How Can We Make Learning Social? - FaisalAlTameemi
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bishes
This is a bit indirect and unclear. Most of the learning in our schools and
colleges is social. So, I suppose you are trying to find the answer to "How to
make online learning social?" Please clarify, as I would also love to know
about it.

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firebones
Make it easy for peers to create lessons for peers. Plus skill matchmaking. "I
know this. I can teach you this." Those may not be complementary ideas, since
one is formal and pre-arranged and one is informal.

You either have to share wealth, or share karma. Depends on the gestalt you're
going for. Create two companies with different brands, A/B the results, winner
acquires the users of the loser.

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insoluble
It seems that people love competing for points, so a system wherein folks
progress through stages and garner points for helping others could work.
CodeWars serves as a noteworthy example of a learning system made social
through competition and forum.

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jordanchan
This is a good topic, and dear to me too.

First and foremost requirement: people with some experience in the various
areas of learning. Ideally, not professors; professional educators can have
biases this doesn't need.

If it is to catch on in any form, it needs to offer significant tangible
benefits over current methods.

0\. Lessons need to be byte-sized. If someone wants a lengthy single-session
lesson, they can combine smaller segments. But the byte-sized segments should
be complete in their own right.

The overarching format should be tree-like, with the technical depth and
sophistication increasing as one goes down deeper in the tree. The point
being, someone should have the ability to take a few lessons, and still come
out reasonably educated about the topic. Instead of, say having to take an
entire course to get the full picture - which is the case with most current
education programs.

Social => interaction => Q&A. So, ideally, things should have a Q&A format.
This can be preceded by an intro to the topic exploring the scope of the
subject, and explaining how the individual lessons fit into the learning plan.
The other advantage of a Q&A format is hands-on learning.

Interaction also implies demonstrations, exercises, experiments/simulations,
and yes: animations.

1\. It needs a community of tutors - this can be sourced from the various
stack exchange sites, and from Quora too. It is important to ensure that there
are at least two different versions of each lesson, to offer varying
perspectives, or at least a different style of presentation to suit individual
learners.

2\. Needs a volume of learning material. This will obviously take time to
build up, and is a classic chicken and egg problem. Do the students [i.e.
demand] come first or do the lessons [i.e. supply] get compiled first?

A good hack might be to take current well-received answers on some of the
aforementioned sites and use them to compile individual mini-lessons. This
will allow to sample the demand and give directions on what subjects/topics
need to be focused on.

Additionally, video content format needs to be created - this can be people
talking, or ideally, demonstrations, animations, etc.

3\. It could be for a) hobby-learners, or b) oriented towards specific
programs, like a certification. It can be a good idea to start with a and move
on to b as/if things pick up. Once things have moved to b, it could go seeking
for independent recognition - in a manner comparable to current
certifications. Especially, recognition from employers is important to
validate this as something people can bet time and money on.

Alternatively, the whole thing could latch on to one of the existing MOOCs,
but that comes with its own set of challenges. But it might be better to use
those as supplementary material, i.e. the backend, while this becomes the
front end. The third possibility is this becomes a supplement to current
college courses - the way students presently use the various q&a sites, but at
a higher level, in that there would be original and organized content on this.
Eventually, some progressive educators will start referring to this to design
lesson plans.

4\. The core of social: there have to be points/ratings, and eventually a way
of translating from those points to money. People get points for good
explanations. The points system could be inspired by stack exchange, quora,
and most importantly: the slashdot voting system. The last one is important,
because it is not just simple upvotes and down votes, but allows students to
vote lessons on different categories - insightful, informative, etc. This is
vital for lessons, in addition to an overall rating system.

This is just something off the top of my head. This area is a significant
challenge - and potentially promising, that I have not yet delved into. Are
you actually building something?

 _feedback /comments are appreciated_

