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Using the Power of Collaboration to Crowdsource Learning
Coworking, crowdsourcing, citizen sourcing, collaboration - all these these familiar Web 2.0 terms for cooperative human engagement have been applied to everything from scientific inquiry into protein folding to mapping galaxies, to creating smarter government through initiatives like Gov 2.0. All these efforts affect knowledge acquisition in some way.
I'd like to propose that we can employ similiar collaboration techniques to essentially crowdsource learning, utilizing what Clay Shirky calls our "spare brainpower" to further deinstitutionalize education. There are already a lot of tools in place to make use of our cognitive surplus, from opensource learning initiatives to citizen science opportunities.
I think we can leverage our innate curiosity and the power of collaboration to create powerful social networks for learning, at both the community level and online. In our conversation on the "Curiosity Driven Life," one of the things discussed was "safe zones" that encouraged curiosity and child led learning. Working together, I think we can connect learners of all ages online and in person with mentors and learning guides via libraries, community centers, museums, parks, gardens and more.
What do you think about the potential for Crowdsourced Learning?
Theresa Willingham 500+
"The concept of a 'flat classroom' is based on the constructivist principle of a multi-modal learning environment that is student-centered and a level playing field for teacher to student and student to teacher interaction."
The Ning worksite is here: http://flatclassroomproject.ning.com/ This is just one example of many great collaborative projects underway working to contemporize, customize, and contextualize learning!
Theresa Willingham 500+
"Are teachers obsolete? Absolutely not. But, an educator's role is changing from the traditional "imparter of knowledge" to that of coach and consultant. "
I've always believed that teachers should be "learning guides," bringing their experience and expertise to bear much like wilderness guides help hikers and explorers. Maybe an apropos analogy for the new role of teachers in the 21st century is as "sherpas" - experts in their fields who guide others on journeys of self-discovery. Perhaps our most important collaborators in learning should be the biggest stakeholders - those wishing to learn!
What do you think?
Theresa Willingham 500+
"It just all came together for me," Kiff says. "I was in my basement, there was no exit strategy, I was 35 years old and said, 'I don’t know where I’m going, but if there's a HealthCorps, a Green Corps, and all this other stuff, why wouldn’t we create MusicianCorps?' "
You can learn more about MusicanCorps here: http://www.musicnationalservice.org/musiciancorps I think this is a great example of crowdsourced , collaborative learning!
Theresa Willingham 500+
Mary Saville
http://www.ocwconsortium.org/courses/ocwsites
M.A. Lucas-Green
Theresa Willingham 500+
And of course we can't dismiss Tony Kuphaldt's observation that "The crucial element scholars bring to the table is not just knowledge, but also wisdom." That's where the "crowdsourcing" idea can balance student-led efforts with real world experience and perspective.
But I think we need to move beyond discussion to actual implementation - to try out some "formal" crowdsourced learning and measure the outcomes, not necessarily through assessment testing, atlhough there are various forms of those that could be helpful, but through student success and satisfaction in both the short and long term. I believe you've got some student-led projects under way? What are the long(er) term results of those efforts?
I'd love to implement - and probably will try to do so soon! - a crowdsourced learning environment, anchored by a network of crafts and trades people, professionals and people with expertise in a variety of fields, who can supplement online and learning through TED Talks and other videos and interactive learning resources online and in person.
How do others envision such a Crowdsourced Academy?
James McNab
Theresa Willingham 500+
Along those same lines, I think we also need to reimagine what it means to be a "teacher." Many teachers today are saying they feel undervalued and unappareciated. I think teachers are more important than ever, but I think we need to consider that some of the best teachers will not be "certified" teachers - but professionals, crafts and tradespeople who function as mentors and learning guides; people we wouldn't normally associate as professional educators, but who may hold the keys to a truly well educated society.
Gina Clifford 500+
Honestly, in order to truly be collaborative, we need to drop the words 'teacher' and 'education'. Those words create hierarchy and systematic control, putting the system and its officers above the learners. In a collaborative scenario, everyone shares on an equal footing, and learners choose their own unique learning paths. With the help of subject experts (who would replace teachers in this model), students gain mentors, coaches, and facilitators to keep their projects on schedule. Perhaps children work in small teams and contribute on aspects of a group project that most interests them.
If we embrace this model, we are free to re-imagine how we measure success, too. We're free to document qualitative measures such as engagement with community, participation in music, science, poetry contests, publications, etc. Measures of success might be the quality of research papers written or the amount of money raised for a cause, or the impact a project has on the community (feel free to add your own measures).
So, you don't teach people how to learn on their own, you simply let them.
Theresa Willingham 500+
Debra Smith 100+
Theresa Willingham 500+
That would require people being as interested in sharing their knowledge as Salman Kahn and people with the self-discipline to learn things, and know how to ask questions and acquire the knowledge they need to achieve the things they seek. How do we best bring together those with knowledge to share, with those who most need that knowledge? How do we teach people to learn on their own - to see learning as integral to successful living? How do we make teaching and learning a sustainable and self-perpetuating experience?
M.A. Lucas-Green
If global citizenship is our goal, then the evolution of your idea is its premise.
Wayne Busby 30+
I have for the past 5 years been developing the theory that each of us is akin to a neuron in a vast collective brain, only now truly capable of reaching our potential to interact through the evolution of our technology. We are coming to understand this irrepressible power as we come together to develop this unprecedented unimind.
What a time to be alive.
I believe we have exponentially increased our ability to obliterate all current problems know to mankind if we apply ourselves properly (with wisdom, humility and proactive and constructive collaboration).
To that end I would like to be the first to propose a few philosophies as guidelines for this new era of learning:
1) "It is incumbent on all students and educators, to constructively challenge how and all we are taught, towards the goal of refining the methods we use to teach and the content of any subject matter in question. Teach the rules and define the exceptions."
2) "It is in our very nature to manipulate that which we would understand, therefore our collective responsibility to collaborate towards creating a culture and legacy which supports our ability to do so."
3) "Science, the summum bonum of our ability to define and thereby control our environment, must always work in tandem with morality, which is the root of our accountability.
Forgive my presumptuousness, in this instance c'est plus fort que moi.
Theresa Willingham 500+
I agree, too, that we're all connected at a more visceral level than we probably often imagine, although there are moments when those connections become almost palpable. I think technology is helping us realized these connections and will provide us with unprecedented opportunities to collaborate in ways we're just now starting to envision.