Learning as Self-Regulated

Because of the internet and social media, learners can manage and direct their own learning easily. They own their own learning in YouTube presentations, social media comments, blogs, and so forth. Learners can learn what they want to learn, when they want to learn it, how they want to learn, be it through videos, articles, presentations, slideshares, and share what they are learning through various media and get comments from other learners.

"Individuals, groups, and communities all form symbiotic relationships for a wide variety of reasons, but the underlying impetus is resource sharing. Whether the resource is food, information, or support, individuals come together to share resources." (Ribbands, 1953)

Self-organization has long been observed in the insect world, but Jacobs first argued in 1961 that communities actually self-organize in manners similar to social insects in his work on urban planning. (Jacobs, 1961)



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Ribbands, C.R. (1953). The Behavior and Social Life of Honeybees. London: Bee Research Association Limited.
Wiley, D.A., Edwards, E. K., Online self-organizing social systems: The decentralized future of online learning, 2002, Manuscript in preparation. opencontent.org/docs/ososs.pdf
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