05.+Groups

Groups and Networks

That Group Feeling by Stephen Downes
"being in a group is a survival tactic" "groups are based on passion while networks are based on reason. Groups meet our need to belong and to survive, while networks meet our need to connect and learn and to know." "In the United States, //students recite the// [|//Pledge of Allegiance//]//, an explicit affirmation of the role of schools in forming an affiliation to a national entity//" "//And this, then, is where passion in schooling begins to subsume reason.// This, then, is where the teaching becomes less a matter of cognitive function and more a matter of indoctrination. Or call it what you will. But when the fostering of allegiance to a group becomes a major, or primary, function of education, then the traditional agenda, thought of as learning, is left behind." "//The offering of standardized tests, far from fostering learning// ..... //is intended to foster groups, group identity, and sameness – sameness of curriculum, sameness of the educational experience//" "//The terrible danger of this is, as I allude above, that people will do anything, take any risk, in order to be part of the group.// //And those who for one reason or another fail to meet the group standard are dealt with harshly and sometimes brutally.//" we can no longer afford group-based tribalism. we should prefer to organize ourselves as networks rather than as groups. education is probably one of the most critical areas where this needs to be the case, as it will be necessary for citizens of the future to be able to //respond to an increasing set of global crises from a ground of reason, rather than emotional attachment to a group.//

media type="custom" key="12673282" Online learning is more like networks rather than groups as we see them. media type="custom" key="12680222"

Metallic - Elemental || tv, radio, newspapers, books, all-staff email || affinity organinc - biological || telephone, personal email || melting pot || corporate website, intranet, portal || Diversity: salad bowl || personal homepage, blog ||
 * **Groups** || technologies || **Networks** || technologies ||
 * Sameness: nation, language, religion, class
 * Unity (vision statement):
 * Coordination:
 * leaders collaboration
 * group value (=leader's value) || LMS, learning object metadata, MS Word || Autonomy:
 * cooperation
 * exchange
 * mutual value || self-directed learning, portfolio, PLE ||
 * Closed:
 * membership
 * standards - jargon
 * walls || copyrights, patents, learning objectives, learning design, passwords, enterprise || Openness:
 * connection
 * perspective - context
 * bridges || RSS, HTML, Community of Practice, Creative Commons, GPL, identity ||
 * Distributive (trickle down):
 * broadcast
 * stars and gurus
 * centralized
 * power - power laws
 * knowledge flows from authority
 * gap between rich and poor || podcasts, vodcast, technorati || Connective:
 * conversation
 * democracy
 * information flows via connections between individual members
 * knowledge emerges || skype, bloglines, podcasts ||
 * Privacy (lying in public, truth in privacy) create barriers (one sort of self inside/outside group) ||  ||   ||   ||

media type="custom" key="12673382"