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The spectrum of openness and knowledge production processes

15 January, 2016 - 09:47

While the notion of open and closed technologies was originally concerned with individuals understanding how technologies work, it can also be applied to the overall knowledge production process. We hypothesize that when individuals understand the processes at work behind knowledge production, it can have a profound effect in inspiring them to modify or create knowledge of their own. Both open and closed technologies are capable of facilitating the creation of new knowledge; however, they are different with regard to the processes through which new knowledge is produced. Knowledge production technologies like Wikipedia that are open have transformed people’s conceptions of the knowledge production process—people have come to see themselves more as participants in the generation and construction of new knowledge. Furthermore, technologies like this have allowed for the valorization of new forms of knowledge (which traditionally may not have been considered worthwhile) and have contested the very nature of knowledge production. A notable example of technological transparency in the realm of knowledge production is in a class activity we recently designed at Concordia University. Learners enrolled in a graduate course on Online Communities in Concordia’s Educational Technology program were required to modify a Wikipedia page detailing the topic of “Community of Practice” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice). They received minimal instruction regarding the process of knowledge production, were left to consult databases (both online and offline) and were encouraged to develop the artifact as a collective. The information the students posted on Wikipedia was not only vetted by the instructor and their in-class peers, but was also commented upon by reviewers of Wikipedia entries. As is to be expected in a classroom activity, the students were comfortable receiving feedback from their instructor and peers, but they were hesitant and surprised upon realizing that their work was stimulating much discussion by contributors to the Wikipedia page (see a summary of the discussions on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Community_of_practice). Once the students began interacting with these reviewers—exchanging comments, debating the changes made to their work—they quickly began to realize that their work extended beyond a class assignment. They would often discuss in class what the online community had to say about their Wikipedia entries, and eventually developed a rich understanding of how Wikipedia entries were created and modified.

Through the use of an open technology, the students developed an understanding of themechanisms involved in creating and modifying knowledge and information; they saw themselves as agents within the knowledge production process. Additionally, the external comments received altered the work significantly—the discussion on their Wikipedia entry led to the students generating content that would not have been created if they had been left to their own devices. Notably, even if a user’s contribution is eventually rejected, the decision about the rationale for rejection will usually be relatively democratic and transparent. For example, each Wikipedia entry features a “Discussion” tab on which the edits are discussed, and there is also a “View History” option that allows the user to view how the article has evolved. These options allow both creators and consumers of the article to view which information is contested and to see how the knowledge has accreted (or has, in some cases, disappeared) and been validated over time. This allows the Wikipedia user to see inside knowledge production processes, thereby demystifying it, and this may, consequently, empower the user to become a contributor in his/her own right. In general, we contend that information that is produced through collective processes within open spaces can empower individuals to be both effective users and creators of the knowledge related to the technology in question.

The ability to create new knowledge has also meant a great shift from the traditional knowledge production process. It is no longer strictly hierarchical, where the expert is the sole arbiter of worth and is able to dictate to the novice. In forum technologies (as is the case with Wikipedia), any new information that is brought forward should usually be given some consideration for inclusion in the overall knowledge base. This very shift towards inclusion has changed the foundations of what has been traditionally perceived as knowledge production. Within successful open knowledge production frameworks, building new ideas becomes a participatory endeavor, thereby contributing to the democratization of digital spaces. The knowledge that is produced within open technological frameworks challenges the authority of expert knowledge. Individual expertise is validated and users gain a sense that they have an equal opportunity to be or become an expert and to disseminate their ideas worldwide. However, although open technologies offer learners the arguably beneficial opportunity to be both knowledge users and producers, their design does pose some challenges. For example, the lack of templates and specific guidelines supporting the development of some open designs may challenge their development and long-term survival. MySpace, for example, allowed creators to have complete control over the design of their personalized webspace. Though this may have provided a certain degree of creative license, MySpace decreased in popularity in part because of users’ own muddled and complex designs which led to navigation and usability issues (Boyd, in press). In contrast, although it is a more closed technology, Facebook gained popularity through its cleaner, far more structured, less changeable environment.

The empirical research presented in this chapter draws upon data from online bulletin boardsand forums, which we situate as being relatively open technologies. Web 2.0 forum technologies afford users an openness that is somewhat less than in the case of Wikis, but is still quite open —the underlying technology is fairly simple, user profiles are extensively customizable and key roles and responsibilities are allocated to users (e.g., moderation). In stark opposition to the Wikipedia example described above, which exemplified a democratic approach to knowledge production, our data and related analyses presented herein show that online forums typify technocratic approaches (Stabile, 1986) to the production and validation of new knowledge. In a technocratic approach, subject-matter expertise trumps other factors (e.g., socio-political) when it comes to decision-making. The research presented in this chapter suggests that online forums are more prone to technocratic styles of knowledge production because of participants’ reliance on experts to make meaning from discussions.