I have advocated that technology and other key drivers have created an environment in which individual Professional Learning Communities can be networked with, not only other Professional Learning Communities, but useful individuals such as specialists, district personnel, researchers, etc. I call this model the Professional Networked Learning Collaborative. The essence of the PNLC is that the "who" of potential members and collaborators is increased exponentially because of individual members networking through collaborative technology platforms, the "what."
The Professional
Networked Learning Collaborative makes use of what network researchers call
a “small world network.” Keith
Sawyer, author of Group
Genius, explains that small world networks consist of, "many densely connected small groups with less
strong connections."
However, on the extreme end of the collaboration capabilities created through the Professional Networked Learning Collaborative is Crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing enabled through converged network technology will allow members of a Professional Networked Learning Collaborative to reach beyond the table and beyond the walls, and even beyond a network... and into the "crowd."
Definition: Professional Networked Learning Collaborative
Educators working together in the ongoing purpose of increasing student learning and achievement while sharing physical space, virtual space, or both simultaneously.
No longer is the work of educational teams limited to face-to-face around the table collaboration. No longer is specialization or the knowledge base limited to who is physically sitting in the meeting. No longer is email viewed as the technology of choice for collaboration. No longer are teams limited by geography. No longer should great ideas remain trapped inside particular grade levels, departments, or schools. Technology has allowed us to change all that. Technology has created a new reality.
The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative seeks to leverage this new reality.
Individual educators used to operate under this model.
Educators understood the value of collaboration, and so the Professional Learning Community arose.
But technology has changed that world. The 21st Century educator now operates under this model.
by courosa
Technology Enabled Collaboration
How
is that technology has changed collaboration so greatly? First,
technology enables different types of relationships. Virtual
relationships are now possible and have become commonplace outside of
educational settings. Networks of all sorts (Facbebook, Ning, Twitter,
etc.) webcams, Skype, etc. have changed the very definition of
presence. Second, technology has changed who is part of the team. Team
members can now be virtual. Members no longer tied to geographic
limitation can provide input, ideas, and collaborate in real-time for
any location on the globe. The Professional Networked Learning
Collaborative enabled through technology expands the borders of
membership to include specialist, consultants, district staff, etc as
part of the team.
From Community to Network
The
person is the portal to the network. The person is an autonomous
communication and collaboration node. Each member can potentially
leverage not only their network, but also the network of others who are
in their network. This principle is known as Metcalfe’s Law.
The number of potential connections between nodes grows more quickly
than the number of nodes. The total value of the network where each
node can reach every other node in the network grows with the square of
the number of nodes. In other words, when PNLC members connect their
networks, it creates more value than the sum of networks independently.
The essence of the PNLC is that the “who” of potential members and collaborators is increased exponentially because of individual members networking through collaborative technology platforms, the “what.”
As sociologist Barry Wellman said, "Each person operates his networks to obtain information, collaboration, orders, support, sociability, and a sense of belonging."
So, just at the individual educator has become networked, so too must the Professional Learning Community. And when a PLC becomes networked, it becomes something different. The PLC becomes the Professional Networked Learning Collaborative.
PNLC
members will fluidly move between the physical and virtual networks to
communicate, collaborate, and share ideas, data, strategies, and
information. Each member being a portal or node to their individual
network makes the PNLC exponentially stronger, knowledgeable, and wise.
But the capabilities exist to reach beyond individual networks and into the "crowd." Crowdsourcing is simply increasing the number of potential contributions to the PNLC.
In a recent post, Hutch Carpenter of Cloud Ave. blog explains the differences between typical collaboration and the crowdsourced collaboration
The table below describes the differences between traditional collaboration and crowdsourced collaboration:
Enterprise 2.0 strategic consultant Oscar Berg describes this phenomenon as "collective collaboration":
"The
point here is merely that by improving collective collaboration,
collaboration that goes beyond ones closest team(s), an enterprise can
increase the sum of all contributions to the common good."
It's the social learning enterprise.
The team at Internet Time Alliance explain that the social learning enterprise allows for us to harness the power of the "wirearchy." The social learning enterprise is a core concept and driver of the need to move from PLC to PNLC. They state that 90% of the knowledge we need to do our work is not in our heads. If this is so then PNLC model is able to leverage the power of the network to find the best source of knowledge through high levels of cognitive diversity. Now imagine taking it to the crowd.
Hutch explores the differences between typical collaboration and crowdsourced collaboration...Teams form on common interest + Internally motivated participation
"With the crowdsourcing approach, participation is predicated on you actually having an interest in a given idea. Not that you are tasked to bring a particular set of skills to a project that you may or may not care about."
In education, that means people who are experts at data analysis, not necessarily teachers, could provide insight into statistical trends found in student data. Experts in Art, technology, etc, could provide valuable ideas for teachers without themselves actually being teachers. All it takes is some imagination to see the possibilities. If, as Peter Steiner said, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog" is true, then in the crowd, nobody cares if your a credentialed expert. All that matters is that you are motivated and knowledgeable.
Hutch continues..
"You will find others who share your interest, and there's no reason these have to be the people in your department. Indeed, for the interests of the organization, it's better to get people that don't usually work together collaborating on an idea."
Crowdsourcing can reach useful outsiders in any field, industry, domain, sector, etc. outside of education.
Hutch also points out that crowdsourcing offers us the possibility of finding people who are enthused with helping educators and creating new connections that traditional teacher collaboration would not allow.
As Hutch says, "Crowdsourced collaboration creates new opportunities, and traditional collaboration executes on them. Crowdsourcing is the new collaboration."And the new model capable of bringing crowdsourcing to education is the Professional Networked Learning Collaborative.
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