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Learning
Through Active Collaboration
The Three Pomegranates Experience
Presented
at the Internet and Society Conference
July 28, 2000 - Yerevan
Three
Pomegranates is the Armenian program of the e4d institute.
It links students and educators to their global peers in
a collaborative network and engages them in active, project-based
learning. By targeting learning and thinking skills, culturally
aware collaboration and open access to resources and training,
Three Pomegranates presents a special model for online education.
Three
Pomegranates: Education, cultural identity, development
As
an abstract concept, “development” can be a multifaceted
word, implying economic and human development but also personal
development and progress. In practice, the best kind of
development happens on all those fronts, not only raising
standards of living, but also improving quality of life
and fostering the personal growth of individuals within
communities. Education and the promotion of cultural identities
can play key roles in this kind of multifaceted development,
as well as in each specific area, from the economic to the
personal.
A global online educational program
can contribute to society on many different levels. But
in order to set the foundations for growth and to become
a catalyst for development, it can be argued that three
areas are particularly fundamental:
- Critical thinking and
creative learning processes
- Global collaboration
and awarenessof cultural identity
- Access to key resources
and training
Each
of these areas contributes to bridging the gaps that stand
in the way of multifaceted development. Learning skills,
culturally aware collaboration and open access all act as
bridges across:
the
digital divide that separates those who have access to networks and
technologies from those who do not.
the
gap between past and present,
which leads to the loss of cultural heritage, language and
diversity of identities.
the
gap between acquired knowledge and everyday life,
which stands in the way of efficient learning and prevents
turning knowledge into know-how.
differences
between students and teachers,
which can prevent effective communication in the learning
process.
national
and community boundaries,
which prevent collaboration and hinder the flow of resources,
information and ideas.
the
gap between rich and poor,
which multiplies the negative effects of differences among
communities, societies and countries.
As
a global online learning program, Three Pomegranates is
focused on contributing to multifaceted development by promoting
education and cultural identity. It targets Armenians and
links them to their global peers in communities around the
world. Armenians are, in a sense, the other worldwide web,
dispersed around the globe but linked by a shared cultural
protocol and connections to Armenia. Three Pomegranates
leverages these connections in order to act as a bridge
giving access to technology, cultural heritage, resources
and knowledge. The following sections explain the pedagogical,
operational and technological aspects of the program, as
a model for collaborative learning in a global context.
Engaged
in learning: Info Hunt, Identity Game, Moving People
Participants
in the Three Pomegranates network work on exercises, games
and projects that are designed to spark their curiosity
and engage them in active learning. The following are examples
of some of these activities.
Info
Hunt consists of a series of search exercises
on the Web, based on an imagined project or mission. Students
are given the overall objective of organizing a virtual
project such as a street festival, and are asked to find
specific resources and information on the Web.
The
Indentity Game
is played by teams from different cities. The teams’ identities
are hidden and they are represented by an abstract symbol
and color. Each team is asked to prepare answers to questions
designed to give insights into the city’s identity, without
obvious hints such as references to landmarks. The teams
then try to guess each other’s identities. Teams earn points
by having their identity guessed correctly, and by correctly
guessing other teams’ identities.
Moving
People is a project
addressing global migration and population movements. Groups
of participating teams from cities at the origin or destination
of specific migration routes collaborated to document the
corresponding population movements through real life case
studies. Groups use interviews, photography, statistics
and research to generate documentary Web sites.
Combining
synchronous and asynchronous collaboration
By
considering time and distance as two factors potentially
separating members of a team, modes of collaboration can
be classified into four types:
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same
time
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different
times
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same
location
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face to face
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in shifts
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different
locations
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synchronous
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asynchronous
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- Face to face collaboration: Team members meet in a common
space at a given time for a working session.
- Synchronous collaboration:
Team members work together in real time, but from different
locations.
- Asynchronous collaboration:
Team members collaborate from different locations at different
times.
- Collaboration in shifts:
Team members use a common work space during different
times.
Three
Pomegranates actively uses all four modes of collaboration
throughout the course of its programs. Due to the geographically
dispersed nature of the project, differences in time zones
and participants’ schedules, and differences in seasons
and vacations across hemispheres, both time and distances
are significant constraints. All four modes of collaboration
are necessary to the success of the program, and complement
each other in interesting ways.
At the classroom level, most participants
work in groups of 10 to 20 students and one or two teachers
or trainers, collaborating in the traditional face to face
mode for an average of two hours every week. In facilities
that are common to more than one participating group, the
same location is used in shifts. More significantly, these
sessions place the emphasis on asynchronous collaboration,
given that students are actually continuing work in progress
or responding to messages left by groups that have had their
sessions earlier and in different locations. By the end
of a typical session, the result of the group’s and individuals’
work is posted or broadcast for access by other groups.
All this non-synchronous collaboration
is complemented by synchronous collaboration in the form
of Internet videoconferencing sessions at various times
throughout the course of the program. During these sessions,
groups from two or three locations meet and work with each
other using live video and audio as well as whiteboards
and text chat. Occasionally participants get a chance to
travel to another location either in groups or individually
and to meet their remote team members. Those occasions give
them the opportunity to complete the cycle of collaboration,
from asynchronous to face to face.
It is important to point out that
this type of process, using different modes of collaborative
teamwork in the course of the program, results in significant
collateral learning. Participants do not just learn through
the specific exercises, games and projects they are engaged
in. They also learn the mechanics and benefits of working
across time and distance. And they do so in a manner that
will be increasingly common in the global markets for information
and services they are growing into.
Leveraging
existing infrastructure: toward a scaleable, adaptive model
One
of the significant challenges for a project like Three Pomegranates
is to work effectively across a broad range of technological
conditions. These vary from schools in the US or Europe
with dedicated high-speed Internet access, to rural schools
in Armenia, many of which do not even have a viable telephone
connection. The goal of Three Pomegranates is to bring innovative
program design and logistical solutions to bear, in order
to meet the following objectives.
- To use rich multimedia
content and technologies whenever they add value to the
program’s educational objectives. This means avoiding
lowest common denominator solutions such as plain text
email, which deprive the least privileged participants
of the potential for equal participation in emerging information
resources.
- To ensure that the core
functionality and benefits of the program are available
in adverse infrastructure conditions. All participants
should have a similar quality of experience with the exercises,
games and projects of the program.
- To make it possible for
the program to adapt to improved or degraded infrastructure
conditions over time, without causing a negative change
in the participation of students and educators. Upgrades
in Internet connectivity or temporary loss of connectivity
should cause as little disruption as possible for the
program, while seamlessly leveraging the best available
technologies.
For Three Pomegranates, e4d institute
has developed the “Layered Accessibility Model” which offers
a scalable and adaptive solution for seamlessly leveraging
available technologies. The following are the three variations
of the Layered Accessibility Model.
Direct
Access
Locations
that have adequate computer facilities and a connection
to the Internet can access the project Web site directly
once a week.
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