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UnConference

Page history last edited by elderbob 16 years, 10 months ago
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"...",an UnConference - The Knowplace/WiAOC Swapmeet

 

 

 

 

Sponsored and co-hosted by Knowplace Open Weekends @ our knowplace family of sites offer you the opportunity to sample various leading-edge topics presented by members of our international online community. The format for "..."UnConference is both Synchronous and Asynchronous. Asynchronous discussion forums will be located at the Knowplace Moodle, so you can participate at your convenience. Synchronous sessions will be co-hosted at Learning Times and will be facilitated by Elderbob Brannan and Michael Coghlan.

The WiACO UnConference is an event where the participants set the agenda - participants, whether face-to-face or participating online, get to present, engage, and learn from the other participants. - -

 

  1. WHEN: Continously from May 18 through May 20, 2007. Check your location and corresponding time difference using - http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/.
  2. WHERE:
    1. Asynchronous - Knowplace.ca Continous from May 18-May 20.
    2. Synchronous - Learning Times Elluminate Sessions:
      1. 06:00-08:00 GMT Saturday, May 19 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Michael Coghlan
      2. Friday night - Hosted by Elderbob Brannan
      3. Saturday - Hosted by Elderbob Brannan
      4. 02:00-04:00 GMT Sunday, May 20 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Michael Coghlan

 

 

Scheduled Synchronous Sessions - The e-bay of info:

 

*

Session #1 - "The Opening" - 22:00-24:00 GMT Friday, May 18 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Elderbob Brannan

o We have found that a very informal opening works well, especially if the group involved is an intact work group. An evening meal and a time for catch-up conversation will effectively set the stage. Should the group not have any prior association, the simple device of having all the participants introduce themselves by giving their names and telling a short story from their lives to illustrate who they are will usually do the job. Detailed and involved "icebreaking" exercises do not seem to work very well, and more to the point, set the wrong tone. After all, we want Open Space.

*

Session #2 - 06:00-08:00 GMT Saturday, May 19 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Michael Coghlan

*

Session #3 - 08:00 - 10:00 GMT Saturday, May 19 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Elderbob Brannan

*

Session #4 -02:00-04:00 GMT Sunday, May 20 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Michael Coghlan

*

Session #5 - "The Celebration and Closing" - 19:00-20:00 Sunday, May 20 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Elderbob Brannan

o

If your Open Space event is like all the ones we have seen, particularly multi-day affairs, by the last night it will time to celebrate, otherwise known as having a party. Even in "serious" undertakings like preparation of the corporate strategic plan, when it is over, it is over, and people will enjoy celebrating that fact. We suggest doing the celebration in the spirit and manner of the rest of the event. All of which means don't plan it in advance. It may be worthwhile to have some taped music if your people are inclined to dance, but other than that you will undoubtedly find that the talent you need is already available in the folks you have. Use it. Skits, songs, humorous reviews of what has happened, will amply fill the evening, and add to the learning experience.

o We try to keep the closing simple and serious. Simple in that there are no formal presentations and speeches. But serious, for this is the time for announcing commitments, next steps, and observations about what the event has meant. The closing event is best conducted in a circle with no "head table." Start anywhere, and go around the circle allowing each participant, who wants to, the opportunity to say what was of significance and what they propose to do. But do make it clear that nobody has to say anything. In very large groups, hearing from everybody is obviously impossible, but two or three folks may be asked to volunteer.

*

 

Asynchronous Sessions - Living the virtual life of a swapper.

 

*

Asynchronous Sessions will run continuosly at the Knowplace Moodle. See the topics so far, or email me (elderbob@gmail.com) and I'll start a new forum for you.

 

 

Here's how to maximize your participation in the Swapmeet/UnConference.

 

Unconferences may not have a set agenda, but they still possess a defined structure that provides attendees with a set of tools for navigating the event. The guiding tenets of the unconference are directly influenced by the work of consultant and author Harrison Owen, who describes a method of organizing group interaction, called Open Space Technology. Owen, in his piece Opening Space for Emerging Order, explains the Four Principles of Open Space.

