Comments on: collaboration vs. competition (or “zero-sum education”) http://www.sububi.org/2009/07/04/collaboration-vs-competition-or-zero-sum-education/ Matt Jadud, writing stuff Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:22:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: matt http://www.sububi.org/2009/07/04/collaboration-vs-competition-or-zero-sum-education/comment-page-1/#comment-39017 matt Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:59:42 +0000 http://www.sububi.org/2009/07/04/collaboration-vs-competition-or-zero-sum-education/#comment-39017 I agree, Greg: you should feel dirty having used the word "coopertition" in a sentence. :) I agree, Greg: you should feel dirty having used the word “coopertition” in a sentence. :)

]]> By: Greg Marra http://www.sububi.org/2009/07/04/collaboration-vs-competition-or-zero-sum-education/comment-page-1/#comment-38995 Greg Marra Mon, 20 Jul 2009 06:38:33 +0000 http://www.sububi.org/2009/07/04/collaboration-vs-competition-or-zero-sum-education/#comment-38995 I'm two weeks late commenting on this, but I want to chime in with an experience I had last semester. Taking the <a href="http://olin.mobi" rel="nofollow">Developing Mobile Phone Applications</a> course at <a href="http://www.olin.edu" rel="nofollow">Olin College</a> last semester was an exciting experience in what I hate to call coopertition. In the middle of the semester, we were given a two week design competition to build proof-of-concept mobile phone apps using <a href="http://www.apptek.com" rel="nofollow">AppTek's</a> machine translation technology. There were cash prizes. Instead of bunkering down and trying to beat out the other teams for first place, everyone continued the same collaborative learning process we had been practicing since the start of the semester. Questions were answered on the mailing list and all source code was public in the class repository. Teams gave each other feedback on their proposed designs and offered suggestions to improve the focus or usability of "competing" apps. I think that recognition that the learning experience and trying to build the very best apps we could was more important than winning the (albeit, not enormous) cash prize was why this happened. My classmates said that they would rather everyone build the neatest thing possible and then show everyone else how to do it rather than fighting tooth and nail in the contest. Collaborative competition lets everyone achieve the best they can. I’m two weeks late commenting on this, but I want to chime in with an experience I had last semester. Taking the Developing Mobile Phone Applications course at Olin College last semester was an exciting experience in what I hate to call coopertition.

In the middle of the semester, we were given a two week design competition to build proof-of-concept mobile phone apps using AppTek’s machine translation technology.

There were cash prizes.

Instead of bunkering down and trying to beat out the other teams for first place, everyone continued the same collaborative learning process we had been practicing since the start of the semester. Questions were answered on the mailing list and all source code was public in the class repository. Teams gave each other feedback on their proposed designs and offered suggestions to improve the focus or usability of “competing” apps.

I think that recognition that the learning experience and trying to build the very best apps we could was more important than winning the (albeit, not enormous) cash prize was why this happened. My classmates said that they would rather everyone build the neatest thing possible and then show everyone else how to do it rather than fighting tooth and nail in the contest.

Collaborative competition lets everyone achieve the best they can.

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