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A task always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.

J<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Surowiecki">ames Surowiecki</a> explored a similar concept in Wisdom of the Crowds. Surowiecki's book is often misunderstood. He makes the point that people do not <em>think together</em> in coming to certain conclusions, but rather than people think on their own and the value of the collaborative comes in the connection and combination of ideas. Each person retains their own identity and ideas, but they are shaped and influenced by the work of others.

Collective intelligence places the collective first. Connective intelligence places the individual node first.

Heretofore, instructional designers have thought they were in the business of designing instructional systems to meet prespecified learning objectives. But first the constructivist movement--and now communication technologies themselves--seem to be thre atening this conception as the sole way to support learning. People are learning without help from designed instruction! In many settings, in fact, "natural" learning is more prevalent than "designed" learning <a href="#resnick">(Resnick, 1987)</a>. We believe that the situation requires a reexaminination of our core roles. Are we in the business of designing instruction or are we in the business of supporting valuable learning, wherever it may happen? The answer to this question will result in either a narrow or broad interpretation of our role and its relationship to non-instructional forms of learning.

Our own belief is that dynamic learning communities are proper objects of study. We should seek to understand how such communities function, how they grow, how they can be nurtured, and how they can be replicated across diverse settings. But nurturing is different than designing. We must respect the integrity of the community. In time, we may come to think of ourselves more as <em>learning technologists</em> than as <em>instructional technologists</em>, and <em>learning support specialists</em> more than <em>instructional designers</em>.

And content creators aren't so wrapped up in the virtual world that the real world suffers — they're more likely than their less-creative peers to participate in school clubs and to hold a part-time job.

In it, the authors argue that the educational system must strengthen reading, writing and research skills for students to be able to fully engage with the new participatory culture. But schools also have to do a better job of training students for a new literacy, which will demand experimentation, collaboration and interpretation.

<li>encourages contact between students and faculty,</li><li>develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,</li><li>encourages active learning,</li><li>gives prompt feedback,</li><li>emphasizes time on task,</li><li>communicates high expectations, and</li><li>respects diverse talents and ways of learning.</li>

Students perceived the course as having the most impact on their critical thinking skills, with 87% rating the course as extremely or very useful in developing these capabilities

Overall, 79% of respondents felt that this totally online course was extremely or very useful in fostering student interaction, a principle of effective teaching that students often fear will be lacking in their online courses (Bullen 1998; Ward 1998).