Chapter 4: "Once a particular passion or interest is unleashed, constant interaction among group members, with their varying skills and talents, functions as a kind of peer amplifier, providing numerous outlets, resources, and aids to further an individual's learning" (p. 51). Basically, the entire purpose of the existence of the collective is to participate in a shared experience in exploring a particular interest. In other words, without the common interest the collective would have no reason to exist. It also implies that active collaboration on the part of the learner is what makes learning possible. But what about self-proclaimed and not-ashamed "Visitors" like me? I learn a LOT by trolling forums without ever actively participating in the conversation. Sometimes one forum does not already contain the answer that I am looking for. In theory, I could add my comment to the cluster, and wait around until someone who knows responds to me... OR I could just Google a little deeper--try a different search term or a different forum--until I find what I'm looking for. It's faster NOT to participate because the vast majority of threads are long inactive by the time you get to them, and the ones that are active may contain much less relevant information. Chapter 5: "They [Facebook and MySpace] provide means for truly harnessing the collective. Through new media. the collective serves not only as a kind of resource for learning but also as a kind of amplifier: It intensifies and heightens the process of learning by continuously relating it back to the personal" (p. 67). While I agree that Facebook definitely produces an amplifying effect on the "content" being consumed, I can't help but to question how often ANYTHING posted, reposted, shared, and liked twenty thousand times on Facebook is something that is actually WORTH learning?? Social media, blogs, and forums are too often created and maintained not for the pure sake of sharing and growing in knowledge, but to provide some half-valid excuse for click bait to generate PPC ad revenue. I'm not saying that there aren't places on the internet where Thomas and Brown's idealistic view of collective learning occurs, but I would certainly argue against that place being Facebook. Chapter 6 "The concept is a certain familiarity that forms through the process of prolonged inquiry on particular topics or from repeated use of the skills and techniques . . . Indwelling is a familiarity with ideas, practices, and processes that are so engrained they become second nature" (p. 84). In this chapter, Thomas and Brown explore two forms of innate knowledge that are integral to inquiry-based knowledge: tacit knowledge and indwelling. Tacit knowledge could be described as a form of intuition: an internal and unspecified knowledge about a subject with which we are familiar. Indwelling is perhaps the manifestation/application of tacit knowledge. For example, I have a tacit knowledge for drilling corks: I know by an intuitive feel born from thousands of times doing it whether a cork will drill quickly and cleanly, whether the Dremel will be prone to skipping, whether the cork will be at risk for splitting, and the best way to jimmy it in and out of the jig without breaking or tearing it. I wish they included some additional examples to elaborate what they mean by dispositions though. Any ideas?
1 Comment
Sarah Connolly
2/13/2016 12:31:07 pm
Hi Daydree!
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