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This is a quick introduction to the main ideas used in the rest of the book. It provides a range of things to think about as you get started with a new peer learning project, or as you use peeragogy to redesign and reassess an existing collaboration. You’ll probably want to read this first and then do some reflection before diving into the other parts of the book. MOTIVATION You might wonder why we’re doing this project -- what we hope to get out of it as volunteers, and how we think what we’re doing can make a positive difference in the world. Hopefully this chapter will satisfy your curiousity, and show why peeragogy is important. Have a look at this chapter if you, too, are thinking about getting involved in peeragogy, or wondering how peeragogy can help you accelerate your own learning projects. CASE STUDY: 5PH1NX We enjoy riddles with more than one answer, so we’ve included this detailed narrative example of peeragogy in action near the beginning of the book. Explore this case study for ideas and encouragement for your own learning adventures.
PEERAGOGY IN PRACTICE In this chapter we show some of the signposts that can serve as both a key and compass to the kind of social problem solving that happens in peeragogy projects. If you want some underlying components to try out, mix and match these and experiment with peeragogy right away. THINKING IN PATTERNS, PATTERN HEURISTICS Here we provide an overview and examples of what patterns are and what they are used for, and we outline and investigate patterns and antipatterns that apply to Peeragogy. You come back for a deeper understanding of the processes we talk about later on. Patterns provide a framework that can be applied to issues or situations that have repeated effects. Here we detail those that we have drawn from our own peeragogy practice, that are also relevant to p2p production projects in general such as introducing new comers, outlining roles, creating guides or roadmaps, polling for ideas, and more. Anti-patterns deal with frequent occurrences that are not desirable that apply to peeragogy and peer production as well such as messiness with lurkers, isolation or weak ties, distribution of power, navel gazing, and more. Use cases present a scenario or story with actors, actions, and outcomes. These scenarios provide a platform for examining outcomes patterns or anti-patterns. The parameters of use cases can be manipulated to establish best paths to success.
You’ll probably want to use this chapter to organize your thinking as you start a new peeragogy project or think about how to apply peeragogy ideas in an existing collaboration. A few clusters of simple but important questions will inspire unique answers for you and your group. We hope these mental frameworks are helpful to not only initiate progress, but also to maintain momentum. PLAY & LEARNING What makes learning fun? Just as actors learn their roles through the dynamic process of performance, In other words, the more we engage with a topic, the better we learn it and the more satisfying - or fun - the process becomes. K-12 PEERAGOGY The key to becoming a successful ‘connected educator-learner’ involves spending the time needed to learn how to learn and share in an open, connected environment. Once you make the decision to enter into a dialogue with another user, you become a connected educator/learner and tap into the power of networks to distribute the load of learning. Depending on their age, you can even facilitate an awareness of peer networks among your students. P2P SELF-ORGANIZING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS This conversational section engages you in a journey through diverse points of entry that interact with your physical learning space. Within this chapter of word and picture images, the emerging structure and reciprocal mentoring that may be inspired causes a ripple effect on those who open the door to its possibilities.
We talk about how peer learning is organized into "courses" and "spaces", again drawing on our experience in the peeragogy project. We present the results of an informal poll that reveals some of the positive and some of the negative features of our early choices. ADDING STRUCTURE WITH ACTIVITIES The first rule of thumb for peer learning is: announce activities only when you plan to take part as a fully engaged participant. Then ask a series of questions: what is the goal, what makes it challenging, what worked in other situations, what recipe is appropriate, what is different about learning about this topic? STUDENT AUTHORED SYLLABUS Here’s one place you might explore to see ways in which freedom in student-directed learning complements the structural needs for the content and group. Check this out for various methods to welcome ambiguity and co-created curriculum into your projects. You may want to start with one or two ideas in an activity to transition into this format, yet embracing the risk on a larger scale is fun as well. CONNECTIVISM IN PRACTICE Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are decentralized online learning experiences: individuals and groups create blogs or wikis and comment on each other's work, often with a focus on where to find information. A course typically has a topic, activities, reading resources and a guest speaker for each week. Items are tagged to allow for aggregation. Links to technology resources are provided (such as gRSShopper from Stephen Downes). PARTICIPATION Participation grows from having a community of people who learn together, using a curriculum as a starting point to organize and trigger engagement. Keep in mind that participation may follow the 90/9/1 principle (lurkers/editors/authors) and that people may transition through these roles over time. THE WORKSCAPE In a corporate workscape, people are free-range learners: protect the learning environment, provide nutrients for growth, and let nature take its course. A workscape features profiles, an activity stream, wikis, virtual meetings, blogs, bookmarks, mobile access and a social network.
Sometimes omitting the figurehead empowers a group. Co-facilitation tends to work in groups of people who gather to share common problems and experiences. The chapter suggests how to co-facilitate discussions, wiki workflows, and live sessions. Conducting an "after action review" helps to avoid blind spots. CO-WORKING Since statistics indicate a small percentage of people make a disproportionately large contribution it comes to getting things done, we've provided some strategies that distribute engagement. DESIGNING PEER LEARNING PLATFORMS This case study of PlanetMath highlights the five categories of activity (Context, Engagement, Quality, Structure, and Heuristic) and the workings of the correction mechanism. CASE STUDY: COLLABORATIVE EXPLORATIONS You can try out this chapter to encourage individuals pursuing their own interests in a predetermined topic while at the same time influencing the learning of the whole group by sharing and reflecting upon their findings. These interactions of supportive mutual inquiry evolve the content and structure within a short time frame and with open-ended results.
Asking questions about assessment in the context of the Handbook (Who needs to know? Based on what data? In what format?) suggests "usefulness" (real problems solved) is an appropriate metric. We use the idea of return on investment (the value of changes in behavior divided by the cost of inducing the change) to assess the peeragogy project itself, as one example. RESEARCHING PEERAGOGY Three new patterns are introduced (Frontend and Backend, Spanning Set, and Minimum Viable Project) which form the basis of a “meta-model” that can be used to study and design for peer learning.
Issues of utility, choice, coaching, impact and roles attach to the wide variety of tools and technologies available for peer learning. Keys to selection include the features you need, what people are already using, and the type of tool (low threshold, wide wall, high ceilings) used for collaboration. FORUMS Forums are web-based communication media that enable groups of people to conduct organized multimedia discussions about multiple topics over a period of time, asynchronously. A rubric for evaluating forum posts highlights the value of drawing connections. The chapter includes tips on selecting forum software. WIKI A wiki is a website whose users can add, modify, or delete its content via a web browser. Pages have a feature called “history” which allows users to see previous versions and roll back to them. The chapter includes tips on how to use a wiki and select a wiki engine, with particular attention to peer learning opportunities. REAL-TIME MEETINGS Web services enable broadband-connected learners to communicate in real time via audio, video, slides, whiteboards, chat, and screen-sharing. Possible roles for participants in real-time meetings include searchers, contextualizers, summarizers, lexicographers, mappers, and curators. This mode of interaction supports emergent agendas.
Here we present several ways to get involved in peer learning, including information about where to find the Peeragogy project online, a sample syllabus with four actions bring peer learning to life, tips on writing for The Handbook, and our Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication.