The issue of the collective in digitally enabled collective intelligence in higher education contexts.

“The 21st century will not be a dark age. Neither will it deliver to most people the bounties promised by the most extraordinary technological revolution in history. Rather, it may well be characterized by informed bewilderment.” Manuel Castell

Overview

Web 2.0, notably collaborative content construction, is often upheld as a potential means of enacting collective intelligence. But what do we mean by collective intelligence, especially in educational contexts wherein collaboration is often imposed? This presentation problematises the construct of collective intelligence, particularly the notion of the collective, in higher education coursework.

Abstract

Problematision is the foundation of research. By definition  collective intelligence is problematisation by – and hopefully for- the many . Some of the many are now digitally enabled. They have the (potential) ability to problematise within and across collectives. While the “digitally enabled many” are dispersed , they can converge (synchronously and asynchronously) around (multiple) objects at a distance. Such hyper-distributed-dynamic-convergence can complexify what it means to work in unison as well as how knowledge is - and is not - created, appropriated, and integrated. (Jenkins, Purushotoma, Weigel, Clinton & Robinson, 2009). In addition, such radically open learning architectures complicate a key component of collective intelligence, namely holopticism (the permanent relationship between the individual and the emerging level of the group). (Noubel, 2004) This article looks at some of the key attributes that are said to enable digitally networked collective intelligence and then discusses how such attributes might fare in higher education teaching and learning. In particular, several “open learning constructs” are proposed for our collective consideration, notably “sustainable inclusion”, “creative response-ability” and “emergent regulation”.