The author is communicating the difference between
crowdsourcing and credentialing, so these are the most important words of the
passage. Crowdsourcing has to do with obtaining information and ideas from
people via the Internet while expertise is relying on the
qualifications of professionals to find specific answers. The passage
basically explains why the iPod experiment falls under crowdsourcing. It is
interesting how Davidson uses direct terms such as "teachers" and
"relying" when talking about expertise, but uses vague words such as
"suspicious" and "assumes" when referring to crowdsourcing.
It is as if she is contradicting herself, but actually, she meticulously chooses
those words. As she previously explains: "crowdsourcing means inviting a
group to collaborate on a solution to a problem, but that term didn't yet exist
in 2003 when we conducted the experiment" (Davidson 51). Since the
idea of crowdsourcing is still new at the time, there is still no precise
definition for the expression. All the reader knows is that formal education
dictates and crowdsourcing encourages creativity. Also, Davidson suggests that
crowdsourcing is suspicious of experts because they limit the process, and yet
at the end, she expresses that anyone can contribute collectively, even such
experts. At first she seemed wary of these licensed professionals, but then she
ironically invites them to share their insights to prove her point that we are
all smarter as a whole. In this passage, the author presents the iPod
experiment as an impressive game changer. The reader now understands that the
person's college degree or specialization would not determine his achievement;
his ingenuity would. The passage categorizes the experiment as a new, exciting
idea and compares the conventional way of education to the revolutionary form.
Consequently, one better comprehends how innovative the outcome of the
experiment is and that the orthodox way does not have to prevail.
Very nice post, Marimar! I like that you draw attention to the vagueness of Davidson's description of how exactly crowdsourced learning works (although you could be a bit clearer on this point). And I particularly like your explanation of how the binary Davidson establishes between crowdsourcing and expertise doesn't hold. Well done!
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