 

* Whoever comes is the right person - You don't need every person in the organization, just whoever cares the most. And if you're the only one who comes, you might finally have some rich, focused quiet time for thinking and writing on that issue.

* Whatever happens is the only thing that could have - Let go of your expectations and work with whatever unfolds.

* Whenever it starts is the right time - Creativity doesn't happen on a schedule.

* Whenever it's over, it's over. - If you find a solution in 20 minutes, move on to the next group. If it takes 2 hours, keep the conversation rolling.

 

The Open Space meeting and the unconference have strong similarities to long-established gatherings in the world of music: in particular, the jam session in jazz and rock. During a jam session, musicians bring knowledge of particular standard pieces—which provide them with a system for playing in a specific time signature, musical key, and so on. These standard pieces and the rules for playing them set expectations about how the players will interact with one another. While the jam session may include hours of improvisation and solos—requiring the players to listen carefully to one another and react appropriately—the overall experience remains a highly structured one. The rules of the jam session include one similar to the Law of Two Feet as well:

 

* If you’re not contributing to the sound, you should lay off and let the other players explore the musical space.

* The central philosophy of an unconference can be summed up by the maxim “The audience is more intelligent than the speaker.” This means a member of the audience has as much of a licence to voice his views as the speaker.

 

Participating in the Knowplace Section:

 

1. Log into Knowplace. If you got this far then you must have figured out how to log-in and get your id for Knowplace. This will serve as your ID for all knowplace sessions for now on, so you might want to make a mental note of it. You may have gotten a message "You must have a key to get into the class". If you did, then by now, the time for the class has passed and you are able to log in. All sessions at Open Weekends @ Knowplace begin at 12:00 PDT (VanCouver, British Columbia) (see here for a list of the time in other locations or click here to go find the time in your city).

2. If you are interested in learning more about Knowplace you can visit here. If you want to be kept aware of any future sessions at Knowplace, sign up for our mailing list. If you are not familiar with using a Moodle visit here and if you know nothing about Open Spece Technology, visit this wiki page.

 

Participating in the Learning Times Section:

 

1. In order to participate in the Synchronous Learning Times/Webheads Elluminate sessions you will need to create a Learning Times account here.

2. If you already have such an account, you may log into any and or all of the participative, live sessions, scheduled to be held at:

* Session #1 - "The Opening" - 22:00-24:00 GMT Friday, May 18 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Elderbob Brannan

o We have found that a very informal opening works well, especially if the group involved is an intact work group. An evening meal and a time for catch-up conversation will effectively set the stage. Should the group not have any prior association, the simple device of having all the participants introduce themselves by giving their names and telling a short story from their lives to illustrate who they are will usually do the job. Detailed and involved "icebreaking" exercises do not seem to work very well, and more to the point, set the wrong tone. After all, we want Open Space.

* Session #2 - 06:00-08:00 GMT Saturday, May 19 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Michael Coghlan

* Session #3 - 08:00 - 10:00 GMT Saturday, May 19 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Elderbob Brannan

* Session #4 -02:00-04:00 GMT Sunday, May 20 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Michael Coghlan

* Session #5 - "The Celebration and Closing" - 19:00-20:00 Sunday, May 20 (See selected list of cities for this time or consult Time and Date.com) - Hosted by Elderbob Brannan

3. Participating in the webcast at Worldbridges (Webheads in Action.org)

1. See schedule here. Participation at Worldbridges is relatively self-explanatory. The Schedule is displayed in the right hand column. It will state whether or not the session has been held yet of if it is currently being Webcast. Click on the Unconference and then click "Listen" and it should engage your sound card.

2. You can also participate in the Chat room by click on "Chat" and giving a user name. No password is requited.

4. Participating in the Electronic Wiki - Though many unconference (the F2F kind) use Wikis. We have not yet determined whether or not our wiki might be useful. I will be asking participants, in the first session, if they wish to use it in some manner. There are at least two wiki pages that you should be aware of in terms of participation in the unconference/swapmeet:

1. The Main Wiki page for WIAOC

2. The "UnConference" page

 

 

 

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