Education Innovation

Crowdsourcing Education Reform Via Twitter and #edchat

Note: This post was originally posted on Edutopia-Igniting Innovation in Education through Collaboration

#edchat's "small sparks"

Keith Sawyer, author of the book Group Genius wrote, "All inventions emerge from a long sequence of small sparks...Collaboration brings small sparks together to generate breakthrough innovation."

Educators need no longer be content to passively wait for others to discover the "small sparks" that are needed to solve classroom or school issues. The technology now exists for educators to share their own "small sparks" at the grassroots level together through networks such as Twitter, and on Twitter that means #edchat.

During the 7/6/10 weekly #edchat my final tweet of the discussion was a fictitious news headline: "Twitter group known at #edchat becomes a powerful source of new directions and innovation in education."

What preceded it was a discussion with others about how #edchat could become a recognized source of educational problem solving, ideas, experimentation, and innovation. For those educators who are on Twitter, #edchat has quickly become the go-to place for discussing educational issues, sharing ideas, links to articles, and posting questions. It is not limited to the Tuesday topic-driven chats, but is happening 24/7. #edchat is producing a lot of "small sparks."

Is it possible that the #edchat conversation on Twitter could evolve into a recognized leader in open source educational ideas, innovations, and solutions? I believe it is.

First, educators need to recognize that #edchat is more than just a Personal Learning Network (PLN) or an on-line Professional Learning Community. It is actually a pNLC- professional Networked Learning Collaborative.

Second, the #edchat pNLC needs to put the ideas, innovation, and solutions into action to produce real tangible classroom or school based results and then give #edchat the credit.

Professional Networked Learning Collaborative- pNLC

The #edchat professional Networked Learning Collaborative (pNLC) will allow teachers access to a greater flow of knowledge and information than ever before. Using a network such as Twitter, teachers will be able to form collaboratives that actually implement the ideas shared via the network. It moves ideas from the digital to the physical.

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 such as Twitter. Thus, more "small sparks." The pNLC allows educators to "crowdsource."

Crowdsourcing

Jeff Howe, author of Crowdsourcing: Why The Power Of The Crowd Is Driving The Future of Business, points out that there are two shared characteristics of a crowdsourced project. First, the participants are not motivated by money, and second, they are donating their free time. "That is, they're contributing their excess capacity, or 'spare cycles,' to indulge in something they love to do." Clay Shirky would say they are using their "Cognitive Surplus."

The #edchat pNLC is able to crowdsource learning solutions, solve problems, generate ideas, and create innovations for the classroom or school.

#edchat works because virtual teams can form up around educational problems or issues easily. #edchatters are free to pursue their own interests and passions, and thus, are highly motivated. #edchatters can contribute regardless of their professional experience or expertise. That means anyone could provide insight or valuable ideas on a topic or issue they are passionate about. This is why the "p" in pNLC is lower case.

If it is true, as Peter Steiner said, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog," then in the crowd, nobody cares if you are a credentialed expert. It assumes that everyone participating in the #edchat has something of value to offer. All that matters is that one is motivated and knowledgeable.

#edchat Evolution

Wikis or Google docs could be used to post specific issues teachers are seeking help with. Designated hashtags could be generated for each issue creating a sort of #edchat task force. For example, technology topics could use the hashtag #edchat-tech. California teachers could use #edchat-CA. These collaboartive teams could then divide the labor, focus the ideas, and channel the energy.

Evolving the #edchat hashtag into more focused or specialized topics would not only help to focus energy and ideas, but also attract other people who have an interest in those topics. Results and evidence of the work can be posted as YouTube videos, magazine articles, blog posts, and the main #edchat Twitter conversation.

Serendipity

The simple definition of serendipity is finding what we didn't know what we were looking for. It is unexpected encounters with people and the knowledge they possess. But what if, instead of accidentally stumbling into a serendipitous encounter, you could attract or draw these people to you--a form of purposeful serendipity?

The #edchat pNLC does just that. Participating in #edchat will allow an individual teacher to form a learning collaborative--to reach beyond the walls of their classroom or school and into the "crowd" and gather up all those "small sparks." All it takes is some imagination to see the possibilities.

Crowdsourcing Collaboration in Education

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.

^{by courosa}

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.

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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.

Leveraging The “Networked” Teacher: The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative

The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative seeks to leverage the new reality of education.

Individual educators used to operate under this model. Alec Couros of Open Thinking blog created this graphic.

by courosa

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. (Alec Couros of Open Thinking blog created this graphic)

 

by courosa

The person is the portal to the network. The person is an autonomous communication and collaboration node.

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.

PNLC are able to maximize individual members’ networks to the advantage of the whole.

Microsoft research sociologist Marc A. Smith put it this way. “Whenever a communication medium lowers the cost of solving collective action dilemmas, it becomes possible for more people to pool resources. And ‘more people pooling resources in new ways’ is the history of civilization in seven words.”

The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative allows educators to solve education problems, increase student achievement, share strategies, and analyze data, etc., with members who are physically present “at the table” and with educators who are virtually present from anywhere on the globe. The PNLC allows teams to leverage not only their knowledge, but also the knowledge of other educators, specialists, consultants, etc., from anywhere else virtually.

