In this article, Bullock argues that traditionally teachers teach the way that they were taught, according to familiar patterns termed as the "grammar of schooling," according to Tyack and Tobin. Bullock contends, however that Web 2.0 digital technologies "have the potential to drive educational reform in powerful ways." He further states that Web 2.0 technologies have created a major social innovation that allows people of all ages to "produce, co-operate, and collaborate" in ways that were never really possible before. Bullock shares Shirky's idea that there are four types of social interactions in use with Web 2.0: Sharing, Cooperation, Collective Production, and Collective Action; and that these four types can be thought of as collective intelligence. Bullock also emphasizes the idea that teacher educators should be transitioning from the traditional "transmission-oriented approaches to teaching" to using digital technologies that can contribute to collective intelligence. He feels that Web 2.0 technologies can help enhance learner motivation to work together to solve common problems and act "collectively in an intelligent fashion." And Bullock also feels that educators should take full advantage of the "natural human impulse to create and share."
My Thoughts: I whole-hardheartedly agree with Bullock with regard to the "grammar of schooling" and how educators tend to teach as they were taught, and that these patterns of teaching are very much resistant to change. I also fully agree with his assertion that Web 2.0 technologies have the potential to "drive educational reform in powerful ways." If we can take advantage of the nature of humans to create and share, and utilize the four most common types of social interactions (thought of as 'collective intelligence') as teachers and learners using Web 2.0, then we can quite possibly affect education in many positive ways.
How Collective Intelligence Redefines Education, by Lynn Ilon
Ilon's article compares and contrasts the traditional, formal education system with collective intelligence systems. First Ilon describes our traditional formal education system and its beginning with the Industrial Revolution. Also, Ilon describes how the values at the time were that teachers had vetted knowledge that was taught in a top-down management system. These educational systems are viewed as systems that must be government-controlled for maximum societal benefit. These systems also view knowledge as "an established, known entity" that can be "found, mastered, and tested;" and where knowledge mastery is the ultimate goal. Within this view, knowledge is seen as something that is static and it grows by building on accumulated expertise. This all contrasts with a collective intelligence system, in which knowledge flows rather than grows; and in which the system "builds knowledge in real time, so knowledge changes rapidly," and it has an open system for collecting knowledge. With a collective intelligence system, the "process of building knowledge is as important as the knowledge itself." The point is made also that traditional schooling systems are highly focused on efficiency--whether it be financial or time-constrained. Whereas the collective intelligence system would measure efficiency with its flow.
In the second part of her article, Ilon talks about the structure of formal schooling compared to a collective intelligence system. Here, Ilon describes collective systems as the "process by which they create knowledge - learning." These collective intelligence systems are about a systematic flow of knowledge, rather than about the knowledge itself and it being known and imparted by a single person. There is no final person--instead, knowledge is combined and builds a complex, dynamic, and adaptive system, and each person has some of the necessary information and has "the skill to work collectively." It is noted also that collective intelligence can also handle a rapid change of knowledge, and that no knowledge is finite. In the final part of Ilon's article, she makes a comparison between industrial economics and knowledge economics and notes that traditional formal education systems cannot adapt because of the lack of understanding of the "new economic logic."
Ilon concludes her article with the idea that formal schooling fails to integrate collective intelligence due to "system controls which served a particular economic system," even though that system is continuing to fade in its influence. She also notes that formal schooling will not likely ever go away because young children still need basic skills. However, Ilon feels that those basic skills should be rethought with a focus on learning skills, rather than on static skills. She also feels that, in time and due to necessity, formal school will integrate collective intelligence, because of "its sheer superiority in producing people who are good learners, innovators and collective thinkers."
My Thoughts: As a student and as a parent, I have long thought that education in America is sorely out of sync with the global and interconnected nature of society. Education has evolved at an ancient snail's pace, in my opinion, and it functions more as a product of habit and culture from days gone by than for relevant, contemporary need. Ilon's comparison of our traditional, formal education system with collective intelligence systems provided me with an insightful perspective on where we were in education and where we really need to go. I definitely feel that our traditional system needs to integrate the collective intelligence systems, wherein knowledge can flow, change, and adapt, and where everyone works collectively--and where the process of building knowledge is equally as important as the knowledge itself.
