Interesting post on educational technology

Chris Abraham said,’I teach blogging and know that the majority of my class could be taught without the Internet and without the PC.
Computers and technology and the like are major distractions to a classroom, especially when they don’t work or when teachers use them as compensation devices for the inability to teach, to engage, or to connect.
Most lessons in reading, writing, science, and mathematics can be much more effective without technology. Even programming can be done without a PC initially — and should be, until the students get the theory behind it all.” Chris is correct!
“http://marketingconversation.com/2007/07/04/new-technology-and-education/

Collective photography

This is absolutely amazing. You must see this video!

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129

Great new video on technology

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEFKfXiCbLw

Will Richardson on the book How by Dov Seidman

"The strain that much of our culture seems to be under from these shifts is because of how dramatic and how fast they are coming at us.

For centuries, local proximity determined the majority of our social functions, containing us in relatively homogenous environments. We dealt on a day-to-day basis with people with whom we generally shared a common culture and therefore understood easily the behaviors and signals that occurred in the spaces between us. Global connectivity sets that whole idea on its ear. We now find ourselves in a world where we are thrust together in all aspects of our lives without borders and without the homogenizing pressures of locality…Before all information became zeros and ones, our lives moved at a slower pace. We had more time to get to know each other and the luxury to value personal contact in nearly all of our dealings. Now, multinational companies commonly form teams of employers chosen from various divisions, various countries, and various cultures (28).
Distance no longer separates us, and that in itself is a huge shift for most educators to get their brains around. And not only that, but the

…ties that bind us are looser than ever, and there is a new us whose members change almost daily…Electronic communication is both a boon and a bane. It makes these new, powerful networks of collaboration possible, but it does so in a strange and fractured language (31).
One other key point out of many that I could mention here is the effect of all this transparency; basically, your past is your present. And that presents an important challenge: “As reputation becomes more perishable, its value increases. As it becomes more accessible, it becomes a greater asset–and liability (38).”

And so this informs our work of re-envision of what schooling means. As much as we may not like it, we can’t go back.

We will never become less connected. We will never become less transparent…With all these changes to the way we live, connect and conduct our professional and personal lives, the questions become: How do we now thrive? How can we turn these challenges into strengths (39)?
And, I would add for our purposes, how do we prepare our kids to thrive? And as an educational system, how can we be proactive instead of reactive?

So, it’s no longer what you do so much as how you do it.

Success now requires new skills and habits, a new lens for seeing and a new consciousness for relating. In our see-through world, there’s an overabundance of information and it flows too easily for anyone to control it and outfox everyone. You can no longer game the system and expect no one to find out. You need to stop dancing around people and start leading a dance that everyone can follow. Long-term, sustained success is directly proportional to your ability–as a company and as an individual–to make Waves throughout evanescing networks of association, to reach out to others and enlist them in endeavors larger than yourself, and to do so while everyone watches you (55).
So, are we teaching that?

Like I said, most of this is aimed at business, but it’s still an interesting take on what the ramifications of all of this are, for our kids and for ourselves."

Oustanding reflections! How interesting is this? Well done Will and Dov.

Web 2.0 in education

There are two methods of using the Internet in education today. Most schools are using Web 1.0. However some progressive schools are now exploring and using Web 2.0. It's fascinating to observe this evolutionary process unfold.

What is the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 technology?

Web 1.0 is defined as using the computer to RECEIVE INFORMATION. Its emphasis is on COLLECTING and READING information. The computer is used for research using the Internet, writing papers, and presentations. Web 1.0 fails to harness the full power and potential of computers as well as the Internet.

Web 2.0 is using the Internet to facilitate collaboration and sharing between computer users. It uses the Internet as a common platform and the computer for COMMUNICATING with one another. It advocates using blogs, wikis, podcasts, video streaming, social bookmarking and RSS feeds to collaborate. Schools are just beginning to understand its potential. Web 2.0 takes full advantage of the computer technology available. This is the very beginning of a new era in history. This is the next generation of the Internet.

Web 2.0 uses the computer to SEND content, generate and distribute data and PUBLISH information. It emphasizes WRITING, COMMENTING and COLLABORATING. This is all about CONVERSATIONS rather than lectures. Web 2.0 is all about SOCIAL NETWORKING and building collaborative learning communities or teams. It allows students the opportunity to add to the body of knowledge in our world by publishing content. It allows regular individuals to have a GLOBAL VOICE!

