Collaboration
· Do you believe that humans have a basic instinct to “interact and work as a group,” as Rheingold (2008) proposed in his discussion of the evolution of Wikipedia as a collectively developed encyclopedia?
I believe that human beings have a basic instinct to interact and work as a group as suggested by Rheingold (2008). Human beings are born in families. Families are a group of people that work together to survive and protect each other. These families are part of groups and communities. Human beings have to learn and follow the rules of the community for the well-being of everybody.
· How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?
Technologies, such as the Internet, can create learning communities that promote cooperative learning. Community members can help each other solve problems. In this interaction, members learn from each other in authentic, relevant, and meaningful activities. These communities need to create “a positive work environment,” so members become successful (Tinoca, Oliveira, & Pereira, 2011, p. 437).
· 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.
Tinoca, Oliveira, and Pereira (2011) investigated online groups and their collaboration. They found that successful groups need to have a social identity and develop security and trust among group members (p. 437). The following is a link to this study.
Reference
Oliveira, I. , Tinoca, L., & Pereira, A. (2011). Online group work patterns: How to promote a successful collaboration. Computers & Education, 57(1), 1348-1357. Retrieved from http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/organisations/netlc/past/nlc2010/abstracts/PDFs/Tinoca.pdf
Rheingold, H. (2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html
Andres,
ReplyDeleteYes, human beings have a basic instinct to interact and work as a group. I do see humans in this era continuously connecting with each other face-to-face or on social networking sites. Interestingly, physical gatherings appear to be fading away with the rise of social networking sites and smart phones. Bernhard in 1988 stated that one impact of a rapidly changing environment in schools has been the neglect of children’s biologically based needs for belonging to and working within a group (as cited in Driscoll, 2005, p. 276). Therefore, if our natural tendency is to form groups and work towards a common goal, then it would be prudent for educators to employ instruction that would set the stage for students to work towards learning goals.
You stated, “Human beings have to learn and follow the rules of the community for the well-being of everybody.” Yes, as humans we need to learn how to follow rules set in place by our communities, rules that will benefit everyone, however, often groups within communities work together towards destructive goals. I have had past experiences that support this notion. For instance, while in college I heard a student said to his friends, “I am bored, let’s go change up Wikipedia!” That was a bit unsettling for me, especially since I know that many people worldwide believe that the information on the site is valid. Now that I am a teacher in college, I constantly warn students not to readily accept information from Wikipedia.
Another example in which I have seen groups within communities work together towards destructive goals is as followed. Years ago while working as a customer service representative in Miami one of the managers made a very bold proposal to me. Her proposal was that she would help me to “switch” from being Jamaican to a certain nationality, since that nationality is very powerful in Miami. In turn, I would have to remain with the company for a long time. She said they work together and are always looking out for each other and my life would be much easier, if I become one of them. She said I already look like them and all that she would have to do is teach me their language, then I would become one of them. I was furious and eventually left the job! We are in America, and why should a certain group use their language as a barrier to keep people from prospering in a community? From that day I became aware of the fact that sometimes groups within a community do not work together towards the common good of all within that community. As I remember, many of these individuals that head this group in Miami are well-learnt individuals. They might have used instructional tools as part of their collaborative process. For example, they might have used, Goal-Based Scenarios (GBSs) to present a clear and concrete goal to be achieved (Driscoll, 2005, p. 404). What are your thoughts on the idea that at times groups within communities work together towards destructive goals?
References
Bernhard, J.G. (1988). Primates in the classroom: An evolutionary perspective on children’s education. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press.
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Ena,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you; as educators, we must teach students to work in groups and what it is expected. We also need to model how to work in groups. Students need to learn how to interact with people with different backgrounds.
Now, people get together for many different things, good and bad. People have choices, and they are responsible for their acts. We need to understand our role in our community and society, and we must act accordingly. At the end, it is our responsibility to do the best for ourselves and society in order to keep evolving and advancing toward an ideal society.
Andres,
ReplyDeleteI like your breakdown regarding fact that we are born into a family unit and strive to improve that unit through collaboration. Then that collaboration moves to the community.
Great post.
Tabitha