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?
Over time humans have worked to establish towns and communities all over the world. Men have come together to build houses, churches, railroads, and more. It seems that by looking at the path humans have taken over time that I believe there is a basic instinct to interact and work as a group. Technology can now help people interact all over the globe in order to reach a common goal. It is no longer important to have the builder, plumber, and owner in the same place at the same time per say. Meetings can be held via Skype and e-mails take the place of long meetings going over specifics.
Technology has the power to bring together more people to acheive a common goal. Constructivist prinicples focus on the learner making connections to their own background and building upon it. They also focus on the learner having an authentic experience in order to gain a true understanding of the material being presented. With this in mind, technology can provide a hands on experience for people to engage in virtual simulations that will allow them the experience without ever leaving their home or office. With this new wave of learning available people can now take their learning to places never thought of before.
Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer) (2008). "Way-New Collaboration." featuring
Dr. Howard Rheingold [http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard rheingold on
collaboration. html.]
I agree with you that over history humans have come together to build for the greater good. If everyone was truly independent then we would not have the civilizations that we have today.
ReplyDeleteHI Sue. Great post. I thought your summary of the significant historic points supports your view. I also liked the thoughts on virtual simulation and how very conveniently this allows us to learn and gain new experiences with others around the globe.
ReplyDeleteSandy
Hi Sue! Good Post. You mention constructivist principles in your post, specifically the nature of the individual to build on what they already know. What do you see as the groups ability to build on the known? Can an individual build from group knowledge?
ReplyDeleteI do believe that an individual can build knowledge from a group. Forming a group allows all participants to "bring to the table" their experiences and backgrounds, most of the reason why as teachers we have students form groups.
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