Is it an important part of the learning process to create a collaborative artifact to represent a group’s knowledge about a topic? What advantages or disadvantages does this approach to knowledge creation represent over other mediums, whether technology assisted or those that can be accomplished in a face to face environment? Would it be equally desirable to share individual artifacts? Finally, is it possible for subsequent groups to review the collaboratively-created artifact and have equal understanding of the knowledge represented by the artifact? Or will the knowledge now resident in the group that actively participated in the creation of the artifact always exceed those who simply passively view the artifact? Doc Sue

continuum.pdf

Over and over again, we are presented with the idea that learning is one massive contextual context. Would another group who reads our Swiki and our visual “get it”? Most assuredly, they will get…chucks… of it. They might even start to make links between the theorists. However, they will not go deeper than that. It is in conversations where meaning is made. The comments about implicit and explicit communication really hit home. The more explicit the conversations, the deeper the understanding. Make it implicit, enters in inference and projection. After working with fourth and six grade students over a series of years on SWIKIs one of the things that I noticed was how readily they switched from one to the other when they were dealing with each other in the labs working on group projects. Surface matters could be handled implicitly…but when there were troubles, both students sat at one computer, pointed, talked, and added information jointly. I think the importance of creating a collaborative artifact or sharing individual artifacts depends on the purpose of the assignment. I am all for using the best tool to get the most bang for a buck intellectually and in efficacy. If the assignment is simple and fairly routine, then the need for a complex system of delivery isn’t warranted…after all, going to an Excel document to write a three item grocery list is pretty much overkill. However, if there is an open-ended, non-linear project afoot with multiple users, then the use of a SWIKI that offers visual documentation of thinking makes a ton of sense. The context of what is to learned, who is learning and for what reason it is what this question is all about.   

Bridgette Fincher - Tuesday, 4 October 2005, 04:06 PM

Well said, Jason. You have a real knack for distilling things into a rich essence. As for games…well, for myself…if I have my druthers, I would rather not. I get whomped in Risk, smashed in bowling, and for poker…with a face like mine that expresses emotions that I didn’t even know I have…forgetaboutit. Am I competitive, why sure, at times, intensely so. But with games, phtttt, I just don’t care. Not motivated if the end goal is to “win” there. That said, however, I do love to play dominoes with my dad. Sometimes he wins, sometimes I do. The game isn’t about the winning or the learning. It is about an affirmation of the social/communal nature of group play. Did you note how many folks said that asked this person or that person what they are doing? It's just the power of social context.