For example, if a team was discussing the needs of a student with special needs, they could network in specialists from the district office or the county office, or a college professor in another state.

If a team was analyzing data, they could collaborate virtually with data specialists who could offer their unique expertise virtually.

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.”

Each member is a portal or node to his or her own network. Each member can potentially leverage not only their network, but also the network of those who are in their network. This principal is known as Metcalfe’ 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.

As communication and collaboration technologies become more pervasive, they will fade into the background and PNLCs will focus on the work. Just as we don’t  “see” or think about the electricity that is powering the lights in our classrooms and offices, powering our copy machines, etc. the computers that we run our communication and collaboration platforms on will disappear into the background and we will be free to focus on “what” and not the “how” of these technologies.

Networks have now become so much a part of our lives that physical presence is no longer necessary for a member to “present.” Howard Rheingold calls this “presence of those who are absent.” PNLCs can call on a district specialist, consultants, teachers, and staff who are in different physical locations (even different time zones) and who will be able to collaborate, contribute, cooperate, and share just as if they were present physically.

As anthropologist Mizuko Ito puts it, “As long as people participate in the shared communications of the group, they seem to be considered by others to be present.”

Virtual participation = presence = collaboration = results

The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative: “Educators working together in the ongoing purpose of increasing student learning while sharing physical space, virtual space, or both simultaneously. The Professional Networked Learning Collaborative operates according to the values of ICE³: Imagination, Innovation, Inquiry, Collaboration, Creativity, Curiosity, Exploration, Experimentation, and Entrepreneurship.” Rob Jacobs

Anything That Can Be a Video Will Be a Video

Anything that can be a video will be a video, or so says this post from the site ReadWriteWeb
Here is an excerpt from their post Is YouTube the Next Google?

Generation YouTube

"Imagine a whole generation of kids growing up and learning about the world through YouTube. In the first half of the 20th century, people grew up reading books and newspapers. Then there was a generation that grew up on movies and television. The last shift was to the Internet. And now web video is creating yet another generation.

"Kids no longer learn about the world by reading text. Like the television generation, they are absorbing the world through their visual sense. But there is a big difference. Television was programmed and inflexible. YouTube is completely micro-chunked and on demand. Kids can search for what they need anytime. This is different, and powerful.

"True, the current model of YouTube is still raw and still skewed to entertainment. But imagine online video 5 years from now, geared to kids, where entertainment, games, education, travel -- everything for kids -- is mixed and delivered via searchable channels. This would be a big change on the Internet and in the world. Just as we no longer think twice about Googling, kids of the future will be consuming huge volumes of information via video.

"And now tell us your stories. Are you seeing your kids use video more than text? Do you yourself use YouTube to find information?"

This has some interesting literacy ramifications. In the future, students will expect to learn about subject matter by watching a video about what it is they are studying. Will there are many sources of great educational video content, TeacherTube, United Streaming, Cosmeo, etc, the need for video that covers all range of information will greatly out pace these sites ability to add content.

What students will require is almost Wikipedia like source of video content. This will require an amazing amount of video to meet such a demand. This is an excellent candidate for crowdsourcing. I posted previously about the oppoturnity that existed to crowdsource a textbook. (Crowdsourcing A Textbook and Disrupting The Textbook Publishers) For this example, think Wikipedia. Just as an amazing committed crowd adds and monitors content on Wikipedia, so too could committed people film, edit, add, and monitor video content about subject that are important to them. This would enable a large amount of educational video content to be produced without cost to schools or students.

Imagine what education might look like when students have video on demand to learn concepts and ideas. No longer would students have to imagine a place, or a process, or an event. They could watch it. It's not the way we learned, but it's not about us. It's about them. That's Education Innovation.

Crowdsourcing A Textbook and Disrupting The Textbook Publishers

A focus on standards and objective is different from focusing on a textbook.

Good teaching focuses on the standard or the objective that students should know, not the textbook being used. This leaves space for innovation in the creation and innovation of textbooks. Let's look at a regular published textbook vs. a text produced through crowdsourcing.

A textbook is limited.

Texts are limited to the current edition. It is static.

Textbook companies are limited in the amount of time and energy that can be put into a textbook because at a point the cost will be too prohibitive.

A textbook is limited as to the number of standards that it can cover.

A textbook is limited because of production costs.

Textbook use is limited due to copyright laws.

A textbook is only a good as the limited number of authors who work on it.

A textbook is limited to the number of leveled versions it can produce.

A textbook cannot meet the needs of every student.

A textbook is limited to the adoption cycle of a state, district, or school. In California that is every 6 years, give or take. Students could be learning 6-year-old information. Mistakes stay until the next printing.

The textbook costs schools millions and millions of dollars each year.

A crowdsourced textbook could be different.

by wishymom

A crowsourced textbook would be digital. Being digital would allow for re-mixing, re-purposing, incorporating other types of media, and make it very easy to innovate new ideas.

