Connected learning environments

Analysis of  ‘Instructables – Art education’ as a connected learning environment

 

21st Century forms of communication and learning have converged to become intricately networked across an ecology of Web 2.0 affordances (Kalisz, 2016 cited in Tiwari & Nafees, 2016, p.56 ). In this digital age, we recognise that knowledge and learning can exist outside of ourselves. Through the application of ‘connectivism’ ; Siemens’ learning theory for the digital age (2005), we know how to locate, filter and utilise connections to information stored within digitised information sets to empower our learning. As our online learning creates new interactions, forges new social contacts, and engages us with new information we are participating in a form of ‘crowd learning’ that opens us to unlimited sources of teaching and learning opportunities:

‘Beyond what is practical or possible in conventional human interaction, cyberspace supports dynamic collective knowledge generation’ (Dron & Anderson, 2014, p.7).

Social software can aggregate teaching and learning interactions in one-to-one and one-to-many scenarios. When the learning is socially embedded, motivated by personal interests and oriented toward educational opportunities,  ‘Connected Learning’ occurs (Ito et al, 2013, p.6). Connected learning communities may form organically or by design, such as the highly popular Instructables.com.

 

Loading...

Loading…

This report examines the framework for connected learning as proposed in Ito et al’s ‘Connected Learning: An agenda for research and design’ (2013, p.12) with consideration to a connected learning environment, Instructables.com. It is one of the oldest do-it-yourself (DIY) online communities. Originally sprouting at the MIT Media Lab when the future inventors of Squid Labs fashioned places to share their designs, connect online, and make an impression on the world, Instructables was officially launched in 2006 and embodies a ‘participatory culture’ (Jenkins et al, 2006, p.3). As such, Instructables offers few impediments to artistic expression, has provision for creating and sharing one’s designs, and provides mentorship (both informal and official) whereby the knowledge of the most experienced becomes passed on to novices (Jenkins, 2016, p.3). Given this participatory context, the Instructables community meets Ito et al’s criterion regarding the 3 ‘crucial contexts for learning’ (2013, p.12).

 

CONTEXTS FOR LEARNING

  • Peer-supported:

Thirty-four experts form the official instructional design team including co-founders of Squid Labs; inventors; managers of community, content, and contests; software engineers; graphic designers; and expert content creators. Their diverse backgrounds, ethnicities and ages reflect the tens of thousands of members who enrol in classes and participate and co-create through the Instructables platform [Image 1].

IMAGE 1: Instructables.com has tens of thousands of members enroll in classes. Annotated screenshot by Author, 2018. Courtesy of Instructables.com CC by NC SA 4.0

The variety of peers has democratised the making process by enabling any member (designer), using any of the social platforms, to share their creation and the DIY instructions  with a global audience (Tseng & Resnick, 2014). Whilst Kay Seo (2013) laments a generation gap in online activity between ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ (Prensky, 2009 cited in Seo, 2013, p. 20) stating that  

            

‘Young learners of the new millennium embrace these newer modes of online communication more readily than their elders…’

 

The network of Instructables’ participants defies this generation gap. A link to a clip from jessyratfink’s ‘Welcome to writing an Instructable – Lesson 1’  highlights its cross-generational and cross-cultural nature. Within this environment, a smaller community can be traced through the ‘Teachers tab’ to ‘Instructables – Education’ page where a variety of educational year groups from nine DIY disciplines are curated. The Art content page showcases 105 DIY Art Instructables created by members.

These peer-supported DIY learning experiences are socially meaningful, with members reflecting on both their own and on other projects through posts below each Instructable. At each stage of an Instructable’s documentation, the website’s design prompts for tips or questions to be posed by members. Each Instructable logs views and counts positive feedback through a love-heart icon, and provides a comment section enabling direct communication with the author. Instructable’s peer-to-peer interaction draws upon the knowledge-rich community of like-minded people who make and share DIY artistic knowledge in a manner that values self-expression and appreciates the recognition of others (O’Donnell-Allen, cited in Garcia, 2014, p.25).

 

  • Interest powered:

Learning in a digital environment has the potential to increase engagement and participation when linked to ‘blossoming personal and social interests’ as people are ‘irrepressibly curious’ (Garcia, 2014, p.23). Instructables has grown from a humble hundreds of projects to over one hundred thousand, clearly demonstrating the members’ desire for acquiring new skills and developing expertise. It provides an authentic audience who recognise expertise within specific disciplines, and whilst projects are curated by content management staff, these fluidly and seamlessly interact to enable serendipitous discoveries. Art projects include sculpture, screen printing, batik, papier mâché, weaving, dioramas and pottery. The range potentiates exploration and extends opportunities for learning [Image 2]. 

