THINKReaching for Possibilities

Together

Presented by: Trevor JacobsonLorena Lambert Richard Hadley

Enter-

Origins of Intelligent Life On-Line

"Only a few generations of humans have had instantaneous electronic communications, and only now are we launching groups linked with the historically unique cognitive (digital) technology of computers."

Improving Intelligence

During the industrial age machines were used primarily as an extension of the human body, something with which to improve upon human brawn.

As we moved into the information age machines became more and more an extension of the mind, a way to improve upon human intelligence.

Now, electronic communication tools provide a "place" where groups of distributed people can be brought together such that their dynamic human intelligence can grow as a group.

How it All Came to Be

1853

Binary logic is born in An Investigation of the Laws of Thought

1940

Binary logic reaches pure digital form

1950

Joseph Licklider asserts, "Computers have the potential to act…as a tool that can amplify the range of human intelligence."

1962

The Intergalactic Computer Network is formed.

1968

Engelbart presents the first mouse, bitmapped graphics, multi-windows, and hypertext links.

How it All Came to Be Continued…

1973

Turoff creates the first large-scale conferencing system

1988

Internet relay chat is invented

1989-1990

The www is invented by Tim Burners-Lee

1994

Netscape Navigator is released

2003

Over 50% of US citizens over the age of 2 use the Internet.

"As virtual group's structure begins to appear online, it starts to develop a computer enhanced intelligence."

How Groups Think

Categories, Patterns, and Cognitive Models

Thinking is described by our text as, "The functional ability to create, use, and adapt cognitive models." (George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).

People use models to understand the world, as individuals and as groups. When data streams into our senses, we tend to differentiate the information and place it into various categories. We then develop cognitive models from the patterns we perceive between the categories we have in our minds.

Thinking

Basic Categories The categories we form aren't just plucked out of a hat.

Thinking starts with a basic kind of category that our text calls "basic-level categories." These basic-level categories are just simple ideas that everyone can perceive, like homes, jobs, families, and so on. The range of basic categories that we understand as humans goes from the very general to the extremely specific, but most people understand concepts that fall somewhere in the middle.

This middle ground is called the Basic Level, which doesn't mean the lowest level-there is no value judgment assigned-just the most common or easiest understood middle level concepts. For example, research has shown that people can understand the idea of a dog (a middle level concept) more easily than animal (a general concept) or Siberian Husky (a specific breed of dog).

Specific Concept: Siberian Husky (member of general Category of Animal—base level of dog).

Thus people categorize from the most accessible area of memory, a basic level concept, which seems to anchor the more general concepts as well as the more specific concepts. It's almost as though each memory trace is a node or module in our brains, with each module containing the general and the specific examples of the basic concept, rather like an atom or a molecule with a central node having connections to other smaller electrons or ancillary components. I've drawn a graphic to illustrate this concept on the next slide (Graphic A: Base Level Categories).

Basic Categories Continued…

So, the concept of categories as cognitive models, explains how we perceive objects around us and use these models to make sense of the world. But how about groups of people, do they use a similar process to understand and solve problems they are faced with when they come together as a team?

Our textbook tells us that this is exactly how teams approach the problems they face. Groups tend to categorize from the middle by defining their goals in general terms, then tackling the specific tasks needed to resolve the issues they face.

Basic Categories Continued…

Containers: Organize the patterns of concepts

If people and groups use cognitive models in similar ways, what is the glue that holds all these disparate categories together? How are the many categories perceived in a comprehensible way-how do we all make sense of the world around us.

It would be a confusing mess unless we were able to perceive a meaningful pattern in things. And that is just how we do it, we add another cognitive model to our repertoire, patterns. For people and groups, the configuration of connections among the base level categories and the general and specific instances of these, form a conceptual grouping or container.

Cognitive scientists call this conceptual grouping a schema, which is just a way of thinking about a grouping of concepts. We have a container schema that is basic to human thinking, it allows us to group similar thoughts and perceive a model for our patterns of recognition of everyday actions.

A good example of a container schema is ourselves, we are both a container, of thoughts, ideas, and concepts, and we are contained, in our houses, cars, buildings and so forth. Our bodies are containers, and they are contained, a basic concept that everyone recognizes

Containers: Organize the patterns of concepts Continued…

So how does the container schema help us solve problems, as individuals or as teams? Quite simply, this pattern is so basic, that it allows us to connect our physical activities to our metaphoric, or abstract ideas. This is how we can bridge the easily understood physical concepts based on our bodies and minds to social concepts like virtual teams and shared leadership.

We intuitively understand that Joe is a member of Mary's group, that is, he is contained in that group, and Mary's group is part of a larger team, the organization that her group works for. Container schema are very useful concepts indeed, they allow us to make sense of the world and our place contained in it.

Containers: Organize the patterns of concepts Continued…

Another basic pattern is the whole-part pattern of concepts. For example, when we use one person to stand for the whole group, as in the statement, "I am a part of Mary's group.", we are using the whole-part concept to convey a complex idea contained in a schema or container that everyone can understand. Our textbook tells us that containers and whole-part patterns are common to group's experiences and form the basis for group cognitive models (p. 263).