Web 2.0 encourages COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE. Collective intelligence concerns how well people work together in a group. Typically this uses the Web and the computer to support collaboration between people in distant locations. Collective intelligence increases as it creatively and constructively includes diverse viewpoints, information coming from different perspectives and differences of opinions. Collaboration with others can in fact raise the group's intelligence. Mass collaboration is one of Webs 2.0 distinguishing feature.

Students are completely immersed in the world of Web 2.0.

Our students go home and participate in the Web 2.0 world, and are for the most part, unsupervised and uncensored. Students find Web 1.0 completely irrelevant to their lives. In a Web 1.0 school, students are not able to use a computer that stimulates their curiosity. Most teachers are still living and working in a Web 1.0 environment. Most students have far greater technological ability and skill. Educators have a great deal of work to do just to catch up. Some teachers find this highly threatening. Others find that they have no time or interest in learning new technology. Much of our conversations here in this school focus on all the reasons why we can't make a change to Web 2.0. Computers are vastly underutilized in schools today. Computer technology is very expensive and this is not using public tax dollars effectively. Web 1.0 curriculum will not prepare students to enter the 21st century.


Education is stuck in a system of CONTROL. TEACHERS FEAR WHAT THEY DONT UNDERSTAND. It's paranoia running wild. Teachers fear that Web 2.0 may put student's safety at risk which is unfounded. Teachers fear students will locate websites that are inappropriate. They complain the students plagiarize assignments, use spell check, e-mail friends at inappropriate occasions; they search for inappropriate things on the Web. All of which happens in school, as well as home, but with supervision it can be reduced and controlled. Today our network is filtered at maximum levels so half of the Internet is not even accessible. I can't even read my own blog at school.


While on-line computer exploration opens a world of possibilities for our students, expanding their horizons and exposing them to different cultures and different ways of life, they can be exposed to dangers as they travel on the information highway. Students must be taught in school how to avoid dangerous and risky situations. Certainly netiquette and personal safety must be taught and re-taught. If the school fails to teach them netiquette, how will they ever learn this? Teachers need to monitor and supervise what the students are doing. Students can work safely in Web 2.0.


What do our students need to know to have a competitive edge using computer technology?


Our students must become self directed learners. Job skills change rapidly in the workplace. People will change occupations frequently as the world changes at very rapid speeds. Students must be able to teach themselves new skills. Technology doesn't stand still. Students need to become more self directed and to take charge of their own learning. Today students sit and wait for the teachers to tell them what to do. Teachers define the method, assess the outcome and control the entire learning/teaching process. Students do not take the initiative to educate themselves. We don't emphasize this aspect of education today. No wonder students sit and wait for someone to teach them, instead of taking the initiative themselves. We are all products of our educational system. Web 2.0 encourages people to become self directed learners.


Our students must become self-organizers. They must learn to manage a slew of information coming at them by developing their own systems and strategies for organizing and comprehending it all. Students need to develop blogs, wikis, electronic portfolios, and aggregate readers. Self organization skills must be taught in school. This skill is completely embedded in Web 2.0.

Our students must become self-editors. They must learn to look at a piece of information and access it on a variety of levels, not simply believe it because someone else does. Students need to be able to evaluate the validity and reliability of information. The question becomes; is the new information correct and accurate, and how does it change your thinking and opinion? This is a Web 2.0 process.

Our students must become self-selectors. They must learn to evaluate and finally select their own mentors, teachers, and collaborative learning communities as they build their own social networks. Students must select a number of collaborative learning communities for which they are actively engaged.

Our students must become self publishers. They must learn to understand the power and importance of sharing and connecting information and knowledge and can publish it quickly and efficiently. Students that can develop a global voice will have tremendous power and an advantage. This is what Web 2.0 is all about.

All of these skills and characteristics listed above are all part of a Web 2.0 curriculum. I believe that the “skill set” (listed above) will be critical to our students future.

Our student body completely agrees with me. It's time to rethink our technology curriculum. The students are excited about the possibilities of a new direction. Mr. McHugo and Mrs. Countryman do an excellent job teaching our Web 1.0 curriculum. We now must develop a new progressive technology curriculum we can all be proud of. We want our students to graduate from this school with a major technological advantage.

