Notes on how students should respond to each other's learning discoveries.

1. Collaborative learning
One of the great things of pooling what we know on a subject is that we end up with a lot
of interesting information, even if we have to put it all together to make sense of it.
We accumulate a lot of personal understanding in one space and perhaps, in the process,
create new common knowledge, in that it is available to all. This is why blogs are so useful
because it gives you an opportunity to see what others make of your ‘take’ on a situation
that they can begin their own unique experiences and interests, insight and knowledge of
others. Hopefully everyone ends up the richer for collaborating.
Doubted Learning
Information comes from all sorts of places and, as a rule, we believe what we are told
because the author is known to us or has an accepted level of solid knowledge. But, what
do we do if we are getting information from all sort of strangers who happen to share an
interest in the subject we are studying? You will have realised in your teaching role that the
advent of the web and ability to search it means that the old undergraduate skills of
judging veracity through reliability and validity judgements is a skill everyone needs and
the age of being able to do this has come right down.
It is very easy to believe something because ‘everyone else says so’, (search ‘confirmation
bias’) but many a mob has been formed on the basis of common misunderstanding.
Testing and checking what you find out is so important. Digitally Literate people who use
the web in particular for information understand this and take the best from the rich,
contemporary and local insider knowledge available but are able to temper it all to choose
the most reliable and reject the least.
Prior to sharing, students must weight the veracity and value of a resource by considering
it’s reliability and validity,
Reliability
Look at some examples that particularly struck you to see what the author is saying.
Is the author:
• saying something that you would expect to see or is based on good evidence that
seems well argued
• saying something that fits or challenges your understanding where there is a huge level
of trust only to accept it as true
Validity
Is the author:
• drawing on personal first hand experience?
• saying something you could check elsewhere
• making a statement that sounds unlikely
• using so much colourful prose that the real observation is lost in it?
Crowdsourcing
One of the great things of crowdsourcing information is that you are able to build up a
picture of accurate understanding that is very much up-to-date. If you sample say five or
six contributions you might at least get a sense for what a view or opinion on the topic

2. might be. This is very similar to the kind of ‘feeling’ you get when you read reviews on a
shopping site.
Crowdsourcing is excellent at ‘testing the water’, but remember to raise your levels of
checking (and your scepticism) if you are making choices or taking decisions on the back
of it.
How we respond to crowdsourcing ideas
In responding to other peoples’ ideas it is critical to avoid ad hominem attacks, although
we might choose to question validity of ideas due to its source. When crowdsourcing
ideas, every contribution is offered as a means of developing it and where this can’t be
done because the ideas lacks validity. reliability or quality, it is better left. Crowdsourcing
ideas and finding good quality ideas is important because:
• This is increasingly how we will learn through the Web
• If you are studying, then this will be an important way to do it.
• In the world of work, this is how employees work together.
• Drawing ideas from global rather than local sources will lead to an improvement in the
quality of the ideas open to us.
It is arguable that the availability of information has progressively opened up to the point
now that we are all co-authors, adding to what we know, drawing on our special knowledge
to make improvements and generally sharing in what some have called the
‘democratisation’ of learning as well as reminding us of the need to test all that we receive.
Look for ideas on your work from others that have merit, signified by the ability to improve
your understanding.
Consequently when replying to an argument or ideas, responses should follow one or
more of the following approaches:
In short, replies should:
1. Refine content by observation - acknowledge what is good and original in other
peoples’ ideas. Refine the information to develop the argument given
2. Correct content where there is factual error (make sure you are sure!)
3. Add to content to improve the arguments made - add detail to what has been said
to help develop the context.
4. Offer alternative views - find and suggest an alternative source that illustrates
what has been said or develops the argument further
5. Offer adaption where the ideas could be applied to another situation - suggest
ways and provide links to how anything posted could be adapted or applied
elsewhere.
Geoff Rebbeck - December 2019