.pdf
Sanger, L. (2012). Wikipedia purpose. Retrieved April 5, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Purpose
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I've responded to Sherri Carey's (http://theoryandeducationaltech.blogspot.com/) and Pamela Loder's (http://ploderlearningtheoryandedutech.blogspot.com) post.
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I've responded to Sherri Carey's (http://theoryandeducationaltech.blogspot.com/) and Pamela Loder's (http://ploderlearningtheoryandedutech.blogspot.com) post.