What must we do?

We can't jump into a Web 2.0 curriculum over night. It takes time to develop this curriculum correctly. This is “a process” which must be encouraged from the school board and administration. Pressure must be applied from the top down. Web 2.0 staff training needs to take place. Our staff is not up to speed with technology at this time. We need to move this discussion forward. We have no choice. We must change or fall hopelessly behind the rest of the world.

Homework intervention group.

Some of our students are really struggling this time of the year. They are "educationally disengaged” in and out of school. They don’t turn in assignments. They don’t complete anything. Some are just a physical presence. The kids are just going through the motions until summer.

I suggest that we establish a learning community based on homework intervention next fall. We must work with teachers, parents, administration, teachers and students. Is there anyone out there doing any work in this area? I would love to hear from you

An example of collective intelligence at work

As a staff, we developed this mission statement and vision statement. This was a collective effort.

Mission Statement
The mission of the _____ School District, in partnership with families and our community, is to uphold a safe and positive environment that fosters educational opportunities for the youth of our community to become contributing citizens and life long learners.

Our Vision
Members of the _____ School District, as a group of caring and professional individuals:

• Are respectful, courteous and responsible.
• Use all resources to improve learning.
• Value and enjoy learning with high expectations and standards.
• Recognize achievements.

What do employers look for in our students?

What do Employers look for in employees?
After reviewing a large number of papers on this subject. I have came to the conclusion that educators must carefully consider teaching and developing the following;
PASSION & Positive Attitude
Strong Work Ethic
Intrinsic Motivation
Focus
Persistence
Self Confidence
Empathy for Other People
People Skills & Teamwork Ability
Ability to Teach Yourself New Skills
Adaptability/Flexibility
Problem Solving & Analytical Skills
Ability to search & find answers
Oral/Written Communication skills
Reading, Writing & Math Skills
Computer Skills
Creativity

Our state test (the WASL) doesn't consider many of these areas. Perhaps we are leaving some children behind?

Collaborative community that examines student work.

Our special education, Title I/LAP program has fully implemented the RTI (Response to Intervention) delivery system. Aimsweb has been very helpful and we highly recommend it. It’s a wonderful method of tracking student progress. Aimswebs materials are excellent as well as affordable. The phone support has been outstanding.

Our next step is to develop a collaborative learning community that will closely examine student work; we have named this our Care Team. “Student work” should be the focus and center of attention in school. The process of examining and evaluating students work, using collective intelligence, may be the single most important aspect of education. Teachers have always corrected students work, but they haven’t systematically examined it in great detail. Instead of throwing away the students work, these artifacts become a valuable mirror of how the school is teaching. Unlike standardized tests, their evidence speaks directly and revealingly to the quality of teaching and learning. Analysis of student artifacts can change perceptions of students, revise curricula and change teaching strategies. Looking closely and collaboratively at student work can unveil a treasure trove of insight to guide the school community as they reflect on their purpose, evaluate their progress, and plan strategies for instructional improvement. Student work is key data about the effectiveness of the school environment. It should affect future instruction, not just the individual students whose work is closely examine. This is the job of the Care Team.

Philosophy of the Care Team
Title I/LAP will “rank order” all students in our school district in terms of academic achievement and academic risk. The Care Team will examine the work of the most academically challenged students in rank order. We assign each student a case manager so they will not fall through the cracks. All pupils not progressing as expected should be entitled to excellent remediation. Every student the Care Team examines must have an individualized educational plan.
1. Define exactly what the problem is. Is the student learning at their potential rate? Use data not teacher opinion to determine if a student has a problem. Rely on data based decisions.
Others areas to consider or rule out;
a. Could this be an instructional problem?
b. Could this be a curriculum problem?
c. Could this be an environmental issue?
d. Could the student have a learning problem? What skills are missing?

2. What can be done about this problem? What interventions can be designed to meet the needs of the student? What additional support is needed? Utilize specialists in each field if possible.

3. Write measurable meaningful observable long term goals and short term benchmarks. Use research to set the goals to eliminate human opinion. Design an ACTION PLAN. Define exactly what it means (for this student) to be a success.

4. Implement the interventions. Identify who will deliver the service, where the interventions will take place, the time of service and the curriculum to be use. Try the interventions for 3 days and re-evaluate the services.

