Earlier in the semester I was a part of a group that constructed a proposal for an interactive class-choosing interface. We considered designing a system that would allow students to provide feedback about classes they have taken in the past or to ask specific questions about new classes. Choosing classes for course pre-enroll each semester seems to be a widely distributed issue on campus for students and it seems a socially integrated system would help students feel more comfortable about their course choices.
Some individuals argued the proposal might not be completely useful because students may not be willing to take their time to provide feedback to questions asked by students they don’t know. According to Vieweg et. Al though, “People rise to difficult challenges to help others, often through remarkable innovations and adaptations of their own abilities and resources to meet needs” (Vieweg 1). It is true the paper considered a crisis/disaster situation but it seems the concepts can still be applied to large group issues as the system will be targeted at helping solve mass problems or concerns. The article further argues, “the activity was a clear demonstration of self-organizing that included the development of roles and norms that guided behavior around the sharing of sensitive information” (Vieweg 1). The VT problem, similar to students choosing campus, concerns tasks that individuals might not be able to accomplish on their own. Therefore, collective intelligence, an instance when “a large, distributed group of people who exhibited problem-solving capabilities came together on-line” (Vieweg 2) will prove quite useful. It becomes clear technology could help many students alike.
The relationships formed through this interface would not be personal or intimate. This distributed activity however, would not provide the one and only answer to classes you should take. Rather, “the overarching norm … is not that the information be proven to be correct, but rather that posters make “best attempts” at offering correct information” (Vieweg 6). Through norm development, the Facebook group during the VT disaster helped quell individuals’ fears by providing a wide range of accessible information. It seems these information sources become a respected source of information as they provide services and information not readily accessible through other means. Because a system does not currently exist to provide personal feedback about classes, and also because the interface would be closed to the University’s students, it seems the interface would in fact create a technology that would help solve a large group problem.
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This is a very interesting topic. Often times students want to know the "inside scoop" on certain classes but have no way of doing so unless they specifically know people who have taken them. Therefore, an application such as this one could help students come together and compile a directory that all students could access. However, the main problem you encounter with this application is that some students may be competitive and have malicious intentions which might cause them post inaccurate information as a way to misguide their peers. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Daniela. One of the major problems I can see is the competitive nature of most Cornell students. I do like the idea behind the technology. I don't see that the members of such an application would trust others immediately so there would need to be a way to establish trust and reputation. There would also need to be a motivation to provide feedback because most people wouldn't care.
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