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Is There Value in Community Building and Collaboration? |
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Background... New research in both technology supported cooperative learning (TSCL) and computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is beginning to show the value of collaboration and teamwork using technology supported tools. TSCL has been found to increase achievement, promote positive attitudes, promote cognitive and social development, promote positive relationships, and generally promote positive effects on all types of students regardless of past performance or gender. The foundation of effective collaborative efforts stems from strong feelings of community which have been linked to a greater sense of well-being, increased engagement, improved cooperation among learners, increased commitment to group goals, increased flow of information, and increased satisfaction in group interactions. Further, interaction, an important dimension in community building involves a complex array of social, technological, and instructional variables and is key in the development of successful social and collaborative connections. Research surrounding interaction has its foundations in something called transactional distance. Transactional distance defines distance in psychological terms as opposed to geographic. In essence, although geographical or physical distance may be increased in distance education settings like those encountered in e-learning, its effect can be decreased through processes designed to increase interactions between learners and instructors, content, other learners and the technology employed. Synchronous and asynchronous communication tools like the telephone, instant messaging, audio and video conferencing and threaded discussions facilitate both social and educationally oriented interactions in e-learning. In addition, e-learning environments can expand opportunities to interact through the use of networks. I read this post: http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2007/05/29/is-a-network-a-community/ regarding networks and communities and it got me thinking and asking the same questions as the author; Is a Network a Community? I think this question is a valuable one to reflect upon in the context of education, especially as it relates to social networking and the proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies. Although we don't often think about social networking sites as tools for education, maybe it's because we're looking at it from preconceived and outdated notions of education and networks. The following study illustrates the extent and power of social networking in the lives of our students...
But how does social networking relate to teaching and learning? Here's an interesting article about learning, ecologies, and networks that may shed some light on the subject: http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/learning_communities.htm. I'm not proposing any obvious solutions or answers (or even questions for that matter) on the subject of social networks and community building. I just want to provoke you to think about how this might influence your own current and future teaching practice. Other Social Networking Resources:
A pretty comprehensive list of what can be found on the web!
Networks
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