For this week’s blog, we were presented with two questions. 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? 2. How can technology facilitate collaboration among learners based on constructivist principles?
To answer the question, yes I believe that humans have the desire to work in groups. As little children we are taught to play together and share the toys. Then we group up and join teams. Sports team teach us to work together, practice together and in some situation they live in a common living area. There are many other team that thrive on working together teams like from chess to football. We as a society are base around working together. In the work place, you are an individual, about is assigned to a group to accomplish tasks. Society is established around groups, for example law enforcement, fire fighters and many more. If you decide to rebel against society rules, you might find yourself in prisons. Not to escape from the group. Prisoners tend to stick to their own and work together. If you get married, you and your spouse work together to accomplish goals that will better the life for the family. So yes we are raised, taught, and live in the group.
Technology, that has become the universal language. Technology bring different people from anywhere in the world to work together for the common good. This union can take place in the workplace, schools and colleges and social networks. Learning can be enhanced with the aid of technology because it allows for people from different backgrounds to come together and express their ideals. Technology also crosses the different language barriers and the social status in our society. In this program, we are an excellent example of Rheingold discussion about peer to peer production. Because of the technology advancements, students are becoming more computer literate because it is becoming necessary to communicate with other people.
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]
Robert,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog, I immediately thought of each member in a team not as individuals, but as parts of a puzzle that represents the whole. In order for the whole to work and operate properly each part/piece must connect forming one, but functioning as their own, completing the tasks before them. Technology allows for diversity and flexibility addressing and helping to meet the needs of all.
Emmorfia
Robert,
ReplyDeleteWell stated post. I like the examples you provide of the groups we are part of throughtoutour lives. We were created to interact with others. Being part of a group or team enables us to gain more ideas and insights we may not have gained working individually. I am a firm believer that 2 heads are always better than one!
Rhonda