Knowledge Diffusion and Social Construction of Knowledge

According to Bielaczyc and Collins (1999): "The defining quality of a learning community is that there is a culture of learning in which everyone is involved in a collective effort of understanding. There are four characteristics that such a culture must have: (1) diversity of expertise among its members who are valued for their contributions and given support to develop, (2) a shared objective of continually advancing the collective knowledge and skills, (3) an emphasis on learning how to learn, and (4) mechanisms for sharing what is learned." 1
In what ways do the networked communities you examined represent and depart from this characterization of learning communities? What implications does this have for your practice?

1) Diversity of expertise among the students: in Globe, students from all over the world participate in this learning environment and interact with scientists who act as mentors. In World Forum, students take on different personalities like John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher, etc. and contribute their ideas. This role playing allows the students to see other’s point of views as well as assuming the role / expertise of the personality. They also engage with teachers, explorers and mentors in their learning process. In MicroObservatory, students work with one another as well as with scientists. Teachers also pair up with others to create new projects for the students and conduct research in astronomy to promote the discipline.

2) Shared objective: through the use of online communities, the students in both Globe and World Forum work towards a common goal. In Globe, each student tries to contribute their knowledge about their environment such as soil temperature and moisture, state of local water body, characterization of the top meter of soil, etc. In World Forum, each student tries to resolve controversial statements (Flash Point), or environmental and social issues (Arctic Alerts), and reports on natural and geographical information (Explorer / Scientist Reports). The goal is to inform and to debate issues that are relevant to all participating students. In MicroObservatory, students collaborate with others who have taken images of the sky and analyse them. They collect data individually and share them to "reveal the secrets of some of nature wonders".

3) Emphasis on learning how to learn: in Globe, teachers are trained and prepared to help students to learn. Other support such as that provided by National Science Education Standards, National Geophysical Data Center, NASA, NSF, etc. contribute to a learning space that promotes learning. Students are challenged in the process when scientists are very much involved with the students as well as the teachers. In World Forum, teachers use different methods in their teaching, such as questioning (most popular for novice students), feedback, cognitive structuring. Students also learn to differentiate their own perspectives as well as other people’s perspectives, sometimes from a neutral point of view too. In NetObservatory, students are given control of the remote telescope that are often used for sophisticated astronomical research. This exposes the students to develope a sense of appreciation of the complexity of research, and problem based learning. Access to such tools provides the students the capabilities to further explore the area of astronomy.

4) Mechanisms for sharing what is learned: both Globe and World Forum use the online community to share their findings. Some students are required to log on everyday and this can become a challenge. Similarly for students and teachers participating in the NetObservatory, the internet allows them to share their findings as well as collaborate on investigative research projects.

I really like the role playing in World Forum where students get to take on the role of a well known character. Students can do research on the character and try to be consistent from this character’s point of view in the debate and discussion. It also allows the students to know that there are more than one point of view in almost any subject or topic. Online communities which are readily available to students should be incorporated into the students’ learning activities. By allowing the students to reflect, research, and then contribute their ideas through online communities, they are able to dig deeper into the subject of discussion. Also because the students can share what they learn anytime of the day, it does not restrict the student’s learning to only specific part of the day.

Having scientists, mentors, and other “non-teachers” participate makes the learning so much more relevant and “real” to the students. Teachers can also use the help to guide the student’s learning too. However, gaining access to these experts may not be easy to come by!