Interesting article in today’s Technology Review on “big science” collaboration. The National Science Foundation is funding a “Science of Collaboratories” project. And what is a collaboratory? Gary Olson at the University of Michigan defines it this way:

an organizational entity that spans distance, supports rich and recurring human interaction oriented to a common research area, and provides access to data sources, artifacts and tools required to accomplish research tasks.

It’s easy to see that this definition can work for all sorts of collaboration in higher education and elsewhere, which is why the article’s seven principles for successful collaboration are useful for anyone trying to use online learning effectively. The eighth principle is also very important, though it isn’t given its own number and is mentioned only at the very end: “social glue” among participants is vital, and one of the best ways to get “glued together” is by face-to-face interaction.

There’s that blend again.