7 Things You Should Know about Personal Learning Environments (Educause)
This article first describes PLE's as the things a learner uses to "direct their own learning and pursue educational goals." It also compares a PLE with an LMS (Learning Management System) and notes that an LMS is course-centered, whereas a PLE is learner-centered. Basically, a PLE refers to an idea of how an individual approaches learning. The article conveys how many institutions and students around the world are using PLEs as "tools for discovery" and "in an effort to expand their learning experiences beyond campus boundaries." It is also noted that it is a true PLE when resource integration begins to include "the work and the voice of others as readily as a student's own critical reflection and scholarly work." PLEs are different than traditional learning environments in that they draw connections between resources that learners select and organize themselves. Students are much more in charge of their learning process in this context, and they can use tools to help them learn that they know will help them learn best. The article also shares the downsides of PLEs, including disappearing data, a need for disciplined self-direction and self-awareness, and the potential for a lack of information fluency in students. The article also notes that the PLE is a result of the evolution of Web 2.0 and that it is "likely to become a fixture in educational theory." And finally, it is noted that the PLE changes the role of resources in in teaching and learning, and the necessity for students in changing from simply collecting information to also making connections to it, sharing it, and also collaborating in it. Additionally, PLEs may create a much larger emphasis on metacognition in learning.
My Thoughts: I like that a PLE can allow students to self-direct in a way that works best for them, and that it gives them much more autonomy over their learning. I can also see the benefits of incorporating a PLE at various grade levels, particularly in helping students to learn to more more collaboratively. I also agree with the downsides, particularly that a PLE can necessitate a strong measure of self-discipline and self-awareness, and that students will need to sharpen their skills in being able to differentiate between fact and opinion ('information fluency') when collecting information from a wide variety of resources.
PLE Example Video by a 7th Grade Student
This video was created by a 7th grade science student about the Personal Learning Environment that she created. In the video, the student talks about how she was learning about network planning, and about how she spent time at the beginning of the year researching how to find information online and pull it all together on a personal web page. The student said she loves learning via a PLE because it allows her more freedom to choose how she completes learning tasks and when she will do them. She also said that even though she has so much online freedom to do her work, which has the potential to be distracting, she instead feels much more inclined to be responsible. She also likes that most of her work is paperless, and so she hardly ever needs to have a pencil for class. Examples of resources and technology the student uses in class include Google Docs, a blog, Evernote, Glogster, and Skype.
My Thoughts: I loved hearing from a student first-hand what her experience has been like using a PLE in a K-12 classroom environment. It was interesting to see how the student began her day in her science class with their science agenda page, which allowed the student to view assignments, and then either be directed into the learning tasks of the day, or provide her with more autonomy to choose her activities for that day. This PLE seems really beneficial and a positive experience for this student, as it allows her some independence, while also providing her with some structure for learning tasks. I would love to be able to sit in on this classroom and observe how all the students individually approach and handle their PLE, and see first hand to what extent it is a positive experience for each of them.
Reflection
Collective Intelligence Systems seem to be a logical step toward a more effective learning environment in this digital age, and a necessary step in transforming our aged transmission-oriented approach to teaching. We need to take advantage of the natural tendency for humans to want to share and create and work together to solve problems. As Bullock said, by utilizing Web 2.0 technologies, we can "drive education reform in powerful ways." The benefits for our students and for their future may be just as powerful as a result.
As noted by Ilon, our education system was created with the Industrial Revolution, when knowledge was considered as simply a thing, rather than a way. It was delivered using a top-down management system as a "known entity" that had to be "found, mastered, and tested;" and where knowledge mastery is really the only goal. This outdated formal schooling system discounts knowledge that flows, changes rapidly or adapts or that is anything but finite and delivered by a single person or source. With a collective intelligence system, the "process of building knowledge is as important as the knowledge itself." And shouldn't it be?! In an age where information is be shared and updated from a variety of sources in real time, shouldn't education be doing the same? Learning shouldn't be just about regurgitating facts and figures as a product of societal and educational habit rather than of actual need. Education should be about creating "good learners, innovators, and collective thinkers," in an environment that values the process of building knowledge as much as the knowledge itself.
I think that Personal Learning Environments are a strong example of how effective a collective intelligence system can be. A PLE allows a learner to help construct knowledge in a collaborative and more autonomous environment. As noted in the Educause article, true PLE is learner-centered and will have the learner integrate resources to include the "work and voice of others" as readily as they do their own. In a PLE students are selecting and organizing their own resources and they're making connections between these resources in the ways that they know they learn best. There are downsides to a PLE too, particularly the need for self-discipline and "information fluency." But these skills may be acquired and/or improve over time with the continued use of a PLE. Students may even enjoy the process of learning more due to the increased freedom it provides, as evidenced in the video created by the 7th grade science student.
In my opinion, the main connection between these articles and video is an emphasis on a more collaborative and varied learning environment that is still learner-centered and focuses on student success; but also one that capitalizes on the nature and structure of knowledge in our technology-filled information age. They are about improving learner achievement, while also recognizing that achievement isn't only about viewing knowledge as simply a thing: it is also a way. And since knowledge and information today are available from so many resources (rather than just from a teacher and a textbook), and since they change so rapidly, education needs to adapt and evolve so as to capitalize on the constant stream and diversity of that knowledge.
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