The crowdsourced textbook would discriminate against contributors based on credentials. The crowd discriminates based on the idea. The crowd member is essential anonymous on the net. The crowd cares less about who you are than what you can contribute.

The crowdsourced textbook is not reliant on the known reputation, skill, or specialization of its authors. It relies on the crowd to pick the best idea regardless of author.

The crowdsourced textbook is not limited to the number of standards it can cover because it will be digital. Thus, it is ever expanding.

The crowdsource textbook has not limits to the number of leveled versions that could be created. The crowdsourced textbook could be differentiated for individual student need in almost limitless ways.

The crowdsourced textbook can utilize an infinite number of graphic organizers, movies, sound, leveled stories, and translations to meet the needs of each and every student.

The crowdsourced textbook is not limited to an adoption cycle. It can change instantly. Mistakes can be corrected the minute they are found.

The crowdsourced textbook can change in a day, updated with the best ideas and the newest knowledge and information.

The crowd could make every sort and style of assessment.

The crowdsourced textbook does not worry about copyright, but instead relies on Creative Commons licenses.

The crowdsource textbook is inviting, inclusive, participatory and collaborative. 

The crowdsource textbook would eliminate the need to spend millions and millions of dollars each year. That money would be directed into the classroom and the teachers.

The crowdsourced textbook could be the future. The published textbook will be the past. Is it time to give the crowd a chance?

Recommended Reading:

Open Text Book

Open Knowledge Foundation Weblog

California Open Source Textbook Project (COSTP)

Flatworld Knowledge

Back to School: Open Textbooks Gaining in Popularity

open... open source, open genomics, open content

Crowdsourcing In Education

Is there a role for Crowdsourcing in education?  It seems to me that the “former audience” or the "crowd" could be of benefit to education if focused on the right areas and provided the opportunity.

Jeff Howe writes in his new book Crowdsoucring that, “Over the past several years people from around the world have begun exhibiting an almost totally unprecedented social behavior: they are coming together to perform tasks, usually for little of no money, that were once the sole province of employees.”

Certainly education could benefit from Crowdsourcing based on this description. A school district and a school site have many tasks that are essential, but that require time and energy that could be used to focus on instruction. Most school districts are looking for expertise in a variety of areas, areas that do not lend themselves to naturally to the skill set of most teachers or administrators. I could imagine using Crowdsoucing in several areas such as…

Data Analysis
One of the most time consuming tasks for educators is data analysis. Since most educators did not major in statistics or data analysis, why not open up the data to people who have expertise in this field, have a love for the task, and have the time and desire to effectively synthesize and evaluate student data. Simply using generic I.D. number for students and teacher would allow for privacy and since most schools and districts are using or moving toward data management systems, all of the data could be accessed online. You may not like to analyze data, but there are plenty of people who do and who are very good at. Why not let them do it? Students and teacher would definitely benefit.

Budget Analysis
Districts have staff that focus on analysis of budgets and finances. But, in these times of decreasing budgets, multiple funding sources, grants, categorical programs, etc., why not let people with an interest in budgets have access to the information to aid in the analysis of the budget and increase the efficiency of budget process in school districts. Tapping into a crowd of budgetary expertise could help districts maximize their funds to the benefit of all.

Purchasing
A purchasing agent for a school district has a limited amount of time to shop vendors. Therefore, they limit themselves to a number of trusted, steady, and reliable vendors for their purchasing needs. Imagine if the task was Crowdsourced. People from all over could go online in their free time and find values, deals, and competitive pricing for virtually hundreds of vendors. Instead of shopping one or two vendors for pricing, hundreds of vendors could be shopped for the best pricing. This would allow a school district to save thousands of dollars a year.

Lesson Design
Imagine if you had the time to layer English Language Arts with English Language Development, and Social Studies or Science to create a seamless flow of lessons that address essential standards in the classroom. This is a great idea, but the reality is that teachers do not have the time to research all these curriculum areas and find areas to layer and connect. But the “crowd” does. Hundreds of people with an interest in literacy and lesson design could choose areas of interest and create amazingly interesting, deep, connected, and focused lessons.  Imagine a Threadless like lesson plan site where people create lessons that are evaluated and voted up and down by people who love lesson design, curriculum, and pedagogy.

“The best person to do a job is the one who most wants to do that job; and the best people to evaluate their performance are their friends and peers who, by the way, will enthusiastically pitch in to improve the final product, simply for the sheer pleasure of helping one another and creating something beautiful from which they will all benefit.”

Could education benefit from a Threadless, Linux, Flickr, Wikipedia, YourEncore, InnoCentive, distributed computing, iStockPhoto, Apache, and other Crowdsource endeavors? I think yes.

People want to participate and to collaborate on important projects. What could be more important than making our education system the best it could be. How many retired teachers, educators, and other professionals would still like to contribute? How many people love education, have valuable skills and expertise, but work in fields outside of education? The "crowd" doesn't care who you are, what you do, where you went to school, if you went to school, or what your expertise is. All that matters is you have something to contribute. Let the “crowd” have a go.

Recommended Reading:

Crowdsourcing Education?

Crowdsourcing: intensifying a “culture of assessment”

when crowdsourcing comes to campus