5. How do we know the interventions are working? How will we evaluate the student? Are the interventions working? What type of progress monitoring will be used?

Teachers must attempt to meet the needs of each individual and structure a learning environment that will motivate and stimulate them. Listen and recognize the needs of the students. The system and curriculum should be built around the needs of the students, not the other way around.

Learning communities use protocols.
The learning community called a Care Team use a script called a protocol. We need a formal structure or protocol, which is simply a meeting agenda. A protocol is like putting on a play, “through the dialogue,” is mainly improvisational. Effective protocols have built in questions, which need to be addressed and answered. In the analysis of the student work one will discover flaws in teaching strategies, curriculum and materials.

A protocol structures the conversation and it promotes collective intelligence. The structure of the conversation encourages participation, helps the group to stay on task and focus, ask the essential questions, promote creative thought, enhance deeper comprehension and evaluate the student’s work. Harvard University has developed a number of excellent protocols used by teachers in education. I have received training in this area at Harvard’s Project Zero. I highly recommend it.
The Collaborative Assessment Conference Protocol
Adapted by Steve Seidel of Harvard University
http://www.lasw.org/CAC_steps.html
I. Getting started
• The group chooses a facilitator who will make sure the group stays focused on the particular issue addressed in each step.
• The presenting teacher puts the selected work in a place where everyone can see it or provides copies for the other participants. S/he says nothing about the work, the context in which it was created, or the student until Step V.
• The participants observe or read the work in silence, perhaps making brief notes about aspects of it that they particularly notice.
II. Describing the work
• The facilitator asks the group, "What do you see?"
• Group members provide answers without making judgments about the quality of the work or their personal preferences.
• If a judgment emerges, the facilitator asks for the evidence on which the judgment is based.
III. Asking questions about the work
• The facilitator asks the group, "What questions does this work raise for you?"
• Group members state any question they have about the work, the child, the assignment, the circumstances under which the work was carried out, and so on.
• The presenting teacher may choose to make notes about these questions, but s/he is does not respond to them now--nor is s/he obligated to respond to them in Step 5 during the time when the presenting teacher speaks.
IV. Speculating about what the student is working on
• The facilitator asks the group, "What do you think the child is working on?"
• Participants, based on their reading or observation of the work, make suggestions about the problems or issues that the student might have been focused on in carrying out the assignment.
V. Hearing from the presenting teacher
• The facilitator invites the presenting teacher to speak.
• The presenting teacher provides his or her perspective on the student’s work, describing what s/he sees in it, responding (if s/he chooses) to one or more of the questions raised, and adding any other information that s/he feels is important to share with the group.
• The presenting teacher also comments on anything surprising or unexpected that s/he heard during the describing, questioning and speculating phases.
VI. Discussing implications for teaching and learning
• The facilitator invites everyone (the participants and the presenting teacher) to share any thoughts they have about their own teaching, children’s learning, or ways to support this particular child in future instruction.
VII. Reflecting on the Collaborative Assessment Conference
• The group reflects on the experiences of or reactions to the conference as a whole or to particular parts of it.
• Define exactly what the problem is.
• What can be done about this problem?
• Write measurable meaningful observable long term goals and short term benchmarks.
• Implementation of interventions.
• How do we know the interventions are working?
VIII. Thank the presenting teacher
• The session concludes with acknowledgment of and thanks to the presenting teacher.
Please comment if you have any suggestions, agreements, disagreements or questions. I would love to hear from you.

James Surowiecki asks; Is it possible to be too connected?

"In the past few years, we've seen a powerful and justifiable groundswell of interest in and adoption of bottom-up and collaborative approaches to problem-solving and decision-making. It's now clear that under the right circumstances, these approaches can be remarkably effective, and can yield solutions that are consistently better than those produced by even the smartest expert. Groups, instead of falling to their lowest common denominator, can often rise to the level of their best member and beyond.

The paradox, though, is that groups are typically smartest when the people in them act as much like individuals as possible--when they rely primarily on their own private information, when their opinions are independent, and when their judgments are not determined by their peers. And in an ever-more connected world, this creates a challenge: how can we reap the benefits of collaboration and collective decision-making, while still ensuring that people remain independent actors? Are networks problems as well as solutions? What might it mean to be too connected?" By James Surowiecki The New Yorker.

