XplanaZine

I still remember my first valuable experience with learning groups as a student. I was in Mrs. Shenandoah’s sophomore English class at Round Rock High School. I was in a group with three other students and one of them, Lori Languell, turned out to be my future girlfriend (although that wasn’t necessarily a good thing).

What made the experience valuable is that it was the first time I realized how much fun it could be to sort through everyone else’s ideas and debate those ideas without it being personal. I also remember that Mrs. Shenandoah’s really liked our presentation and that, in addition to the girlfriend, I got an “A” for the project. All in all, it was a fairly memorable experience.

Truth be told, my student experiences with groups and communities during my time in school were almost always positive. I met cool people, made friends, got a few more dates, and learned to love arguing. At some level, I think I even learned that the ability to collaborate successfully with others was an important skill for life.

And, as an instructor, I’ve had similar positive results with groups and community in learning. From projects to improvisations, over the years groups have become the central focus of my classes and pedagogy. To be fair, however, I should point out that most of my work with groups has been”controlled,” that is I “the teacher” have generally been instrumental in guiding the formation of these groups, in providing clear structures for their behavior, and in determining the deliverables they were required to produce.

As I look back, even in my work with improvisations in the classroom, groups and communities have always been fairly controlled. I as “teacher” make the rules, determine the time limits for activities, and set careful, if invisible, boundaries. In spite of appearances there has never been any real spontaneity in these groups.

The reason for all of that controlled behavior is, in fact, me. The teacher. The classroom with one of us teachers in it demands that everyone and everything obey at the one important law of pedagogical physics — given time, all elements in the classroom must eventually revolve around the teacher. So, whether we’re talking about group discussions, improvisations, pair practice, or sit-at-you-desk-quietly-and-work activities, over time everything will establish an orbit around the physical teacher. That’s how strong our gravitational pull is when we’re physically present.

That’s one of the reasons I like online teaching so much. Technology — discussion boards, wikis, blogs — without a physical teacher, can introduce another element into groups and communities in learning — spontaneity. The Web can actually alter that natural power that I as a teacher have in the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom. And, with my fierce gravitational pull removed from the equation, groups and communities can operate on their own in new and fresh ways.

As an example of the possibilities, I point to an interesting post from Will Richardson last month. Will was writing about the London bombing and its instantaneous coverage in Wikipedia. Shortly after the bombings, at approximately 10 am London time, the first brief entry on the bombings appeared on Wikipedia. Within the next day and a half, hundreds of people made more than 2,500 edits and the article exceeded 3,500 words in length. And all of this happened completely spontaneously. Without physical guidance or invitation. Without a leader or teacher. Without a plan.

This was possible on Wikipedia and can happen in our online classes for two reasons. First, as I’ve already pointed out, the pull of the teacher or leader has been diminished. While that person does provide structure or guidance, it’s always limiting and shackles both the imagination and the freedom of the entire community. Second, the technologies being used — discussion boards, blogs, and wikis — have their own gravitational pull that, rather than putting the technology at the center as a replacement for the teacher, simply acts as a strange attractor that links people into communities that, in turn, become the real core of the learning universe. These technologies’ pull is just strong enough to allow these groups and communities to hold together successfully, yet at the same time produces the kind of spontaneous and collaborative work that can only come from groups and communities.

Personally, I spent twenty-five years in control of my universe. I’m definitely ready to let go.

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