Collaboration

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?

Rheingold (2005) provided some thought provoking conversation that caused me to rethink my views about collaboration. I think instinctively humans cannot resist the need to collaborate. Whether we know it, it is part of our  DNA.  Take, for example, 911 or any natural disaster; we immediately help our fellow man in the event of hard times. It is as if we automatically go into survival mode. I think during crisis we collaborate because we want to stop the impending crisis before it directly impacts our lives.

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

Crisis management scenarios, such as national disasters readiness drills represent multiple perspectives of learning based on constructivist principles. It forces groups of learners to join their scholarly resources to solve a serious problem. For instance, it forces us to evaluate our environment, evaluate our circumstance, and evaluate our strategy. Crisis management scenarios force us to relinquish our egos and unify our efforts for the common good of society. It is a form of authentic learning that help us discover new solutions to problems we never thought were possible.

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.

In the medical profession, there are a number of examples that support constructivism and its application to collaboration-based learning. Sapateiro and Antunes (2009) proposed model to improve situation awareness in the emergency room is one example. Their proposal describes a holistic response for improving emergency room readiness. They proposed to enhance the medical workers understanding of the emergency room process, including making efficient decisions from setting to setting.

 

TED Conferences, LLC (2005). (Video program). Howard Rheingold: The new power of

collaboration. Retrieved from

http://www.ted.com/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Sapateiro, C., & Antunes, P. (2009, May). An emergency response model toward situational awareness improvement. Paper presented at the 6th International ISCRAM Conference – Gothenburg, Sweden. Retrieved from http://www.di.fc.ul.pt/~paa/papers/iscram-09.pdf

 

Posted

AJ,

http://anethaj.blogspot.com/

Ennis Brinson
http://ebrinsonlearningtheoryandedtech.blogspot.com/2012/04/module-3-collaboration-in-module-3-i.html#comment-form

Crisis management from an instructional technology perspective: