Woolly Mammoth? Limping Gazelle? Vulnerable Communities of Practice

In my post-election haze, the metaphors here are almost psychedelic! Maybe I'm over-compensating with carbs and chocolate...
E-Learning Queen: Woolly Mammoth? Limping Gazelle? Vulnerable Communities of Practice:

"Without good distributed communities of practice, even the best e-learning program can degenerate as ID's, SME's, IT, instructors, and support services speak 'at' each other or ignore each other altogether; policies and practices are mired down in the past; and the institution feels itself being chewed upon by the competition. Granted, communities of practice in a distributed environment have a different look and feel than those that are forged in small groups in face-to-face settings. Nevertheless, they are vital if ongoing e-learning products and programs are to be developed, nurtured, and sustained. The main pillars of success -- communication, reasonable and well-coordinated change, relevant tasks and outcomes, shared vision and mission, needs-responsive and ever-evolving instructional and developmental strategies -- will collapse.

As someone supporting/coaching/facilitating distributed CoPs, it ain't easy. I'm curious if any readers have any key lessons on distributed Cops. Comment?

Two Stories about Mobile Phones and Rural Kenyans

Bev pointed to another mobile phone story: global: ICTs Impact In Developing Nations:

"Against all predictions for the Kenyan telecommunications sector it is clear that mobile telephony has become an absolute necessity to all including the ordinary rural villager. For the mobile telephony to have real impact it is important that the basic instructions be extended to cover indigenous languages."

Bev also has a post in her blog about Barack Obama's Kenyan grandmother. Like Bev, it's folks like Obama that give me some hope today here in the US. :-(

[via Bev Trayner]

Poynter Online - Fifty Writing Tools

I should read this site. Early and often. Poynter Online - Fifty Writing Tools:

"At times, it helps to think of writing as carpentry. That way, writers and editors can work from a plan and use tools stored on their workbench. You can borrow a writing tool at any time. And here's a secret: Unlike hammers, chisels, and rakes, writing tools never have to be returned. They can be cleaned, sharpened, and passed on.

Each week, for the next 50, I will describe a writing tool that has been useful to me. I have borrowed these tools from writers and editors, from authors of books on writing, and from teachers and writing coaches."

See all the cool things I find when I start cruising Furl? I think I'm getting my blog rhythm back!

Robs Blog: Gmail Tools & Plugins

I was giving away gmail accounts when I was in Ghana -- where people who check email only weekly at an internet cafe keep going over their Hotmail account allowances. We started looking at gmail together as a tool for community organizing and immediately folks started asking me about options. I wish I had this page handy at the time (they are getting an email alert tonight!) Robs Blog: Gmail Tools & Plugins:

"Plugins and tools to make Gmail easier to use are starting to pop up on the web, here are the ones I've found so far:"

Thanks, Rob!

M-Learning with Disadvantaged Kids

One more via Stephen (I'm still not caught up on my blog reading so diversity is slim) that builds on the last thread on podcasting. Again, what I see in Africa is the skillful and flexible application of mobile phones for a variety of communication needs. I've been harping on the opportunity for a while with a few organizations to little effect, so I was pleased to see this report of a pan-European project. It appears on Australias fine LearnScope site.

"We also learned that, just as the best e-learning is designed to be electronically delivered and supported, m-learning should not be e-learning squashed on to smaller screens.

We found most of our target audience enjoyed collaborative learning but some learners also appreciated the opportunity to work on their literacy skills in private whenever and wherever was most convenient to them. The learners learned from and supported each other but also required a lot of mentor support and encouragement and a formal, structured and supervised introductory session resulted in a more successful learner experience. However, mentors require training and support to ensure that they are confident and competent users of mobile technologies and therefore able to adequately support the learners."

I've seen tutors support predominantly web-based elearning with mobile phones, but there was no intentional design or integration. This one comes purely from the mobile phone direction. What are the integration opportunities? (I'd also note the role of mentors in this project -- facilitation, as it were!)

What is podcasting? And what does it have to do with development?

I was talking to some colleagues in Ghana last week about blending technologies to reach an audience that has a range of internet access --> from zero to always on. I mentioned podcasting and they looked at me as if I were crazy until we started talking about how it might blend with community radio, which is a powerful force in some African countries (See Ethan Zuckerman's recent posts on this. Also his notes from PopTech)

Then today via Stephen Downes I found Edupodder and Steve Sloan's concise definition What is podcasting?:

"If you know how a desktop aggregator like NetNewsWire works, you know you subscribe to a set of RSS feeds. Using the aggregator you easily view the new stuff from all the feeds you have subscribed to together, or can see each feed separately. The format used is RSS 2.0 which supports enclosures.

Podcasting works in a similar way. Except, instead of having to read the new content on a computer screen, you can listen to the new audio content on a portable device like an iPod as well as your computer.

