Visible effort: Visualizing and measuring group structuration through social entropy

Abstract

A large amount of research supports the benefits of group collaboration in terms of positive outcomes, individual satisfaction, and powerful cognitive effects (Johnson Johnson,1999; Slavin,1996).Thepractice of computer-mediated collaboration(CMC) comes in many forms and many definitions forits meaning have been proposed.However, much research still needs to be done to understand the nature of theprocesses that take place during CMC.For example, despite recurring claims thatonline collaboration is innatelyegalitarian (either in terms of access or outcomes) and potentially superior due to some form of “collective intelligence” that spontaneously emerges without much coordination Kelly, 1995; Rheingold, 2002, there is mounting evidence that online interaction follows traditional patterns of human interaction Lampe, Ellison, Steinfield, 2006; Matei Ball-Rokeach,2001.