Step One; Build a Collaborative Learning Community.

“It’s not what you know,” a wise man once said, “It’s WHO you know.” In fact, who you know is directly related to what you know. Your very future as a professional will be determined by the quality of your collaborative community. Surround yourself with a community of smart people that will give you intelligent advice, give you positive and negative feedback, as well as validate you. Isolationism will not work for you or your children. You can’t make the best decisions unless you use collective intelligence. WE is truly smarter than ME. You need a community, a team or support group that you can interact with. A collaborative community is the greatest force on Earth. This group will help you make sound decisions, enhance your creativity, renew your sense of spirit, give you solid advice, celebrate triumphs and assist with tragedies. The community will circle the wagons around you when you are under attack or challenged. This group will support you when you need help and act as your advocate. I define a collaborative learning community as a group of people with similar values and interests who remain in contact for assistance and support. It’s time to develop a plan.

Goal number one; you must build your own collaborative learning community and become an active participant in this group. Networking skills can make or break a person. Build a community who can guide you, point you in the right direction, coach you, answer questions and share their knowledge and wisdom. Most likely you have already begun this process, you just need to take the next step.

How do you start building a collaborative community? I recommend that you take a piece of paper and start listing all the people you are already collaborating with. Draw a web of all the communities and affiliations you belong to, your church, clubs, classes, families, teams, and the neighborhood. It’s important to find people that have the same common interests, share the same values, viewpoints, and goals in life. You must attempt to develop a mutually beneficial relationship in which you can help others and they, in turn, will assist you. Identify who these local individuals are and build a powerful alliance with them.

Your community no longer needs to be based on physical proximity because you can communicate using the Internet. You can form a learning community consisting of many people around the world. The best collaborative groups are composed of local people as well as distant people in virtual space. Take out the web you are drawing and start to list all the people that can join you from distant locations using the Internet. All successful collaborations involve many participants from several sectors of the workforce, government, business, labor/industry and education, as opposed to participants from one work sector. Find several members that have degrees outside of education that work in different fields. Find people from many different walks of life. It’s also recommended to find at least one older person that has more experience. It may be an advantage to find a younger college student that you can mentor and share ideas with. When you attend a conference search for people that are interested in continuing the conversation over the Internet. It’s a great way to build your learning community.

Successful people tend to know more key associates than do their less accomplished peers. Successful people are better connected and have larger learning communities. You can directly tap into the contacts of your membership.

Blogging is the best way to build and maintain a learning community. It’s the glue that holds the entire community together. Blogging simply is conversation in a digital format. The conversations on the blog will draw in new recruits from around the world when they join your discussions. By using RSS feeds you can have a free 24-hour per day research department at your fingertips.

It takes time and patience to develop a personal learning community. It takes time for relationships to develop between group members. It takes time to develop trust. The entire process can be slow at times it may seem as if nothing is happening.

A collaborative community is essential in the world today. “There is no such thing as a self made man. You will reach your goal only with the help of others.” Said George Shinn. Expand your collaborative community, expand your knowledge. In Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital Robert Putnam wrote, “From labor unions and women’s groups to sports leagues and parent teacher associations, there has been a steady decline in participation over the last decade or two. This trend is especially troublesome.” People are not connected and more and more people are bowling alone. Collective intelligence cannot be done alone.

Using technology in a constructive and productive manner.

I heard a very interesting radio program several weeks ago. It is thought that over 75 percent of all high school students in this country reads and writes a weekly blog. I thought that percentage was far too high. When I returned to school the next morning, I polled our high school students. The results of my poll shocked me. All but one student said they write a blog and read them daily. I went to our staff meeting the next morning. I told the staff that over 99 percent of our high school students are blogging. How many teachers are writing a blog? Not one teacher! So we have a serious problem today. Students are blogging, reading and writing every night at home. They are not reading the newspaper or watching television, they are blogging. When our students come to school each day we tell them they are “blocked” from using all blogs on our computer network. We tell them, “You can’t read or write the way YOU want to in this school. You must do it our way.” So think about this…who is going to teach our students to use blogs in a constructive and productive manner? Where is the collective intelligence in education today? We must reshape education so it is more relevant for our students. Will Richardson wrote in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom, "Teachers will have to start to see themselves as connectors, not only of content, but of people. We can invite people from around the world to engage in discussions and even content creation with our students, and our teachers must be willing to find and use these sources effectively." Can teachers comprehend the way our culture is changing?