IMAGE 2: Annotated screen clip from Instructables.com Education – Art page 2018 by Author, 2018.

Screen shots reprinted courtesy of InstructablesCC by NC SA 4.0

 

  • Learning oriented:

As a popular DIY community, Instructables is explicitly learning oriented. Members share their DIY projects by creating an Instructable. They document how they create their design using a mix of photos, text, video and audio for an authentic audience, and participation increases the value of each learning experience (Harlan, 2016; Ito et al, 2013). The process to create the product sounds simple; however, in 2014 two researchers, Tseng & Resnick, from MIT investigated project documentation methods. Their research reveals that not only do members recreate other members’ Instructable, they modify, personalise and apply techniques from other Instructables to their own projects (Tseng & Resnick, 2014, p.427). For example, when searching through Art projects, the Instructable’s predictive software also returns other crafts such as photography, woodworking, jewellery, and leatherworking. These serendipitous discoveries ‘expand the horizon’ of an interest driven search, leading to innovative recombination of techniques and skills learned (dmlhub, 2015). This intersectional innovation has the power to open up unique directions and new fields of learning (Johansson 2006, cited in Bair & Stafford, 2016, p.131). Members combine tips from different Instructables in new ways, and transfer techniques from one discipline to another to create uniquely personalised products (Tseng & Resnick, 2014, p. 427). Innovation such as this demonstrates deeper learning. In turn, this empowers individuals. Instructable’s members are connected learners who experience critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. These competencies are hallmarks of learning 21st Century skills and evidence connected learning (Ito et al., 2013, p.54).

 

 

The ‘Instructables – Art education’ community is unequivocally production oriented, with members sharing the same intention – to author a detailed instruction for the creation an artistic DIY design, shared across a vast online network of peers. These are characteristic ‘core properties’ of a connected learning environment (Ito et al, 2013, p.74).

CORE PROPERTIES

  • Production-centred:

The use of Web 2.0 tools amplify capacity to share ideas and learning from and with a global community; this participatory experience includes production of digital artefacts customised in the Instructables community (Davidson & Goldberg, 2009 cited in Lindsay, 2017, p.28).

IMAGE 3: Annotated snip from Instructables.com by Author, 2018. Screen shots reprinted courtesy of Instructables  
CC by NC SA 4.0

The free content-creation tool, Autodesk®. Make anything, streamlines productivity [see Image 3]. Remixing content is encouraged in member tips and community forums [see Image 4]. Curation occurs on Pinterest and YouTube. The circulation and visibility of products can be tailored through ‘feeds’. The sheer quantity of digital artefacts produced is extraordinary and are accessible across 6 social media platforms.

 

IMAGE 4: Screen clip by author, 2018. From jessyratfink’s Instructable ‘How to write an Instructable’ [date unknown].

Screen shots reprinted courtesy of InstructablesCC by NC SA 4.0

 

  • Shared purpose:

The About Us page states: ‘Instructables is a place that lets you explore, document, and share your creations’ and also cites itself as ‘the world’s biggest show and tell’ on its logo, the little yellow robot (Instructables.com, 2017). The core purpose is clear; to provide and participate in a DIY learning experience. Within this shared aesthetic, the artistic content itself also establishes identity iterated through the shared purpose of the community (Harlan, 2016). Shared purpose supports cross-institutional learning, taking place through education pages, classes, community pages and cooperative endeavours such as the ‘Make it @ your library’ group in the United States. 

 

  • Openly networked:

The digital artefacts produced through the ‘Instructables – Art education’ community are licensed  Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International (CC by NC SA 4.0), with multiple points of entry through various social media. The community’s networks and interactions occur through the website, Facebook (~816,000 followers), Google+ (~38,500), Pinterest (~462, 300), Twitter (~123,000), Instagram (~51,000), and a  YouTube channel (~102,000 subscribers) and The Make it @ your library website.

Online platforms can make learning resources abundant, accessible and visible across all learner settings (clalliance.org, 2018). At Instructables.com, levels of membership include ‘Free’ – which allows access to content and content creation, and ‘Premium’ – that allows hard-copy PDF formats to be downloaded and an advert free experience.  Students and teachers are given a free premium membership (usually $49.95 US per 2 years).

