Long-tail learning: a unique opportunity for CSCL?

Abstract

The Long Tail. The phrase "The Long Tail" was first coined by Chris Anderson in an October 2004 Wired magazine article to describe how our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" (mainstream products and markets) at the head of the demand curve toward a huge number of niches in the tail (as exemplified by companies such as Amazon or Netflix, that sell a large number of unique items in relatively small quantities). Goal of the Symposium. The goal of the symposium is to present initial components of an analytical framework and an analysis of success stories in order to launch a discussion of how the participatory Web 2.0 provides unique possibilities for an educational interpretation of the "Long Tail" thereby creating new feasibility spaces for collaborative learning.