Stephen Downes on Networks vs. Groups (video)
Posted By Doug Belshaw On 26th September 2006 @ 06:12 In Useful Links | Comments Disabled
WARNING! This website is no longer actively maintained. It is an archive of 2 years work by Doug Belshaw who now blogs at [1] dougbelshaw.com...
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Looking through the RSS feed from someone’s [3] del.icio.us bookmarks (can’t remember whose - sorry!) I came across this short (8:23) gem of Stephen Downes explaining the difference between networks and groups. Groups, he says, are predicated upon principles of unity, coordination, being closed and distributive, whereas networks are diverse, autonomous, open and connective. Well worth a look! 
Update: Stephen has [4] posted about his experience at the Australian conference and shared an easier-to-view picture of the whiteboard as it ended up:
Popularity: 3% [[5] ?]
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Comments Disabled To "Stephen Downes on Networks vs. Groups (video)"
#1 Comment By Andrew Field On 27th September 2006 @ 13:01
Doug - sorry to nit pick (yet again). But you’ve said:
Networks, he says, are predicated upon principles of unity, coordination, being closed and distributive, whereas groups are diverse, autonomous, open and connective. Well worth a look!
Yet the shaggy haired man says the complete opposite!
#2 Comment By Doug Belshaw On 27th September 2006 @ 17:04
Whoops! Amended… 
Andrew’s contacted me to say that he couldn’t post the following:
What is interesting though is how he defines the terms. After all, we talk about a television network and a radio network. Yet what is being said here is that a network is the *ideal* and that this empowers learners.
I think if I was asked which enables the most effective learning - a ‘network’ or a ‘group’ - I would have probably said a group as this would, for me, suggest a collection of people working together. Whereas a network suggests a structure and a hierachy. I would think that a network suggests control. Yet then again, a group suggests you have to be invited and be one of the gang.
I guess this is all terminology and semantics though. The end product is the key aspect - the best way to empower effective learning.
In response to this, I would say that it depends on the purpose. If we’re talking about contributing to human knowledge, then networks are the way forward. This can be done through Web 2.0-type stuff.
As Andrew says, however, groups can be useful for working towards a particular purpose. The distinction depends on your point of view. Stephen Downes’ line of work sees him going around ’selling yeast’ (as it were) to make a difference. Andrew works in a school as part of a team to make a difference.
I’d recommending reading George Siemens’ [16] Knowing Knowledge when it’s freely available in PDF format… 
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