The popularity of the DIY movement drives the Instructables site visibility. Revenue raised through sale of advertising space on the Instructables site and positive press releases about the community in The New York Times, NPR Inc. USA, Forbes and ABC News has enabled Instructables.com to become an exceptionally well-connected, affordable* and accessible learning environment.

 

 

Being cleverly oriented to learning through its social and technical sides, ‘Instructables Education-Art’ provides platforms and spaces for learning, creates and shares learning resources, and has developed a welcoming community who adhere to a set of social norms and policies. These features adhere to the ‘Design Principles’ as outlined in Ito et al’s framework (2013, p.78).

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

  • Everyone can participate:

Instructables are authored by people of every skill level, from beginners to professionals, provided they have access to technology. Age restrictions apply, as do trade embargos on residents of specific countries, as seen in the site’s official contest rules.

If members have a means to take digital photos and a level of literacy that allows them to express their DIY process effectively they can use the free Autodesk tool to upload their Instructable. The principle ‘everyone can participate’ is exemplified by an older member of Instructables, Thinkenstein, who lives in the jungle in Puerto Rico in a home he built himself.  During an interview conducted by wilgubeast  in 2011, Thinkenstein states:  

 

“An e-mail friend sent me the link to Instructables. I had an urge to share some of the things I do, but I live alone in a jungle. There’s nobody to teach out here. Thanks to the Internet and Instructables, I got things out that are important to me…”

 

Members from across the globe actively participate, interacting with thousands to create content across a variety of platforms. Members enroll in classes, curate, remix and innovate; ask questions and exchange comments within a positive and constructive environment [see Image 5].

IMAGE 5: Annotated screen shot of the ‘be nice’ policy at www.instructables.com by author, 2018.

Screen shots reprinted courtesy of Instructables.  CC by NC SA 4.0

 

 

  • Learning happens by doing:

As instructional designers, the professionals at Instructables.com create inspirational courses that are cleverly mapped to perceived learner needs. Their instructional design platform aligns the instructional strategies with real learning contexts, and utilises effective technology to support digital-age learners (Gutierrez, 2018).  By tapping into adult learning theories, such as Experiential Learning (Kolb, 1984 cited in Gutierrez, 2018) that states adults learn best when they learn by doing, the classes on ‘How to draw’ created by respected member, frenzy, has had over 2 million views since its inception in 2011. It is now a featured set of Instructables, and is highlighted by a gold star. The achievement of such status supports a ‘need to share’ among community members and cultivates a ‘need to know’ in members who view these featured Instructables (Ito et al, 2013, p.78). The amateur creators begin with ‘how to write Instructables’ classes and with a design, recipe, or technique can go on to share and document their process, using this participation as a jumping off point for developing more sophisticated skills.

 

  • Challenge is constant:

The contests’ page has an eye-catching banner:

                  ‘We’ve run 797 contests with 12,852 winners to date. Join the winner’s circle!’

It also showcases previous winners. As an egalitarian community, members vote for their favourite Instructable in each contest to create a list of finalists. The finalists are then rated by a panel of judges comprised of staff and respected community members.

Contests are frequent (and are sponsored by advertisers), are open to all members, with highly sort after prizes being the rewards for engagement. At present (March 2018) a paper contest is enticing Artists to create DIY designs in paper. The Grand Prize includes a MacBook Air and a Cricut maker.  Since each member’s site counts views and comments, the popular Instructables achieve high numbers of hits. High numbers of views deem a site as popular and these are awarded badges. Badges accrue and lead to medals. Medals become prominently displayed on a member’s site. The promotion of members occurs organically through community interactions. The recognition of expertise bestowed through medals and the title of ‘highly respected member’ promotes individual Instructables to the featured page.  Members may apply to participate in a residency program when they demonstrate mastery and quality of Instructables. These visible learning resources support community connections, activities and interactions (Ito et al, 2013, p.74).

