Successful online learning platforms

Examples of successful online community platforms

Goal

1. Open
2. Peering
3. Sharing
4. Acting Globally

Barriers

When implementing a development initiative at a global scale, that it is an important objective, considering the benefits of scalability and the benefits of engaging and communicating with a community of users, there is a variety of barriers that should be overcome including geographical, technological, institutional, ideological, demographic, and ethnic barriers. These barriers have been suggested by Birkinshaw, Bessant, & Delbridge (2007) as barriers that need to be considered when creating networks for discontinuous innovation.

1. Geographical barriers

Include the discontinuities that emerge as consequence of distance, time zones, climate and other geographical factors.

2. Technological barriers

Include the discontinuities that emerge due to digital divide, differences of technology domains, differences in protocols, etc.

3. Institutional barriers

Include the discontinuities that emerge due to differences of objectives and origins, such us the differences between private and public objectives.

4. Ideological barriers

Include the discontinuities that emerge due to customers and partners do not share the same values or norms of the global firm.

5. Demographic and ethnic barriers

These emerge due to different needs of different demographic groups and barriers that arise due to cultural differences.

When launching global initiatives is necessary to create platforms that would reduce the incidence of those barriers. This is possible when there is enough flexibility that the system works locally, regionally, or globally. When the mentioned barriers are not managed, they alone or together might obstruct the emergence of critical mass of users.

Principles:

1. Leveraging a set of possible tasks


Description: Leverage is essentially generative, the central idea is to do more with less. Wikipedia, for example, was able to create a platform that reduces the cost of interaction as was explain before but at the same time increases exponentially the potential users of the information. It has also created other opportunities for thousands of contributors. Leverage might also include what Rogers (1995) called “relative advantage” - the degree to which an innovation is perceived as better than the idea it supersedes.

Examples: “Generative systems make difficult jobs easier. The more efforts they save, and the greater the number of instances in which their use can make a difference to someone, the more generative they are.” (Zittrain, 2007, p. 51)

The concept of encyclopedia is an old idea, but Wikipedia has incorporated services and opportunities far beyond the previous idea, this is a disruptive concept that in addition did not require a largest infrastructure.

Adaptability

Description: “Adaptability applies to both the breath of a systems’s uses without change and the ease with which it can be modified to broaden its range of uses. Adaptability is a spectrum –a technology that offers hundreds of different kinds of uses is more adaptable, and thus more generative than a technology that offers fewer” (Zittrain, 2007, p. 51)

Examples:
Wikipedia for example is enormously flexible due to almost any topic can be included, but this is not the only strength, the availability of mass collaborators and an adequate platform can connect millions of people and create communities engaged in particular interests. The outcome of such interconnect dynamism can not be at this moment completely assess but certainly it will bring innovative ideas including new creative business models. Adaptability, also involves what Rogers (1995)call compatibility. I have preferred to include compatibility as an essential element of adaptability meaning that the degree to which an innovation is perceived as being consistent with past experiences or previously introduced ideas, existing values or beliefs, and the needs of potential adopters. The idea of encyclopedia was firmly rooted in the mind of people. Put in a nutshell Wikipedia is firstable an encyclopedia, on top of that, there are concepts that are expanding the idea.

Ease of Mastery

Desciption: “How easy is it for broad audiences to both adopt and adapt a technology? An airplane is neither easy to fly nor simple to modify for new purposes. Paper, on the other hand, can be readily mastered and adapted –whether to draw on or to fold into airplanes. The skills needed to use many otherwise –generative technologies may be hard to absorb, requiring apprenticeship, formal training, or long practice.” (Zittrain, 2007, p. 51)

Examples: Wikis are easy to master, compared with other kinds of technologies; Wikis is very efficient technology and easy to learn. An average user can use the technology with only a brief explanation. Rogers (1995)considers complexity- refers to the degree to which an innovation is perceived as difficult to understand and use- and important element of diffusion of innovation. In general, the more complex an innovation, the slower its rate of adoption. Complexity however is relative and depends on the relevant skills of the users. Rogers (1995) also explains the that modularization –breaking the whole in manageable and potentially muti-usable may improve easy of use. Rogers (1995) suggest that modular innovations can be broken down so that portions of the innovation can be trialed will be adopted more rapidly.

Accessibility

Description: “The easier it is to obtain the technology, tools, and information necessary to achieve mastery –and convey changes to others –the more generative a system is.” (Zittrain, 2007, p. 51)

Examples:
We have already discussed geographical, technological, institutional, ideological, demographic, and ethnic barriers that can affect accessibility. Rogers (1995) introduce the term trialability (refers to the degree to which an innovation may be experimented with on a limited basis). That can also be considered an important element of accessibility. The degree to which an innovation can be experimented might also affect its rate of adoption. Accessibility also includes observability - the degree to which results of using an innovation are visible to others, and able to be described and communicated to others- this is the first condition of accessibility before a thing is accessible it should visible to the user.

An important consideration of accessibility is what is commonly known as digital divide - “situations in which there is a marked gap in access to or use of ICT devices” (Campbell 2001, p.1). Accessibility will avoid to create parallel communication systems one for those with income, education and literally connections, giving plentiful information at low cost and high speed; the other for those without connections. Larry Huston (2007)recommends to start asking: “What are the needs of these consumers? And recommends to design a product at a price point that meets their needs under local conditions

A platform functionality blocked by barriers already mentioned must be avoided. Once past the barriers of access to new technology there are relatively cheap and efficient opportunities for the major part of the population. Small business for example using internet can offer their products to a variety of marketplaces around the world, and the fees are relatively inexpensive compared to previous options.

Conducting Appropriate Evaluations


Description: Summative and formative evaluations will provide information about the technology, the community, and individuals, their level of interactions and engagement. Appropriate measures and performance criteria might indicate if the principles suggested have been achieved.

Examples:

Consider incentives –

Description:

Examples:

(Others?: Easy to use, Free, etc...)?

Features: