UPDATE #4 Recursive Feedback

Recursive Feedback Relative to

Democratization of Education & Technology

Evidently this is a topic that has not received much research.  My internet search of the democratization of education and technology does not produce much relevant research.  If one considers to democratize and making something more inclusive, allowing for valuing differences, or as the online Merriam-Webster Learner Dictionary defines democratize; “to make (something) available to all people; to make it possible for all people to understand (something),”1  it seems reasonable to consider on-line learning, and assessment as a means to democratize education and technology.

One of the critical components of democracy is for citizens to deliberate about difficult issues together. The National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI) promotes deliberative dialogue and the use of National Issues Forums issue books as a means for citizens to practice deliberation.  For years it was thought that deliberation about tough issues could only take place in person, but recently NIFI and Kettering foundation has initiated an on-line platform called Common Ground for Action, see:  https://www.nifi.org/en/common-ground-action.  2

Common Ground for Action forums are the online version of traditional in-person National Issues Forums. Common Ground for Action is a simple but sophisticated platform that runs in any browser—no technical mumbo jumbo!  In CGA, small groups are able to learn more about the tensions in an issue, examine options for dealing with the problem, weigh tradeoffs, and find common ground just like in in-person National Issues Forums, but with beautiful visuals that let you actually see the shape of your conversation as it evolves. (From: www.nifi.org)

As shared in class assignment videos and in New Learning (Kalantzis and Cope, 2012, p. 330) the opportunity for recursive assessment feedback on learners’ work supports knowledge making processes.  Learners as knowledge producers as opposed to information memorizers seemingly is a civic freeing concept, an act to democratize knowledge making.  As technology provides the opportunity for feedback from peers regarding a concept or a written, verbal, or audio product creation such feedback as applied to the final idea or product is a form of collaborative new knowledge creation; thus this phenomenon serves as a both a new teaching and a new learning action.

For someone that has been exploring and learning new techniques to encourage deliberation difficult problems and searching for means to motivate citizens to then implement identified problem solving action, the idea of creating an artifact representative of new knowledge seemingly moves toward a democratization of an on-line process. (Look for more on this topic in the next Update.)

Resources:

1.Democratize, play, verb de·moc·ra·tize \di-ˈmä-krə-ˌtīz\ ,Source: Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary, Retrieved 9/10/16 from:  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democratize

2.See:  https://www.nifi.org/en/common-ground-action , retrieved 9/10/16.

3.Kalantzis, Mary, & Cope, Bill; 2012, New Learning, Second Edition: Elements of a science of education, p. 330, Cambridge United Press; New York.

Additional Resources:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+democratization+of+peer+feeddback&view=detail&mid=7E8FD27EEBECFB5E11A07E8FD27EEBECFB5E11A0&FORM=VIRE  (Peer Effects & Feedback in Online Communication, Social Influence, by Dean Eckles, Facebook.) 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Why+Peer+Feedback&&view=detail&mid=C29CCC7F0AE285FDF5A8C29CCC7F0AE285FDF5A8&FORM=VRDGAR  (The Peer Review process, relative to publishing.)

https://www.kettering.org/catalog/product/kettering-review-winter-2016

http://newlearningonline.com/literacies/chapter-16/kalantzis-and-cope-on-new-media-and-new-assessments