Using this technology is like giving your iPod a set of subscriptions that are checked regularly for updates. Today there are a limited number of programs available this way.

It has been described as being like underground radio. Except this broadcasting technology is becoming available to everyday users. It does for time based content, like audio and potentially video what the web did for text publishing. It is the audio version of a blog!

I believe the implications of this for education are astounding and are just now being recognized.

I think the implications go far beyond education, Steve! Think of an HIV prevention program that streams interesting (read: fun, hip, culturally relevant) materials, maybe in the form of music, to an internet cafe where some clever teen sets up a way to download it to not one, but many digital music devices. These then spread out around town, out to villages. Kids swap their files, collect the songs. Local radios upload and play the pieces. All of a sudden one internet connection is the source for content that spreads (dare I say virally?) across the community for HIV prevention.

What about when the kids start creating their own digital recordings? What about when it gets political, but VERY hard to control in cultures where control has repressed change?

Blue sky? Sure, I'm good at that. But I think there is more than blue sky in the picture.

Smells like reciprocity to me...

Jeremy Zawodny: writes

"The PC is no longer the only battleground. The Internet is the new medium and it has the effect of leveling the playing field. While this isn't a new insight, let me say it in two specific ways:

1. The web enables infinite distribution of content without any special effort or infrastructure.
2. The web extends the reach of our apps and services as far as we're willing to let them go.

Both notions come back to ubiquity. If your stuff (and your brand) is everywhere, you win. The money will follow. It always does.

The closer to everywhere you can reach, the better off you'll be.
Where is everywhere?

The notion of everywhere has changed too. It's not just about every desktop anymore. It's about every Internet-enabled device: cell phone, desktop, laptop, tablet, palmtop, PDA, Tivo, set-top box, game console, and so on.

Everywhere also includes being on web sites you've never seen and in media that you may not yet understand.
What to do?

So how does a company take advantage of these properties? There are three pieces to the puzzle as I see it:

1. do something useful really really well
2. put the user in control by allowing access to your data and services in an easy and unrestricted way
3. share the wealth

It sounds simple, doesn't it? Unfortunately, there are very few companies who get it. Doing so requires a someone with real vision and the courage to make some very big leaps of faith. Those are rare in today's corporate leadership. Startups are more likely to have what it takes, partly because they have less to lose."

Jeremy goes on to give advice for the business sector, but I think it is worthwhile to suggest how this applies to the non-profit/NGO sector. This is particularly relevant because not only do NGOs compete for funds, but they compete for mindshare. What if the "business model" was to compete for providing something useful, really well, which is controlled by the user and shares the wealth? Radical departure? What if organizations were rewarded (by getting funding) by exhibiting these charactaristics? Just imagine the face of social change, environmentalism, and promotion of peace.

[via Stephen Downes]

The Platform as Locus of Power and Control

James Farmer shares a painful, personal story in his blogincorporated subversion. His employer (an explicitly unnamed university -- and he has requested the name not be made public) has tried to silence his work and promotion of online collaboration tools that aren't sanctioned by the university.

Last Tuesday I received a memorandum from a manager cc’d by am exec. director instructing me to cease supporting and promoting weblogging, wikis or any other technology not officially supported by the University. The basic reason given being that I have, anecdotally, not used the CMS (this isn’t true, I always use it) and that ‘commentary’ on the issue of CMSs (quoted I think from this blog or another I set up for a course) is unacceptable. A set-up for disciplinary action should I not follow instructions.

I've seen this pattern before with NGOs. A commercial interest provides a platform for free or cheap and then, regardless of the suitability of the application or the value of exploration of other tools, people get shut down.

Since when does a platform become a locus of control? All the time. Think of operating systems, internal email systems. There are reasons to standardize within an organization, but when does that stifle learning, innovation and positive change? All the time.

Power manifests in interesting ways. Even in our tools.

James, I hope the university sees the light. If not, I hope some other place snaps you up.

Grassy Hill Radio - Streaming Web Folkie Station

Grassy Hill Radio is a thing of beauty. Commercial free folk radio with a super simple website that shows you who is "now playing" and the last four songs. Simple. And what is even more shocking, they don't want you to send money!!!

The Pause that Represses

Here is is, November 1st. October saw me working too hard, getting a bad cold and spending 16 days overseas. I'm still jet lagged 6 days later. But the lag is exacerbated by a blogreader chock-full of unread entries, of a backlog of unedited snippets for blog posts.

The pause might be refreshing for some, but it is more like depressing for me. And my blogging spirit is repressed. I have to find my footing again. And there is a lot to blog about.

Work in Lisbon and Accra continues to open my eyes, teach me and see potential fulfilled and stilled. The election tomorrow (which has be a bit more repressed/depressed -- I must tap into my inner optimist a bit more today.)

I've read about 50-60 blog posts this morning, trying to find a pattern or a point of synthesis to get me started. Inch by inch...