Augmentation of the Intellect (carbon.cudenver.edu 
archive ) by Martin Ryder
(May, 1994)
This is an attempt then to assess the impact of the internet.
Abstract:
This article characterizes the Internet as a powerful constructivist environment for learning. It is an organic system which grows and responds to human participation. A virtual library, the Internet provides abundant information resources. But unlike a library, the Net is a potent environment for generative learning where participants, through interaction, add value to the resources they exploit. The flexibility of collaborative environments provides scaffolding for learners in times of rapid change where standard instructional approaches can be less than adequate. The power of the Net is exploited by crafted learners using collaborative strategies and sophisticated cognitive tools.
I thought it was interesting to get a perspective from that stage in the development of the internet, where web tools are still in their infancy. I found the article when searching for information on Paulo Friere. Note that some links in the article are now dead. -- John Fletcher
It is unbelievable that that paper didn't bother to mention Doug Engelbart's 1962 "AUGMENTING HUMAN INTELLECT: A Conceptual Framework" (www.bootstrap.org ), since Augmentation Of The Intellect wasn't just the focus of that one early paper, it was the overt point of all of Englebart's research, including his famous 1968 The Mother Of All Demos.
See also "Internet Pioneers: Doug Engelbart" at www.ibiblio.org for more on that.
P.S. 1994 was early for the World Wide Web, it was not early for the Internet.
-- Doug Merritt
Heh. I'm not sure that network (ie, internet) research was aimed at augmenting the individual intellect. Computing research was but network research had slightly different aims. Near as I can figure, computing research such as Doug Engelbart's was focused primarily on the individual whereas network research was focused on the society, if it can be said to have been focused at all. For instance, the concepts of Human Nets or the World Net are entirely social and have no meaning in terms of 'augmenting the human intellect'. John, I think you corrected your initial statement in the wrong way, though it appears that Doug corrected it. -- RK
See original on c2.com