Architecture of Ideas

One Image, One Line

Taking a cue from David Jakes and Dean Shareski's presentation at NECC, I started thinking about how we might craft an educational change message that is more accessible to the general public. Early conversations about what the change is and the mechanics of change are underway here and here. But what is that "front piece"? Where is the eye catcher? How do we get the attention of the public and  this campaign and that campaign so that the conversations and hard work can begin? If we were to launch a public service campaign today--put a "face"' on that change-- what would it LOOK like?

I was on a mission today to begin visualizing my thoughts. Here are a couple of first attempts that are not meant to be definers of change, but rather front pieces that might enable the conversation. And I want to know, what do you visualize? Perhaps this should be a meme tag...any takers?

P.S.: A big shout-out to Willy for sourcing "Hitchin' A Ride."

Let the sky be her limit.   Compliments and Attributions to: 1. Hitchin' A Ride by H.A.P on Flickr. Uploaded July 3, 2007. Accessed July 12, 2008. Creative Commons License 2.0 Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivatives 2. dkad through broken glass by two stout monks on Flickr. Uploaded June 15, 2008. Accessed July 12, 2008. Creative Commons License 2.0 Attribution, Noncommercial

NECC 2008 Social Objects #2

"My job is to awaken possibility in other people....Success for me isn't money or fame...it is how many shining eyes are around me." (slightly paraphrased from Benjamin Zander's TED talk)

The week before NECC Benjamin Zander's TED talk "Classical Music with Shining Eyes" was posted. I missed it. (Probably because I didn't have Willy's new Educational, Inspirational, and Creativity-Focused Video RSS Feed.) Over the course of 24 hours at NECC, both Ewan McIntosh and Wes Fryer had me eyes-wide and passionately engaged as I talked to them about Zander's little yellow book ("The Art of Possibility"). It is hands-down one of my all-time favorite "transformational" books. I returned home, and sure enough the TED talk showed up as a Shared Item in my Google Reader.  Something is up.

In simple terms, "The Art of Possibility" it is about living with a glass half-full, not half-empty;  about living out of abundance instead of scarcity; about moving away from measurement towards possibility. His one chapter alone about "Giving an A" and what happened when he took the grade pressure "off the table" but replaced it with a conversational, goal-oriented, everything-is-possible approach (Konrad will love this chapter) is worth the read alone. It is about unleashing our creative potential and it is about the stories we tell--ourselves and each other as we try to make sense of our world.

Go pick up this little book, and most definitely listen to Zander's talk.

Social Object #2: Benjamin Zander

He wasn't present at NECC either...but the conversation was...enjoy the TED talk...

 

Social Objects at NECC 2008 #1

The interesting thing about the Social Object is the not the object itself, but the conversations that happen around them-Hugh MacLeod, "More Thoughts on Social Objects," October 24, 2007

 

NECC 2008 is a social object. One only needs to use the #necc08 search tag on Twitter, Diigo, Flickr, Google to see what I mean.  Social objects in and of themselves can be interesting,  but I would agree here with Hugh and raise the ante:  the only interesting thing about NECC as a social object is the conversations that are evolving around it. I would argue further it was the social objects within NECC--either formed or just hot ideas that could become social objects--that generated really interesting conversations and made the five days in San Antonio well spent.

Social Object #1 EduCon

The Great Disappointment at NECC 2008 was the loss of something that was gained at NECC 2007: a conversational structure and a sense of closeknit community. In 2007 Steve Hargadon led the efforts to convene Edublogger Con--an "un" conference--and the initiation of Blogger's Cafe. These venues created time, space, and ripe conditions for yearned-for f2f conversation, reflection, and community-building. It looked like this:

And this:

Alas, in 2008 EduBloggerCon's viral success meant the scale was different...

...and the conversation...well...let's just say "interrupted," not conversational, and definitely controversial:

Is it Hargadon's fault? Pearson's fault? ISTE's fault? I don't think it is Hargadon's, but I do think it reflects what can happen when organizations and grassroots efforts meet head on. Something gets lost if the grassroots efforts don't define clear goals but rather simply organize around the principles of  "Here Comes Everybody."

And that's what I love about Chris Lehmann, Science Leadership Academy...and EduCon. They have clearly formed goals. You know, Lehmann and SLA could each be stand-alone social objects. The "buzz" about this school of his (if you've never visited, put it at the top of your list!) is spot-on and well-deserved. And Lehmann? Well, let's just say that in all my years in the corporate world and on the fringe of education I have never seen a guy so clear about where he is going, so amazingly articulate about what he thinks (even if he hasn't read the book), and so passionate about including others and really caring (see SLA Ethic of Care). (Besides which he isn't a bad dancer.) To get a feel for Lehmann's magic and the beauty of SLA and it's commitment to UbD check out his (and Marcie Hull's) outstanding presentation at NECC (Ewan's take here and preso wiki here). I was able to watch him in action for the first half, before leaving to support Will Richardson, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and their PLP model). Wish I could have stayed for it all.

