Year: 2008

Innovation: the human flip chart

I love reading Gillian Martin Mehers’s blog, You Learn Something New Every Day. Now there is my kind of person! Recently she posted about a facilitation challenge that I related to: going to a gathering venue and not being allowed to post things on the way. As I’m fully into flip charts and graphic recording/facilitation, I always ask in advance if I can put stuff on the wall, and if not, I arrange for pin boards or some alternative. However, Gillian and her team came up with a new one – human flip charts. Tight Parameters = Opportunities for Innovation.

There are two things I appreciate about Gillian’s improvisational response to a challenge. One, it is creative. Two, in engages and involves everyone in the room in the solution. The “problem” isn’t just the facilitators’. It is the challenge and operating conditions of the group.

Where we are able to give over both control AND responsibility, I find we get greater engagement.

Edit: a few hours later, I find this picture of CIFOR’s annual meeting Open Space Marketplace — one of the more innovative ones that I’ve seen!

The Book of Love

I have written in the past about the power of love. Keith Olbermann gives a tour de force editorial on why this culture is needed in the world as a response to the passage of California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage. You can see it, and see the transcript here –>  Olbermann: Gay marriage is a question of love – Countdown with Keith Olbermann- msnbc.com

At the end of his comments, Olbermann said:

This is the second time in ten days I find myself concluding by turning to, of all things, the closing plea for mercy by Clarence Darrow in a murder trial.

But what he said, fits what is really at the heart of this:

“I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar-Khayyam,” he told the judge. It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all: So I be written in the Book of Love; I do not care about that Book above. Erase my name, or write it as you will, So I be written in the Book of Love.”

Edited Later: See also this video from the weekend march in Seattle from Ashley and Thomas
http://vimeo.com/2259354. Again, the theme is Love.

Twitter, being cool and a great video

If you haven’t already heard about Twitter, the microblogging tool, it is never too late. I’ve been focusing on it as a tool for collaboration, learning and social presence.

With a lot of self-effacing charm, James Clay brings us this delightful video: Are you on Twitter?. I’m not sure this will increase your comprehension of the tool if you are new, but if you are already on, you’ll probably appreciate the humor. But it brings up the issue of adopting a new technology because it is “cool.” Take a look at the video, then I’ll continue below…

There are early adopters who will try anything. The second wave come from people who learn about a tool from a friend who has recommended it or hear about it and sense it is the new cool thing. There is temptation to try because of the coolness factor. That can be a pro or a con. It can tip us off to something useful. Or it can lead to “yet another thing to attend to.”

How do YOU tell the difference?

Viv McWaters’ Haiku Facilitation Improv Tips

The older I get, the more I love open group processes. Improv is one of those. You take a minimal but clear structure and then you run with it. Viv McWaters translated some improv principles into facilitation tips using another elegant, constrained form, the Haiku! Lovely. Since I’m too dang busy to write anything original (with mountains of half written drafts) I’m pointing you to and sharing some of Viv’s cool work.

Facilitation – Evaluation – Beyond the Edge – Viv McWaters
Improv principles for facilitators in haiku

Accept offers, say
Yes! And… be open to the
ideas of others.

Be average. Be
obvious – and then see how
you soar, and excel!

Working with another?
Look after your partner well,
And you’ll both look good.

Just jump in. Go on.
Start anywhere. Begin
and be surprised.

Do something – move your
body. Listen, observe and
trust yourself. Go on!

Made a mistake? Bow…
And then try something else new.
It’s the only way.

What if? What if? What…
Just let go of the what ifs
And be present too.

Even though I’m not writing much, I am present with you in this universe! Till later…

Guesting with Connectivism & Connective Knowledge

ConnectToday I am a guest conversationalist (??) in the Connectivism & Connective Knowledge course run by Stephen Downes and George Siemens. This is the course I was hoping to participate in, but the flurry of travel killed that idea. We had the first session this morning, and we’ll have another later today. The details:

You won’t want to miss the online sessions this week. Nancy White is our scheduled guest. We have two Elluminate discussions (both sessions can be accessed via this link): 11 am CST (see time zone conversions) and 7 pm CST (see time zone conversions).

Christy Tucker took some great notes, and the recording will be up later. Thanks, Christy. I agree that the brainstorming at the end was really good. I am kicking myself for not saving a set of the annotated slides, which included the brainstorm. Stephen, are they available? In the meantime, here are the unannotated slides plus the chat. (Connectivism Chat #1) As I mentioned at the end of the hour, there were TONS of rich, un-mined veins in the chat.

The chairs Christy talks about are on the first slide. After everyone was in, they all had names under them, pictures of coffee and food and all sorts of comments. It was a very convivial group!

Cck08 Individual, Community and Network

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: cck08 networks)

Photo: Creative commons on Flickr by the infatuated

Edited Nov 6: A few more links related to this post