When discussing
the concept of collaboration, I can say that as human beings, we are social by
nature. Communication becomes a key element in human development
that is acquired through constant interaction. On the other hand, we tend to conglomerate in cities and, in
general, find groups of people that might share the same interests, education
or cultural background with whom we socially interact. Even well known
constructivists, such as Bruner and Vygotsky, presented their points of views
emphasizing the importance of collaboration in the human learning process, as
presented by Driscoll (2005).
Nowadays, the
business world depends greatly on the collaboration and information gathered
through the social media. In regards to this let me reflect
on Rheingold’s statement when he says, “what forms of wealth could be created
if we knew a little bit more about cooperation?” Companies are becoming wealthy by simply gathering and
sharing important information from the common people to later utilize it to
developed new products, knowledge or even ideologies. If people collaborate
appropriately, they could accomplish much more than if they were acting by
themselves. In order for this tool to become effective it should be accompanied
with a strong communication network. I
believe that a great example is Wikipedia, an online collaboration tool by
excellence.
Technology,
nowadays, can easily be applied to facilitate collaboration among students utilizing
constructivist principles. In its beginnings computers served the sole purpose
of storing and retrieving information. Then they processed the data, to later
create databases. From there we have been able to communicate from one personal
computer to the other, even to the point were all the information is available
in the palm of our hands 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. One example that I
can share from my own experience comes from Google Docs. In my school all the
staff were asked to develop the curriculum for the following year. It took
place online by giving the opportunity to everyone to add, delete, and discuss their
teaching perspective, all at the same time. In my opinion, these all show us
the capabilities for collaboration, a wonderful tool that is highly used in our
world today.
A very
interesting research that I found on EBSCO by Chang & Lee (2010),
demonstrates the importance of creating problem-based learning in computer
classes to increase student motivation. This concept fits with John Dewey’s (1938) idea that learning is at its best when experienced first hand. When a
student becomes involved in the learning process, learning can become extremely
effective.
References
Chang, L., & Lee, G. C. (2010). A team-teaching model
for practicing project based learning in high school: Collaboration between
computer and subject teachers. Computer
& Education. 55(3). 961-969. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Dewey,
J. (1938). Experience and education. The Macmillan Company, New York.
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning
for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Rheingold, H.
(2008, February). Howard Rheingold on collaboration [Video file]. Retrieved
from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html
http://lyndamarshallsblogpage.blogspot.com.au