Module 3 - Reflections

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?

Yes - I do believe that humans have a basic instinct to "interact and work as a group".  I witness this daily as my offender students seek to interact with me, with the outside world, and with each other.  However, there are those who are reticent about collaboration, preferring to cling to their individualized patterns.  This mode of thinking tends to isolate these individuals, and they do not fare well in a burgeoning society of social thinkers. 

The most effective part of incarceration is being isolated from the outside world.  Communication is a given freedom expected by all humans. When humans are isolated from their communities they do everything within their power to reinstate themselves into society again - either through legal or illegal means. 

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

Constructivist principles include building on experiences which can be shared with others.  Social media that is available to "anyone" on the internet, tapped into learners need to "know".  Even though I am bored to tears when occassionally I visit Facebook, I can see the needs of the participants to know that there is a world outside of themselves - and that they are included in that world. 



Vallance, M., Towndrow, P.A., Wiz, C. (2010). Conditions for successful online document collaboration. TechTrends, Vol. 54 (1).