Crowdsourcing (and) Learning
Many companies, educators and students already use tools such as blogs, wikis, Google Docs, DimDim and other collaborative tools to co-create materials and learn collaboratively. However, these normally involve a small group of people that already know one another and are working together on a specific project.
Crowdsourcing takes group collaboration to the next level by allowing people to post certain ideas, initiate discussions and attract a larger amount of people (normally strangers) who will contribute to the idea, improving it with their own expertise. Websites such as Kluster, Innocentive, CambrianHouse, CrowdSpirit and IdeaBlob are a good example of what crowdsourcing is. One can say that Wikipedia, for instance is also a form of crowdsourcing knowledge.
In Education, websites such as Citizendium and Eduzendium, expert-moderated Wikipedia “clones”, the Encyclopedia of Life, a user-generated encyclopedia of life on Earth are all good examples of crowdsourcing knowledge in a more reliable manner.
In the meantime, I am still waiting to see more of this concept applied to learning, as we all become active “learners” literally “building” knowledge with the help of one another…
Along similar lines, we’re trying to apply Wisdom of Crowds paradigm into the third dimension with a project we call ‘Wikitecture’ using Second Life as a proving ground.
Our next project, ‘Re-Inventing the Virtual Classroom’ invites students, faculty and the Second Life community at large to collectively brainstorm what it means to bring teaching into the virtual realm.
We use a 3D-wiki tool that enables multiple contributors to submit their idea, as well as to rank and comment on ideas other community members submit. You can learn more about Wikitecture, the 3D-Wiki and how to participate in the Virtual Classroom project here: http://studiowikitecture.wordpress.com/2008/10/17/wikitecture-40-re-inventing-the-virtual-classroom/
We still have a lot to learn, but continue to look forward to the insights and challenges each experiment brings!
Interesting.
How can we “test” or access the 3D-wiki?
Thanks for the comment.
You can see the prototype in Second Life, on Architecture Island. Search ‘Wikitecture’ and you’ll find it, otherwise send me an email at jon.brouchoud@studiowikitecture.com. The new 3D-wiki is also installed on the ‘UA ESPRMC’ sim for the new classroom project.
Otherwise, this two video shows a time-lapse video of our last project’s design evolution:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amCi90zH3VI
and this one shows a brief demo of how the Wiki-tree works:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3eWKIJxzyc