Sep 11 2008
Podcast: Project Work – A new way of learning?
Exegesis
Introduction
The newly reformed Singapore education system can be likened to that of a “contemporary society” which Levy mentions is “caught in a transitional moment, whose outcome is still unknown, but which has enormous potentials for transforming existing structures of knowledge and power” (Jenkins, 2002). Like the ability of the net and the web, the Community Knowledge e-learning platform is a ‘deterritorialisation’ of knowledge. The aim of this project is to show the ability of the net and the web in its ability to “facilitate rapid many-to-many communication”, “enable broader participation in decision-making” and the “reciprocal exchange of information, in the online community of the e-learning platform (Jenkins, 2002).
Theoretical Ideas
(1) Community, Participatory Culture and Collective Intelligence
Students get together as “members of a thinking community”. Participatory culture is evident through the way they “search, inscribe, connect, consult, explore” ideas among themselves to get the Project Work going (Jenkins, 2002). It is a community as the students are held together “through the mutual production and reciprocal exchange of knowledge” (Jenkins, 2002). The idea of collective intelligence here can be seen as a ‘shared or group intelligence that emerges from a collaboration and competition of” many students (Jenkins, 2002).
However, this idea of community, participatory culture and collective intelligence has been brought to a higher level due to the fact that Project Work is done on an e-learning platform.
With the advent of technology, collective intelligence can also be defined as “a form of networking enabled by the rise of communications technology, namely the Internet” (Jenkins, 2002). As the e-learning platform is a collection of the entire students’ knowledge, this form of collective intelligence frees each individual student from “the limitations of their memory” and also enables the Project Work group “to act upon a broader range of expertise” (Jenkins, 2002). Thus, the e-learning platform serves as a network which enable the students to “archive, annotate, appropriate and recirculate” their ideas and what they have done (Jenkins, 2002). This e-learning platform can be defined as a “new knowledge space” which links to the breakdown of “geographic constraints on communication”, as students are able to work from home (Jenkins, 2002). This “new knowledge space” is embedded within the “new knowledge communities” (Jenkins, 2002). These “new knowledge communities may be temporary (as Project Work only lasts for 10 weeks) but they are certainly not voluntary (as it is part of an academic routine). Unlike on-line fan communities, these students cannot choose to move from one community (or group) to another. Yet, it is interesting to note how the community is held together through the “mutual production and reciprocal exchange of knowledge” (Jenkins, 2002).
(2) Visibility, Social Bonds and others
Just as the internet has “increased visibility” for online fandom to a surprising degree, it has done likewise for the e-learning platform (Jenkins, 2002). This can be seen as people who were shy to speak up in class contributed immensely during the online discussion. It is unsure, however, as to whether the e-learning platform managed to “intensify the social bonds within the community” due to the speed and frequency of communication (Jenkins, 2002). HowHUnlike fandom, the knowledge community formed from the e-learning platform does not have difficulty in “developing a set of ethical standards and articulating mutual goals” (Jenkins, 2002) as these students have been taught proper ethics and standard procedures.
Problems and their solutions
However, just like “fandom’s expanded scope which can leave fans feeling alienated”, students may also feel lost in the online discussions when the teachers do not probe enough. Thus, collective intelligence might have to be taught and inspired in students (McGonigal, 2007). Students would have to be informed that they will have to “take an active role in securing a place for themselves in the collective intelligence” (McGonigal, 2007). Also, students would have to be urged “to not be overwhelmed by the daunting size of the collective intelligence community; or made to feel insignificant by the seemingly infinite scope of its efforts” (McGonigal, 2007). Instead, students should see himself or herself as “playing a singular, meaningful role” in the online community, with “valuable individual micro-contributions to make to the massively-scaled effort” (McGonigal, 2007).
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be seen that the Community knowledge e-learning platform runs almost parallel to Levy’s description on the impact of internet technologies on the consumption of knowledge (McGonigal, 2007). Through this e-learning platform, it is evident that the internet facilitates rapid, open and exchange of ideas (McGonigal, 2007). As it can be seen, the e-learning platform can be considered as a collective intelligence culture, in which Levy describes knowledge “ceases to be the object of established fact and becomes a project” (McGonigal, 2007). A collective intelligence curriculum like the e-learning platform would “provide students with the opportunity to develop a new kind of digital network literacy” (McGonigal, 2007). Thus, it is vital that students understand their roles and contributions in the e-learning platform.
The Podcast [4:58]
Bibliography
Jenkins, Henry, “Interactive Audiences? The ‘Collective Intelligence’ of Media Fans”, MIT website. http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/collective%20intelligence.html (accessed 09/09/08)
McGonigal, Jane, “Why I Love Bees”, Avant Game website (February 2007). http://avantgame.com/McGonigal_WhyILoveBees_Feb2007.pdf (accessed 10/09/08)
Ng, Aik Kwang (2004) “Why is there a Paradox in Promoting Creativity in the Asian Classroom?”, Liberating the creative spirit in Asian students, Pearson/Prentice Hall, pp. 197-211
Orb Gettarr, ‘Ambient Cake (Remix Ready)’ (Music), n.d.c.2007, http://www.opsound.org/artist/orbgettarr – Ambient-Cake.mp3, CC BY SA 2.5
Orb Gettarr, ‘Another Island Dream’ (Music), n.d.c.2007, http://www.opsound.org/artist/orbgettarr – Another-Island-Dream.mp3, CC BY SA 2.5
Wong, E.L. Angela, Quek, Choon-Lang, Divaharan, Shanti, Liu, Woon-Chia, Peer, Jarina, Williams, D. Michael (2006) “Singapore Students’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Computer-Supported Project Work Classroom Learning Environments”, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp 449-479
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4 Responses to “Podcast: Project Work – A new way of learning?”