Technology has changed the world.

The world has changed; people all over the globe can now work and communicate together in ways that were never before possible in history. Information technology such as e-mail, instant messaging, the Internet, and video conferencing has completely changed the way humans communicate over time and space. Every day we hear about blogs, wiki’s, chat rooms, on-line data bases and discussion groups. The web has connected over 700 million computer users into a colossal world community of people. All important information today is linked electronically. Thomas Malone of MIT said, “Recent technological advances are bringing about changes in business organization that will be as dramatic as the rise of democracy was to government.” Our school has 135 computers and we have 120 students in our school district. We have all the necessary technology available. Now it’s important to utilize the technology that we have. How can our students and computers be connected so that collectively they act more intelligently than any individual, computer or group had ever been before? We are starting to use blogs and wikis to form learning communities and improve communication. It is now important to deeply understand collective intelligence and take full advantage of it.

Interesting findings about group intelligence from WikiWorld.

"Some findings of the EIES Legacy era

1. Without structure, the larger the group, the worse the decision.
2. Up to five experts can improve a group decision.
3. On-line groups do at least as well as face to face groups.
4. Face to face groups tend to be dominated by one or two (usually male) participants.
5. Participants on on-line groups participate equally (gender independent).
6. Participants will collaborate only if their privacy and control is protected.
7. Competitors will collaborate only with respect to established shared principles.
8. the ideal group size is two. larger qroups can be made most effective by maximising the effectiveness of individual pairings and decomposing activities into smaller groups down to one on one activities.
9. 25% of on-line group members get addicted to the system and apply it beyond its intended use, another 25% use it effectively, 25% use it due to group pressure, and 25% never use it. Success often demands including the absent.
10. Anonomymity and pseudonyms aid forth right communications, particularly in heirarchical organizations.
11. Tailoring a system for a group imparts a feeling of ownership and improves utilization beyond the added value of the tools provided.
12. On-line asyncronous collaborative learning is as effective as the traditional classrom without the time and place constraints."

http://www.wikiworld.com/wiki/index.php/CollectiveIntelligence

General Thoughts About Collective Intelligence

I hope to explore the theory of collective intelligence and some general thoughts behind promotion and suppress of collective intelligence. In addition, I hope to examine some applications and strategies that enhance collective intelligence.

For the past 30 years I have been teaching special education. I’m in the business of evaluating and examining student’s intelligence. I assess intelligence, implement interventions and systematically monitor student’s learning. The past few years, I have become very interested in group intelligence. A group composed of intellectually “average” individuals, for instance, may work together to form a very smart “above average” intelligent group. Sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts. Yet another group consisting of individuals with “above average” intelligence may in fact form a group which functions well “below average” intellectually. We’ve all experienced a group or organization that doesn’t seem as smart as any one of its members. Many groups and teams within a school setting function well below their collective intellectual potential. Why does one group excel and another struggle?

An I.Q. test compares individual problem solving skills with problem solving capabilities of others the same age. In a similar fashion, we could demonstrate the existence of group intelligence by comparing how well various groups solve problems, in other words measure group I.Q. Collective intelligence concerns how well people put their heads together in a group. So an important question is how can we raise group intelligence so the group (or school) may reach their full intellectual potential? How can we attempt to maximize collective intelligence, group productivity, collaboration, best practices and team effectiveness? We must move our culture forward and work smarter as a team.

What is Collective Intelligence?

One definition of collective intelligence comes from Wikipedia “An intelligence that emerges from the collaboration and competition of many individuals, an intelligence that seemly has a mind of its own.” Yet another definition of collective intelligence comes from George Por, “The capacity of a human community to evolve toward higher order complex thought, problem solving and integration through collaboration and innovation.” Group intelligence pertains to any situation where problem solving can exceed the capabilities of an individual group member. Collective intelligence is all about how smart a group thinks. How well does the group merge the minds of the participants and take advantage of individual experience, knowledge and expertise in a coordinated way? Does the group leverage the minds of the individuals or does it get done by a guy at the top? Please comment if you have any questions or answers. Let the conversation begin.