Three Core Properties

 

Production-centred: (click for the PLE map)

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"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." Chinese proverb

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The concept of learning by doing is not at all new and providing opportunities for hands-on, authentic exercises to engage students forms the basis of many popular pedagogies of teaching (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2010). The design principle that learning happens by doing underpins the core property of production centred learning – users participate in meaningful activities and projects as part of their experiential learning and this active creating promotes engagement and resilience (Ito et al., 2013). There are three main ways in which PLEs extend production and performance (p. 76):

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   1. Access to digital production tools are essential and Kollabora does this in several ways – patterns are available online (many for free), as are the steps and tips required to successfully produce an item (see image below). As described above, participants are also able to purchase or access all tools and materials required directly from the site.

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    2. Remixing and curating designs or patterns is encouraged, which allows for creative expression to        emerge. Comments under patterns display feedback from users on how they adapted a pattern or an idea to be more effective or individualised, and there is a link to ‘Remakes’ where participants can post photos of their adaptations of the final product.

 

    3. Circulation and visibility is promoted on Kollabora as digital media (photos, videos, instructions, patterns, etc) is easily uploaded, shared and commented on. Links to additional contexts for circulation on other social media sites, individual member blogs, and idea sharing sites such as Pinterest and Youtube is heavily promoted, as can be seen below.

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These elements of the production-centred nature of Kollabora drives the user’s interest and supports their learning and development.

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