Introduction

This section is about learning, knowledge exchange and management, education, epistemology (ways of knowing) and related developments.

It is maintained by Steve Ediger, Chris Smith [1], Sean Fitzgerald [2] [3] et al.

For a good introduction see John Heron on facilitation and the revolution in learning

George Siemens, and his Connectivist learning theory, is one of the scholars most intensely constructing what I would call a 'peer to peer learning theory.

Some basic entries are his Propositions on Learning, and his Connectivist Taxonomy

Key Topics: Open Education, Open Educational Resources, Open Courseware Initiatives, Open Textbooks

Key Delicious Tags: P2P Learning [4]; P2P Epistemlogy [5]

Thematic Issues of P2P News on Epistemology: Issue 89 [6]; Issue 77 [7]

Citation on the Open Education Movement

"The field of open education is gaining momentum around the world. Literally hundreds of open education projects are springing up from Tokyo to Boston to Paris to Beijing. Over 2000 courses are now available through OpenCourseWare projects alone. Add to this the growing number of open access learning object repositories, increases in the number and quality of open source educational software projects, the open education work agencies like UNESCO and the OECD are doing, and the field is diversifying as quickly as it is growing.." (http://cosl.usu.edu/conferences/opened2006/)

Key Articles

Here's a good overview of recent technological developments (Web 2.0) and how these participatory technologies could be used for teaching and learning, by Bryan Alexander, EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 41, no. 2 (March/April 2006): 32–44 [8]. Chris Smith also maintains a link page of Web 2.0 resources for Learning [9]

'Coming of Age' [10] is an introduction to teachers on how they can use the 'new World Wide Web'.

Key essay by Yochai Benkler: Common Wisdom: Peer Production of Educational Materials [11]

An introduction to Connective Knowledge (and Knowing Networks), by Stephen Downes is an absolute must read introduction to participative epistemologies [12]

Key Blogs

Blogs that monitor P2P-like developments in the world of learning and education are:

1) The Connectivism blog [13]

2) Global Mentoring blog [14]

3) Open Content and Education blog [15]

Selected Wikipedia Articles

Co-Intelligence, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-intelligence

Collaborative Filtering, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_filtering

Collaborative Intelligence, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaborative_intelligence

Open Source Intelligence, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_intelligence

Recommendation system, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recommendation_system

Reputation, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reputation

Smart Mobs, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_mobs

Swarm Intelligence, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_Intelligence

P2P Hall of Fame

Educational Theory

Who should be in our P2P Hall of Fame on Educational Theory?

Candidates are: George Siemens [16](connectivist learning theory); Jean-Francois Noubel [17] and Pierre Levy (collective intelligence); David Wiley [18](open content and open education); Stephen Downes [19] (e-learning)

Educational Practitioners

Candidates are: Steve Ediger (Woodstock school in Northern India); Bryan Alexander [20](Web 2.0. in teaching); Chris Smith [21] (Shambles.Net, IT for international schools)

Recommended Initiatives

Candidates are: Lucy Hooberman's Mentoring Worldwide initiative [22]

Citation on peer teaching

Theresa Williamson on The power of peer teaching

"Everybody knows the proverb about how it's better to teach a man to fish than just to give him a fish, but there's a step beyond that: it's better that a man's neighbor is the one teaching him to fish, his peer. If some expert swoops in from afar you miss half the value of the interaction because of the inequality in that relationship. But if it's his peer teaching him? Then the man is much more likely to offer something in return. You are much more likely to create a real sustainable relationship rather than just a new dependency."

Theresa Williamson, Founder, Catalytic Communities (http://www.nextbillion.net/node/1723)

P2P Educational Concepts Encyclopedia