elearnspace

People who read this article also read...

A few weeks ago, I posted on second-tier information (information that we create indirectly through our actions, such as clicking a link. First tier information would consist of more intentional activities such as writing a blog post or creating a podcast). Second tier information has significant value, especially when we have access to what our friends and peers are doing. Consider Amazon's referral system: "people who bought this also...". Facebook has raised the awareness of the value of information in personal networks, such as the addition of a new application or new friend. By making second tier information explicit, we are able to benefit from it as we make our own choices, or perhaps more critically, as we try and make sense of a rather overwhelming abundance of information. Applying second tier information to how we manage and make sense of our world (and thereby cope with abundance, stay current, filter information, etc.) results in a network-model of learning. The concept is discussed here - People who read this article also read... - from the perspective of reading news online. In an educational sense, it would be useful to have a referral system that allowed similar evaluation, i.e. people who watched this video on chemistry also liked this article or blog.