Collaboration andCollective Intelligence

by Kathy MahanesNH Tech Leader Cohort

Goals and Tasks

• The goal of this presentation is to inform and persuade teachers of the power of collective intelligence.

• A secondary goal is for teachers to experience the collective intelligence of some internet tools and resources.

Collective Intelligence

• The ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal.

This involves having a group of individuals with different skills and knowledge come together to solve a problem or work toward a common goal.

NML definition

Collaboration

• The act of working together with one or more people in order to achieve something.

• These students are working together to solve a math problem.

What is a wiki?

• Wikis are online examples of collective intelligence. Here is an explanation of what a wiki is and how it works.

• http://www.teachertube.com/members/viewVideo.php?video_id=20514&title=Wikis_In_Plain_English

Wikipedia• Wikipedia is an example of an online resource where

anyone can add to the collective intelligence of the group of users.

• What are the problems with using Wikipedia with your students?

• How does Wikipedia address the problems associated with allowing all users to edit or revise content?

• Visit www.wikipedia.org with a partner to explore this online resource. Find out how wikipedia treats incoming revisions to validate and substantiate the information posted.

Collective Intelligence• Is the “power of many” real?

Can we prove collective intelligence is real?

• A group of 6th grade students sought to prove the power of “we”.

http://www.teachertube.com/members/viewVideo.php?video_id=69367&title=Gumballs_and_Collective_Intelligence

Project Results

George Haines and his 6th grade students were learning how to use digital media to access large numbers of people. They were learning about “crowdsourcing”.

George Haines’s students learned that the collective answer of the “crowd” is more accurate than the individual’s. There were 405 guesses. There were 337 gumballs in the container. The average guess of the crowd was 264.6. The crowd was more accurate than 75% of the individuals.

The students determined that the larger the crowd, the more likely it was to be more accurate than the individual.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

The lifelines in the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” are another example where the collective intelligence of the “crowd” can be a definite advantage.

Other Examples of Collective Intelligence ?

• Polling• “Dancing With the Stars”• Political Elections

Classroom Examples

• Think of examples from your own classroom where collective intelligence and collaboration is used with and without technology. Share them.

• How does collective intelligence enhance or facilitate the learning in your classroom?