Module 3 Blog Post- Heather Rogers
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?
Humans by nature are social beings; all the way back to early civilizations humans worked collaboratively to create, build and hunt as a way of survival. In today’s society, technology should make collaboration among people more successful; however I feel that universal collaboration depends on the people who are collaborating. All humans are capable and are able, but I see many that simply do not work successfully, for a number of reasons, with others or feel they work better on their own.
I see Rheingold’s (2008) point about Wikipedia being an example of widespread collaboration; however I have always been taught that this is not a reliable source and it not acknowledged by colleges as a reliable source over and over. I feel this is a confusing message to send out.
How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?
Currently in my classroom there are a variety of methods that are incorporated to promote collaboration. My students frequently use blogs and wikis to communicate and share information for school projects. My students are still fairly young and of all the collaborative technology these have been the most successful. These tools allow students to work socially and collaboratively to gain knowledge for a given goal. Outside of the school setting many students choose to use other social media networks to communicate and collaborate. These sites are not allowed in the classroom, but I constantly see positive aspects of my students interacting with their peers through social networking.
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.
I came across these articles in a previous course and the information in the journals shows how wikis are used to promote and evaluate collaboration in groups.
Trentin, G. G. (2009). Using a Wiki to Evaluate Individual Contribution to a Collaborative Learning Project. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 25(1), 43-55. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Allsop, Y. (2011). Does Collaboration Occur when Children Are Learning with the Support of a Wiki?. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 10(4), 130-137.
Additional Information- There is much information about humans being social beings. See the links below for additional articles that support this.
The Anthropology of Belonging: The need for Social Inclusion.
Humans as Social Creatures
Greetings Heather!
ReplyDeleteIn accordance with your post, I find it to be true that most people are social beings who are naturally inclined to interact with others. However, how do you explain those individuals who are introverts? Do you think most people are born to be more intrapersonal in lieu of interpersonal? Or, do you think some specific even in their life is what triggered the introverted characteristics? What are some ideas and strategies you have to enable these types of learners to comfortably participate in a collaborative environment? Great post!
Tawana Stiff
Hi Heather,
ReplyDeleteIn your blog post you mentioned the occurence of unsuccessful, collaborative ventures for various reasons. These types of situations seem inevitable since, as Siemens (2006) best explained it, our understanding is "influenced by our domains of knowing: cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual, and types of knowledge: about, to do, to be, know where, and transforming, as well as our stuctures of existence: self, collective, organizational, and societal (p. 15). This is a rather thorough way of saying that the very factors which contribute to our diversity also shape our thinking and our knowing. You included some very informative and helpful links in your post. Thanks for the resources.
Reference:
Siemens, G. (2006). Knowing knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.lulu.com/
Hi Heather,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that humans are naturally social beings. If given a task, I would rather work with a group of people or even one more person than to work alone. There are so many more benefits to collaboration. There are a lot of collaboration tools for students to use to communicate. I am impressed that your students use blogs and wikis. At our school, we haven't utilized any collaboration tools. I just got permission earlier this week to start using them. I am so excited about it.
I agree that everyone does not have the desire to work with others. I think many factors come into play with this. I myself have been willing to work within groups, but sometimes my bad experiences with others have led me to want to work by myself in certain settings. When I am knowledegable about what I am working on, I am comfortable working alone. In instances when I am lacking knowledge, I feel more confident collaborating with a group so I can learn from them. Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteI like the point of view you took that the success of collaboration depends on the people working together. I do think that it is instinctive in humans, yet some people are more outgoing and will initiate collaboration. As you stated, technology definitely enhances the ability for people to actively collaborate.
It is great to hear that you have had success with your fifth grade students collaborating through wikis and blogs. I can't wait for the opportunity to work in a higher grade level and do the same! Students' interactions through social networking outside of school shows that technology is what is motivating today's students and that this can be a very effective tool for helping students collaborate to learn. Keep up the great work!
Tiffany