Collective writing
Definition
Collective writing is an example of collective intelligencebecause you are collaborating with others in order to have a better performance. Group projects have always existed but in the era of social computing, the new technologies have made these projects easier to organize and develop (for example eliminating the problem of people unable to meet at the same moment, of single students doing the work of the whole group, etc.). Each student can contribute, at any moment and from anywhere, adding new ideas or editing the existing ones.
(For a deeper insight on writing as a cognitive tool see Writing-to-learn )
Advantages and disadvantages
Collective writing can be very useful at two levels:
- at a group level, because the possibility of adding new ideas and editing each others’ work leads to a better developed topic; Sarah Simpson commented on the website How the wiki changes writing :
“It has taken me more time to become 'comfortable' writing on a wiki than on a blog. Just my personal problem, however, learning all the mechanics has been difficult for me. At first I was uncomfortable with the idea that anyone could change what I write, but I'm finding out that that is a good thing about wikis! Ideas can be expanded, added to, made clearer by the collaboration of a group of writers.”
- at a personal level, because contributors are stimulated to use precise language and express their ideas concisely but clearly. This involvement, often leading to a greater interest in the topic, may in the end result in a better learning.
In order to take part in a collective writing project you need to have at least some basic technical skills, first of all typing (writing in italics and bold for example) and all the essential features of a word processor; you can then go on and increase your knowledge to use more difficult applications (for example you need to know a little bit of HTML language to be able to edit wiki pages). People who are not very good with computers might feel a bit under pressure and they risk to concentrate more on “how-to-write” than on “what-to-write”.
Tools and Software
There are many writing tools that can be used for collective writing. They allow people working on the same project to contribute from anywhere and at any time.
- Standard wordprocessors offer collective writing features.
- Writely.com A Google project which lets you save and work online on documents and spreadsheets so that you, and whoever you choose, can always keep them updated.
- Writeboardis another website which lets you save documents online and gives the possibility of updating them from wherever you want, comparing changes and having different people working on the same project.
- Wikis, in particular systems like mediawiki that are currently developing models to prepare printed books (e.g. Wiki readers)
- Blogs as well can be used for group projects and are very useful for online discussions.
As pointed out by the Washington University, these applications are transforming the Internet from a means of uploading and gathering information to a means of collaboration.
Links
References
- Carol L. Winkelmann, Electronic literacy, critical pedagogy, and collaboration: A case for cyborg writing (1995), Computers and the Humanities, Volume 29, Number 6, 431 - 448.
- Gunkel, David (2000) We Are Borg: Cyborgs and the Subject of Communication. Communication Theory 10(3) Abstract/PDF (Access restricted)
- Scott Rettberg, All together now: collective knowledge, collective narratives, and architectures of participation
- The BYU GE Newsletter on Writing Across the Curriculum,Writing Matters, Volume 2, Number 5, February 2001
- Washington University in St. Louis, Teaching and Technology, ITeach Newsletter, Spring 2007
- Bemidji University, How the wiki changes writing