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Having looked at the Singapore education system last semester, it was great to see it explored again this semester in terms of participatory culture and the community. Singapore’s Project Work system seems to be somewhat similar to the work that we have completed and are currently completing in our Communication Studies degree, in terms of constructing projects in groups and the use of online systems to facilitate learning, making it highly relevant not only to participatory culture, but to how we (the students currently undertaking Communication Studies) learn as well.
As we seem to be moving towards a time where participation is more integrated in cultures and societies, it’s only natural to adopt this change in schools and schooling systems. People, and in this instance students, are more likely to involve themselves in projects in which they have had some input, as they have invested time into thinking about the project and how it should be carried out. Project work allows students with different personality types (eg. shy or extraverted) to coexist and be equal, as it uses both physical and virtual means of communication, so if they do express themselves well in one media, they can make up for it in another. So, even through this is a ‘forced’ act of participation (as the students have no choice over whether or not they participate), it still demonstrates how participation works in a community, and how the act of participation encouraged the students to develop their skills in communicating, both in the physical and virtual worlds, and foster a sense of initiative, as well as integrate ideas and theories from several disciplines.
I feel like the podcast could have benefitted from some more input from Kevin, concerning how the Singapore schooling system operates without Project Work and how he feels this disadvantages him, in terms of learning and how this will effect him life after school. Apart from this I thought the podcast was based on a really interesting topic and I think exploring at how other countries and culture learn is very important!
Comparing to world-wide collective intelligence, such as Wikipedia, e-learning platform is rather small-scale as it involves only some of the secondary students in Singapore. However, very much like the ‘I Love Bees’ collective intelligence gaming experience, each of the students participating in the e-learning platform is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, who is essential in forming a complete picture.
The self-learning tool is a more effective apparatus to engage students into a domain of learning. Unlike the traditional ‘I talk, you listen’ teaching method (‘teacher-centered’), which students would easily fall asleep during class, the project work makes students discuss and think deeply about their topic, with teachers only as facilitators to guide them through. In this case, as mentioned in the podcast, students have to do research by themselves in which they can learn from the research process. The learning experiences of each of the students are unique, but at the same time they build up a collective intelligence that is shared among all of them.
Moreover, students can further enhance their learning experiences by commenting and giving advices on other projects. By giving and receiving comments and advices, they can exchange and integrate ideas with each other, especially in a multicultural country like Singapore. Thoughts that are diversified ethnically could create a very unique culture for the Singaporean community.
Furthermore, online discussions are conducted by students themselves with teacher as facilitators instead of a director. The top-down relationships between teachers and students are eased. The traditional concept of students should learn from teachers seems declining. The one-way communication and learning format might eventually be replaced by the multi-way communications from students to students. Teachers become assistances, rather than ones who take the lead.
In regards to the podcast itself, it is really interesting to know something about the education systems in Singapore. I think the aspect of ethnic diversity of Singapore can be raised a little bit as it is sort of an icon of the country.
After listening to this podcast, I thought that the Singaporean education system’s move towards project-based work on an e-learning platform is a good example of how to make use of digital technologies and the subsequent opportunities for new communicative and participatory practices they provide. I found this podcast located the topic within these kinds of debates really strongly, and also had a good focus on the experience of actual students within it – this made it a more personable listening experience.
The topic fit well with ideas of community and participation, as the introduction of an e-learning platform seems to automatically require an approach that encourages individuals in the group to communicate with and learn from each other, rather than the group as a whole receiving instruction from a single teacher. This certainly reflects the concept of community, and I find it interesting that a move to integrate technology into the existing system would seem to necessitate this shift in the learning paradigm from teacher to student-centred learning. There was also a good point made that the e-learning platform meant boundaries expanded past the classroom, since project work could also be completed at home. This decentralisation is typical to the internet revolution and it’s encouraging to see that being made use of in formal education. I also thought the comment that project work improved individual communication skills quite interesting, since the tools of digital technology do indeed require us to adapt our skills.
Technically, it would have been better to fade out the introductory music segments as the cuts were a bit abrupt. Also, the beginning of second section was cut off by a word or two. There was a bit of air (which I think is probably just the quality of microphone, so is ok) but I thought the sound could have been blended more smoothly in the editing process.
The conversation was also a bit unnatural, and the overall message would have benefited from more emphases and variations in tone. But good delivery overall – and I actually didn’t mind not having music at the end. I was a bit confused about who of the presenters/interviewees had experienced what – the comments were sometimes a little hard to follow. However, the structure of the podcast was excellent and the concept as a whole worked well.
Oh dear, I’ve posted a third comment!! Sorry! There were 0 responses, so I went away and wrote it, and didn’t realise two posts had gone up before I posted mine. Can’t work out how to delete mine?
I’ll make two more comments anyway. (Ironic, isn’t it Tama, after I was the one who asked about keeping two comments to each post!)