We didn’t start with MOOCs, we started with how people already learn on the web. Not replicating and scaling how education works in institutions today. Community -- many small communities forming larger ones -- are at the center of this learning experience.
- C like Community
- Open like the Web
- Online & Offline
Learnig like the web allows us to connect to existing communities of practice. In the same way that open source software let’s learners be software developers (rather than learn about) from day 1, and observe the experts practicing their work.
- Writing students observe Salman Rushdie writing openly in a Google doc.
- 9 year old joins a John Hopkins research group on Penguins.
- The computer developer who analyzes his brain cancer with a global research community.
- Arxive has replaced the traditional peer review publishing model in certain disciplines - http://arxiv.org/
- Lifelong, start or stop whenever you want. The community remains accessible to you for the rest of your life.
- Emergence rather than authority. These communities have norms and practices, but those are emerged from within, rather than externally defined. Communities know what they value - certain performances and types of work.
- Communities offer legitimate peripheral participation. Dropping out is less of a big deal, because joining a community is naturally a longer-term engagement.
- Assessment is always authentic. The community gives you more rights to contribute, reputation, as you build up trust. Based on actual work.
- Portfolio of practice is online, to be peer reviewed by anyone in the community. People at the periphery of the community also have a voice, not just the masters.
- Focused on solving your own practical or intellectual problems.
1. Learning = Creating pathways into communities
How do you join a community?
- More like a tour, and first small steps. Tourguide and a map. Compass rather than directions. Communities have maps and compasses, but courses prescribe a path laid out by the instructor.
- Use interesting problems as the starting point for learning.
- Theory and practice gets exploded. Communities of practice (led by practitioners).
- Is there teaching? Yes, but not instruction - rather modeling, sharing of paths and experiences, role modeling
- Mentoring? Yes
- Apprenticeship? Yes
- Observing and copying.
- Smaller ways to collaborate.
2. Learning = Identifying your passion
How do you choose which communities to join? Learning exposes you to interests and passions you could pursue (Which job to take / which life to live?)
- Universities can offer a portfolio and potpourri of different communities and their problems
- At college you are given permission to choose and explore, in high-school we are led through the opposite system
- Expose people to infinite number of interests
- Everything is interesting when you are passionate. Terry Gross (NPR)
- Will more and more learning communities become accessible and open to learners? Or is this only applicable to certain types of communities?
- Does opening up communities of practice become a role for the education system? How do we open up (allow participation by anyone) more of these communities? We don’t want to replace all of the existing processes like apprenticeship, but how do we increase opportunities?
- What business models have to emerge to support this?
- What’s the role of the teacher in this? Do all community members become teachers?
We identified two spheres of community that have different roles in learning
- Amazing learning happens in small communities. Small groups make it easier to feel trust, develop a sense of reciprocity … they exist within larger communities.
- Larger communities increase the possibility for serendipity, diversity, etc.
There is also an opportunity to rethink physical community - the new physical university is loosely distributed / network of physical locations
- Resurrect the library = Libraries have a community responsibility. OER and libraries has the notion of giving back. You’re not just checking out.
- Coworking spaces and hackerspaces are good, because they “get” that making-based non credentialed learning is legitimate