Building Community Through Technology

A question that I have been discussing in my educational technology class is this: Does technology help us do something that we couldn’t do before, or something that we could do before only better?

It is no revolutionary statement to say that technology is slowly taking over many aspects of our lives. Things that were once done well are now done better. It seems trendy to step things up to the technological level. One of those things is community. The online community grows as the frequent use of chatting, text messaging, blogging, Skype, and wikis increase. In David Jonassen’s Meaningful Learning with Technology, he dedicates an entire 36 pages to this topic of community building with technologies. In fact, my creation of this blog is in response to that very chapter.

Community is something to be valued in all realms of life. It is crucial to for students, teachers, pastors, board members, church-goers, parents, children, businessmen, athletes and even the homeless. As a pre-service teacher, I am beginning to realize the importance of building a positive, safe community for the students in my classroom. This is something that should be done with or without technology, and one can argue whether or not technology is beneficial for community building efforts.

There is great potential for technology to build community in the classroom. I intentionally use the word potential, and will explain my reasons later on in this post. Jonassen’s chapter entitled, “Community Building with Technologies,” discusses many ways that a teacher can use technology to develop the classroom community.

Knowledge Forum
The first tool that he discusses is Knowledge Forum. Knowledge Forums were birthed out of the dissatisfaction with the schools’ traditional ways of assessment and learning. Jonassen discusses how schools “inhibit rather than support knowledge building by focusing on individual students’ abilities and learning.” The focus is on individuals’ demonstrable knowledge, activities, and skills as evidence for learning. It seems that student knowledge is only valued as it is evidence for understanding of the curriculum. What students truly know and believe is unimportant, but the memorized curriculum is of value. While I think that this is a fairly accurate description of school assessment of learning, I am not sure how else to assess learning. What else can be measured other than demonstrable knowledge?

Knowledge Forums are said to be databases where notes, ideas, and knowledge are shared in a way that leads to growth and innovation. Students can collaborate and focus on ideas to build deeper knowledge and understanding of them, instead of shallowly developing a few basic skills. Students can problem-solve, hypothesize, research, collect information, and analyze together to create a positive learning community.

Jonassen and the creators of Knowledge Forum speak very highly of this program’s ability to foster genuine learning as opposed to measuring demonstrable skills. Jonassen claims that “learning is not a by-product of Knowledge Forum: it is a direct goal.” He continues to say that “students are encouraged to make school more meaningful and goal-directed in their pursuit of learning objectives,” Although they claim to change how learning is measured, I would say that Knowledge Forums only change the process of learning, and not the final assessment.

In the same way that a teacher would read an essay, grade a worksheet, or check for the completion of an assignment, a teacher would monitor Knowledge Forum. A teacher would check to see if students are posting and dialoguing with classmates; if they are hypothesizing, analyzing and collaborating. In reality this is the same thing as the “traditional methods,” it just appears to be a different medium. I said before that technology had great potential to build community in the classroom, but in the end it comes down to the pursuit and attitudes of the students and teachers. Do the students desire community? Do they desire to learn? If so, they will pursue these things whether they are in the classroom or even online. Knowledge Forum only prepares the way for community learning to happen. Technological community sounds revolutionary and as though it is inspiring learning and discovery; but in the end, I believe that learning is driven by student motivation. Knowledge Forum is merely a tool for those who already desire to build community and to discover treasures of knowledge. Students will reap what they sow; if they want to learn, they will (although as teachers we still have responsibility…but that is a whole new post).

I would say that most college students are not really engaged in their online forums and communities. To us, a forum or discussion post is just another assignment that we have to finish by 8:30am on Monday morning. For example, in this technology class we had to post about a game or simulation. Then we had to respond to three other posts. When I completed this assignment, the only goal I had was to get in there and get it done! I posted my example, and responded to three others. I wanted to check it off of my “To Do” list. I was not interested in learning, but in completing. One could read my posts and say that I learned or that I was engaged, when really I was not. I am not the only student who has learned how to cheat the system or put on the appearance of learning. It happens all the time. Trendy programs and revolutionary designs are rendered useless unless students are really in pursuit of knowledge.

Wikis:
Jonassen also discusses the use of wikis to develop community. I attempted to do the same. I then discovered that what I really wanted to create was a blog. While it would be ideal for community building if all of my classmates came to read and respond to my wiki, it is very unlikely. A wiki is a great way to foster community development, but as with everything else, it is an opportunity that must be taken advantage of.

In EME 4401 we have a few class wikis. I think that the way they are used is extremely practical for my needs as a student. I can use them to read about what was done in class and to build an exam review for the final. But the main reason that they are helpful is because their purposes align with my needs and desires. They pertain to my performance in this class and my final grade. If these wikis were for another purpose not pertaining to my grades or something else I desire to invest in, I would most likely not use them.

Jonassen mentions other resources that Wikimedia Foundation Inc. puts out. Wikis such as Wiktionary, Wikisource, and Wikiquote are examples. I have now visited these sites and added them to my de.icio.us site. I only went this extra mile because they appealed to my needs or interests.

Jonassen mentioned many examples of how teachers and students have used wikis, but the one I found most useful was a high school teacher’s use in an AP World History classroom. Students created wikis for exam reviews which created “constructive, authentic, enjoyable” methods for students to review and display material. While I think that elementary students are capable of creating wikis, I’m not sure that they would need a review method that is quite so elaborate. Like concept maps (and like we used in EME 4401), wikis could be used to display the content for the entire year. As chapters or units are finished, information on the wiki could be updated. On the internet, students and parents have access to this at home. Not only does this provide a good learning tool, but it is a way to build community and the home-school connection.

Interactive Blogs:
I think that blogs, much like wikis, have a lot of practical potential for the classroom. As a teacher, I like the idea of using a blog to allow students to explore information for which there is no time to cover in class. Blogs can be used as elaboration tools, to deepen student knowledge and understanding. I also like that they can be used to encourage participation from students who are too timid to speak up in class, or who need time to process before partaking in oral discussion.

There are many things that I could do with blogs that are based around different subjects. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that students will actually pursue knowledge and elaboration above and beyond what I assign or discuss in class. Quite frankly, this doesn’t mean that I should not use blogs. If a student is interested in a topic, it would be my joy to help the student come to deeper understandings and revelations about it, as ridiculous or irrelevant as I may perceive it. For instance, if a teacher of mine provided resources on the music industry, recording, or religion, I would most likely take advantage of this. As a teacher, I just need to find out what students are interested in, and build on that.

International Communities:
Like the push for technology, the push for global communication and understanding is also a current trend in the education realm. It does not surprise me that technology is trying to connect students to peers that are different from them or who can help them broaden their view of the world. I am very encouraged by this push for building international communities. It is obvious that technology can help this happen more efficiently because of blogs, chatting, wikis and the like. I would argue that community building technology is the most useful for the purpose of global community.

It was said that students enjoy writing when they are able to write to a “distant audience” of peers. This is especially true when the peers are from different geographical locations and cultures. If writing situations like these can increase the frequency and quality of writing, then I am that much more excited about using global communities.