Howard Reingold on Collaboration
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?
I believe that humans do have a basic instinct to interact & work as a group. It's a survival instinct, just like the human foragers. Group dynamics yield better gains, so when pre-historic mammals needed to be brought down for food/fur, groups worked together to complete this task. An individual could not accomplish hunting and killing a mammoth. Now throw technology into the mix, and you get the online learning communities such as online schools where the interactions are all done on the community boards and discussions take place where everyone responds to the initial discussion question. This furthers the intellectual interaction amongst peers and allows for collaboration amongst people from all over the world!
It only make sense that a group working together for a common goal much more can be accomplished. Technology has allowed a variety of different people to work together.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up online learning. Do you think that mainstream education will ever embrace online collaboration? How do you think it will occur?
Well, the mainstream education is starting to embrace online collaboration. A lot of areas around the country are fiddling with online high schools for students who are not able to make it to regular brick & mortar institution for whatever reason. There has to be collaboration, otherwise the education department won't allow or grant credit and see the degree as valid. Even our own degrees we are pursuing-- if it wasn't accepted, I don't think ANY of us would be here taking these courses and pulling our hair out.
ReplyDelete