Which brings me back to EduCon as a social object. Conversation happened last year at EduCon. Really interesting conversations about professional development,  learning, conversational assessment and teacher 2.0, collaborative student writing, school 2.0. Not surprisingly, the home for EduCon is Lehmann's own SLA where every kid has the tools, but neither they nor you spend time thinking about the tools. Rather, we consider, weconverse, we reflect (there is built-in reflection time), and we go home loving our network even more, and loving ourselves and our students/schools enough to want everyone's (teachers and students) learning experiences  to look more like this:

and this:

and this:

At the end of the day, the number one social object that I found at NECC, what was most talked about and sought after, was EduCon. It wasn't necessarily "present."  It was yearned for. Much like last year's EduBloggerCon felt like conversation and community, EduCon delivers.  It is what happens when the conditions are ripe for it to exist, which means clearly defined goals and community-size that is manageable.

What are those conditions? How do we "keep" EduCon? How do we scale and create other meaningful learning experiences such as this such that the social object doesn't get "talked down" but rather gets "talked up." (Funny how it takes me back to "The Tipping Point".) These are the questions I am pondering...I'd love to hear your thoughts.

With Compliments and Attributions To:

http://flickr.com/photos/teachandlearn/2223299569/
EduCon Reflection Session by TeachandLearn January 27, 2008 downloaded July 7, 2008

http://flickr.com/photos/elemenous/2619294811/
DSC_7068.JPG by elemenous June 28, 2008 and downloaded July 7, 2008
(NECC EduBloggerCon 2008)

http://flickr.com/photos/teachandlearn/2618819931/
Pearson at EdubloggerCon by TeachandLearn June 28, 2008 and downloaded July 7, 2008

http://flickr.com/photos/julielindsay/606759054/
Blogger_Group by Julie Lindsay June 23, 2007 and downloaded July 7, 2008

http://flickr.com/photos/snbeach/663597667/
DSC02442.JPG by snbeach June 29, 2007 and downloaded July 7, 2008

http://flickr.com/photos/23212871@N05/2223881076/
Educon 2.0 2008 Randy Baird 151 by www.randyabaird.com January 27, 2008 and downloaded July 7, 2008

http://flickr.com/photos/stager/2222079268/
Untitled by GStager January 26, 2008 and downloaded July 7, 2008

Size Doesn't Matter

"The mind is never right but when it is at peace with itself."-Seneca

I've been ruminating over this post for a couple of days. On the heels of Sunday morning's Edublogger Twitter frenzy over NECC photos, ownership and lack of attribution I was sitting in the Blogger's Cafe with Ewan McIntosh who was surfing my blog and offering encouragement. That is, until he found this.

"Laura, this is really good stuff, but this is my Flickr image. You didn't give me attribution."

You can imagine how I felt. Sure, I was able to fix the problem quickly, and with that twinkle in his eyes and great Scottish accent he offered redemption-assuming I could get him a good Americano coffee. (That's a whole 'nother story.) However, as someone who wants so very much to "do the right thing" even when someone else isn't looking, even if the audience is zero, I crumbled inside. Peace of mind I could not keep, and I knew that I had to write something meaningful--at least for me--in response.

As I pondered what to write, taking notes to self for how to use this example with students and schools, a much bigger thought began to evolve. In all of our efforts to sort through copyright, fair use in education, and the "everyone is a publisher" world, we make understanding and "doing the right thing" much too complicated for our students. It needs to be simpler.  It needs to be less about who the audience is, how big it is, and how the work is presented and distributed. (Although these are important questions and distinctions, and we need to teach methodologies for each situation.) More importantly, we should be focused on building individual character such that when the situations and gray areas come, there is a better chance of making the right choice. So I propose we model the process  by asking ourselves these questions:

#1 Is it mine or yours?

#2 Are you sharing it with me freely or are there conditions?

#3 Who should get the credit?

And, then model the following actions:

#1 Be honest. Regardless of circumstance, form, or audience give credit where credit is due.

#2 Don't take what isn't yours. If someone isn't sharing, they aren't sharing.

#3 Model and encourage sharing. The best way to change behavior is to model the behavior you wish to see.

Sure, there can be all kinds of nuances and conditions and "gray areas". But, if we keep it simple, the idea might become a habit. It just might stick.

Thanks, Ewan, and so many others for sharing. And for being so gracious.

 

Image Attribution: peace+postcard by Wiccked found using FlickrStorm (thanks to David Jakes)

Compliment and Attribution to: Average Audience for Students' Work by Ewan McIntosh