Containers: Organize the patterns of concepts Continued…

Group Reality So, this is all very interesting you may think, but what does

this mean for a person taking an online course at a major state university? Our text draws the conclusion that all people share fundamental "common categories," experiences like eating, drinking, and sleeping that are common to all people and transcend cultural differences (p. 265).

These categories are based on the most common of all categories, our own bodies. This suggests that our bodies are containers of our thoughts, perceptions, and our personalities.

We typically view groups through the dimension of people, since groups are made up of people. But groups also have a purpose, and groups communicate, establish relationships, and they make connections to each other and to other sources of information.

So we can begin to understand that group's are composed of not only other people, but also exist for a purpose, they exist over a period of time, and they forge links to each other and beyond.

Thus the shared cognitive models of people across time evolves into a greater pattern of cognitive realities through group interaction and networking, ever moving into the realm of a virtual world.

Group Reality Continued…

Dimensions of Group Reality:People, Purpose, Links, and Time

A Place to Think

Establishing a Sense of Place in a Virtual World

Common Aspects of Virtual Groups

Virtual groups have certain common characteristics which can influence how a group behaves.– They are made up of people.– They have a purpose.– They have methods for

communicating.– They change and adapt over time.

Making Virtual Groups Feel “Real”

The four common characteristics of groups – people, purpose, communication and adaptation – are also ways to think about groups as concrete entities.– Virtual groups can start to feel real when the people in it

form links and begin to see themselves as an interconnected whole.

– Additionally, a group can gain a strong sense of identity based on the common purpose that all members are striving to achieve.

– Communication tools help groups to form links and work towards the purpose.

– Schedules, deadlines, group calendars help to establish a group’s place in time and provides a way to track progress and show how the group adapts over time.

Virtual space

The physical representation of a group in virtual space is usually a common online environment such a as a web site.

– We can use this class as an example of creating an online space. Using the language of cognitive models, Blackboard is the “container” for our virtual class.

• With Blackboard we can begin to see the other people in the group by visiting their individual web sites. We gain a sense of shared purpose by reading the syllabus and other course materials, we communicate using the discussion board, we are all acutely aware of deadlines and milestones.

Advantages of Virtual Groups

Thoughts are made explicit.– The thoughts and decisions of a group are

captured using:• Threaded discussions.• E-mail• Visual images – pictures, charts, timelines etc.

– Discussions can take place over a longer period of time and important points can be revisited and expanded upon.

• Because discussions are often preserved in written format, the ideas and thoughts persist after the meeting ends. This preservation of the historical record is easier in virtual groups by virtue of the way they communicate.

More Advantages of Virtual Groups

Virtual groups are part of a larger network

– Virtual groups are part of computer and telecommunication networks which allows them to create links with other groups and resources.

Virtual groups are well suited to tackling wicked problems.

What’s a Wicked Problem? You know you are dealing with a

wicked problem when:– It is not apparent what the

problem is until some solutions have been tried.

– The people who will be affected by the proposed solution have very different perspectives and priorities.

– There are many obstacles involved in solving the problem including limited time, resources and people.

– There is no solution. An answer is agreed upon when there are no longer any resources to pursue the problem any further.

Example of a Wicked Problem What is the best way to manage our

national forests?– Forest ecosystems are complex.

We don’t really know what works until we try some real world approaches.

– There are a large number of stakeholders who hold diametrically opposed and very passionate opinions about what the solution should be.

– It is unclear who is ultimately responsible for devoting resources and time to solve this issue.

– It is unlikely that a right answer will ever be found. The best answer will be the one that everyone can live with.

How Can Virtual Groups Help?

In solving a problem like how to manage national forests a virtual group would:– Provide a forum for representatives of all interested

stakeholders to come together and discuss alternatives. Geographic distance would not be a barrier.

– Allow for broad representation which would make it more likely that all possible solutions would be represented.

– Make possible a diversity of viewpoints which could lead to more creative problem solving.

– Ensure that discussions are captured and make possible preservation of promising threads of inquiry.

For more information about wicked problems go to: http://cognexus.org/dmforwp.doc

Learning

Online groups improve our ability to learn.– Think about this class:

• In the beginning there were a few lectures and some assignments.

• Today we have the lectures, four weeks of discussions, e-mails, chat transcripts, etc.

• Someone just starting to study virtual learning could use the rich data created by this class as a starting point to reach even higher levels of understanding.

More Group Learning

In addition to allowing for a continual accumulation of shared knowledge, virtual groups also create data about how groups function.

We can use this information to learn how to make groups work better, which will improve the ability of groups to solve problems.

Final Thoughts

Virtual groups still don’t have all the answers.– We are just beginning to understand

how to make virtual groups work. – Because most of the activities of a

group are captured electronically we can study how these groups make decisions.

– Once we learn more about how groups think, we can work on ways to help them think better.

– Once groups learn how to think better, we will all be smarter and better able to solve “big” problems.