 

  • Everything is interconnected:

In the connected learning community, members need to be provided with multiple contexts for learning and effective and transformative learning requires feedback on progress, space for reflection, and the ability to achieve mastery (Ito et al, 2013, pp. 79-80). ‘Instructables – Art education’ provides this infrastructure. Members are encouraged and rewarded for their participation; their work and their skills are recognised across a range of platforms and receive a variety of acknowledgements. Member interactions allow for asynchronous feedback, from both experts and novices, through pro-tips, questions and posts. Recognition and credential systems contribute toward status and visibility of members within this community. A residency program for masters of Instructables provide career opportunities within the Instructables team. This interconnectedness has made ‘Instructables – Art education’ a highly effective connected learning environment for the multitude of members.

 

 

Connected learning requires opportunities for learning to be amplified by new media. Instructables exists across 6 online platforms, and provides accessible and diverse learning to achieve self-expression and engagement for members.

NEW MEDIA AMPLIFIES OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONNECTED LEARNING

  • Fostering engagement & self-expression and increasing accessibility to knowledge and learning experiences:

The ‘Instructables -Art education’ community is populated by exuberant, engaged members who feel their creativity finds flight through their content creation. A featured author, creativeman, in an article by  wilgubeast (2011) comments on this common thread:

 

“ …Of course I loved the do it yourself/ can do aspects of the projects on the site, and was blown away by the creativity and innovation demonstrated by all the prolific authors on the site. Isn’t it absolutely amazing? At first, it was a little intimidating, but after a few instructables, it was fun and gratifying to be able to post some useful projects…I believe personal fulfillment and satisfaction are the end result of any and all artistic, creative endeavors, and has been a great source of inner peace…”

 

  • Expanding social supports for interests and expanding diversity and building capacity:

Instructables provides opportunities for members to share their interests across continents with like-minded peers. These cross-cultural social interactions empower members to explore, experiment, and hone their artistic skills in a supportive environment. An  Italian member, lindarose92, describes these opportunities in an article written by jessyratfink in 2013:

“I was looking for a site where I could learn new things, find the inspiration for my projects, “meet” other people who have my same passion and know their opinions about what I enjoyed making. So this is why I started to post on Instructables. I always thought that what I know is not much and what I did was not very good but thanks to this website I realized that I can still share my ideas and be able to teach something to somebody: that’s really very rewarding to me.”

 

OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKS

Opportunities for expansion of Instructables.com occurred in 2011 when the company was purchased by the conglomerate software company, Autodesk®. It caused great trepidation. How would global ‘for-profit’ giant Autodesk® impact this community minded, open source platform? Would producing creative content and remixing become mired in copyright and the Autodesk® tool cost community members? Reading Phillip Torrone’s blog ‘Autodesk® acquires Instructables and what it means for Makers (2011); and a very optimistic reply posted by Randy Sarafan, a community manager employed by Instructables at the time of the merger, appeared to alleviate much of the community’s consternation back in 2011.

In 2018, the result of the risky merger is demonstrably positive. The sheer volume of production and obvious collegiality enjoyed by members demonstrates that the CEOs at Autodesk have embraced this merger as a truly collaborative process, and absorbed many of the open-access concepts of Instructables.com that now benefit both arms of the organisation.  The merged corporation also forms the connected-learning community. The business side of this relationship, in this online ecology, is symbiotic. The whole is more powerful; yet, paradoxically dysfunctional without each intricately networked node. Each member’s personal learning experience acts a tool to immerse them in the workings of the community and personal growth develops as a consequence of the interactions with this community (Downes, 2011, slide. 25). Each node interlinks to form the extensive connected learning community, Instructables and within this resides the web of artistic members, Instructables – Art education.

The opportunity for educators to use Instructables.com as inspiration for ‘Makerspaces’, particularly by teacher-librarians in secondary schooling situations is highly recommended. Of note the student cohort must meet the age recommendation of 13+ years in Australia, A review provided by Common Sense Media also suggests that content should be carefully curated by staff to avoid the risk of students engaging with inappropriate Instructables, such as the creation of alcoholic cocktails! As demonstrated in this analysis the vast set of resources curated within the tabbed ‘teacher’ content ameliorates such risk, and will engage students with an exceptional connected learning experience.

A visual representation of the connected learning environment: ‘Instructables – Art education’  

 


Image by Author, 2018. CC by NC SA 2.0 AU.     Make your own mind maps with Mindomo.

 

 

[embeddoc url=”https://xgenconnected.edublogs.org/files/2018/03/Instructables-Art-education_-A-connected-learning-community-1lkf91c-1s5d9fy.pdf” height=”600px” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

Image by Author, 2018. CC by NC SA 2.0 AU.     Make your own mind maps with Mindomo.