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S.C., United States
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. (Robert Frost 1915)

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Reflect on Rheingold’s video


Reflect on Rheingold’s video...


            1) 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? 


     I am only human (Human League, 1980)


In the song by Human League “I am only human” the person asks for forgiveness stating “…to fill this space of emptiness…”

It is that emptiness that drives us to find others…to belong in a group. This instinctive feeling of “belonging” enables humans to survive through evolution. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (as cited in Saul McLeod, Simply Psychology, 2013) we long to belong in a family unit, relationship, or friendship. Too, it is this sense of belonging enables us to learn from one another.  Driscoll (2005) acknowledge that learners build upon existing knowledge through the help of others and also through those who are more knowledgeable – based on constructivist theory. Therefore, people are dependent on other people and our environment to learn and survive. We unconsciously are drawn to group activities or as Rheingold (2013) noted, we offer our best results or product through collaborative efforts.

2) How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?   

               With that said, collaboration in education is driven by emergent technologies like online web 
               conference tool GoToMeeting and Wikispace. From a Constructivist learning theory, 
               collaborative web tools engage learners with other learners who share similar topic of 
               discussion. More so, collaborative tools immerse learners in an active environment whereas; 
               in traditional classes, most learners are more likely to be passive in class. Collaborative  
               learning is shifting the educational paradigm and moving education into 21st century student-
               center learning. Read On about collaboration in education in Ideas into Action for 
               schools and system leaders - 

   Lynda Marshall July 11, 2013 (12:14 AM)

   References

   Citrix Online (2013). GoToMeeting. [Web Site]. Retrieved from  
  
    Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.).Boston: Pearson 
    Education, Inc.


    McLeaod, Saul (2013). Simply Psychology: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. [Web Article]. 

    Tangient (2013). Wikispaces. [Web Site]. Retrieved from 

    YouTube.com (2013). Human League: I am only Human. [video]. Retreived from 


4 comments:

  1. Lynda,

    Great attention grabber! It even brings back memories of old friendships and specific moments of my youth. This exemplifies your point that we, humans, are born with an innate affinity of belonging in a group. It is part of our emotional development.

    As you mentioned, it enables us to learn from each other by example and interaction. With this in mind, back in the 1980s the interaction was face to face. In the present time, as well as looking into the future the interaction is becoming more impersonal through various technological devices from our computers, tablets or phones.

    In your opinion, how do you think the development of the impersonal way of collaboration will affect young students in the future? Do you think that it might increase cases of depression due to the fact that we, humans, are born to belong in a group?

    Interesting post!

    Gus

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    Replies
    1. Hello Gus,

      Thanks for asking and in response to the question “...how do you think the development of the impersonal way of collaboration will affect young students in the future?” I see online collaboration like blogging as networking. By networking, I mean sharing of ideas and in-depth scholarly discussions. My definition of impersonal is not communicating in a sensible and respectful manner regardless if it is face-to-face or discussion board online. For example, a discussion should lead to building of knowledge not argumentative, blank chats.

      As for depression due to lack of human contact, my view is, and this is based on my undergraduate study in Psychology, that depression is a lack of chemical neural balance that some people experience due to genetics and/or induced drugs. Take for example, me responding to you question, I feel a sense of connection with you and others engaging in asynchronous conversation.

      Lynda Marshall

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  2. Lynda I agree with your response to the video. Humans do have the desire to want to belong to a group. This collaboration promotes learning which assists humans whether on a personal or business level a gain in knowledge. Technology provides a different way for knowledge to be instructed. Teachers and students view technology as a way to communicate with each other outside of the traditional classroom.

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  3. Wow Lynda,
    I think you covered everything I left out. I believe that we all have or share an innate feeling or sense to belong, whether it be a class discussion or a serious relationship. You are naturally drawn to people by things that cannot be explained, but you also take it upon yourself to collaborate with certain people for whatever reason.With all the technologies that are readily available for everyone to use, collaboration is inevitable.

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