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Designing events to feed into the 'virtual dojo' of online connection afterwards

Submitted by Helen Titchen Beeth on August 25, 2008 - 09:55.

The energy and passion of face-to face events soon dwindle after the event if online conversations are not encouraged to continue. The huge potential of communities created at these events - to do something sustainable together in the world and also to support and enrich the lives of the individual participants and the community of communities that is hosted by Evolutionary Nexus - can come closer to realisation if we think about the 'afterlife' already before the event. Here are some of my ideas about how that could be done. Please think along with me and help spread the connection to our community.

 

1. We should consider in the design of events whether or not we think it likely/desirable that the community be nurtured online into a longer/deeper life.

2. If yes, then the space should be created as soon as it is decided to hold an event, and should be used for

- the design conversation between the hosts, modelling the chaordic stepping stones as the event emerges.

- the invitation should be online and so should the participants profiles, pictures of the venue, etc.

3. The event should be designed with the virtual dojo in mind, and the space should be ready already before the event so that the harvesters can already upload material into the virtual dojo as the event progresses, as a demonstration of how it can be used.

4. Time should be dedicated during the event to showing people how to use the dojo (its features, how to subscribe, etc) and they should be given documentation to take away with them in case they forget) (We would only have to create the documentation once, so after the first drafting work, only minor tweaks would be needed to make it right for next time)

5. Participants should be encouraged to bring their laptops with them, and use them during open space, etc. to upload their harvest from sessions directly into the dojo wiki, that they would structure as they go along (with help from the harvesting team, which must be conversant with the dojo's architecture)

5. People should be encouraged to place the content of their messages to the community after the event online, and only send the actual links by e-mail. 

 

Repackaging chunks of meaning

Submitted by Helen Titchen Beeth on August 27, 2008 - 21:33.

Vibeke, what you describe sounds to me just like some of what I have been learning from my knowledge gardening guru George Por.

 

Ultimately, we take chunks of meaning from one place, repackage them and connect them to flows of meaning in another context. It's the wonderful interweaving of conversations and units of meaning across time and space and context that bring this work alive.

 

As to who takes responsibility for doing it - provided the tools are intuitive to use - then any person for whom a chunk of meaning leaps out and grabs them will share it with those (s)he wants to see it... It's all about passion and meaning. 

Working as a virtual gardener...

Submitted by Vibeke Batting on August 27, 2008 - 10:13.

I want to share a personal experience in taking on a role as a virtual gardener related to your vision about a community's knowledge garden, Helen.

During June there was a very interesting email conversation about 'Leading together as partners' in the AoH community. There were some great insights for me and potentially for the Barefoot community. I decided to -as you put it- pluck out the statements and then shared it virtually :-) with my mates.

What I want to say by this is that I decided to take on the role as a virtual gardener. So coming back to our dialogue, Helen, taking the virtual dojo into the design also may include the up front architectural design as to roles and responsibilities for the to-be virtual community. We should not be afraid of being somewhat squared in this respect (could this also be an attitude issue?)...

Our former dialogue around a virtual Hub also enters my mind in this respect..

The delights of the virtual knowledge garden

Submitted by Helen Titchen Beeth on August 26, 2008 - 22:05.

Thank you for your penetrating insights, Vibeke!  They help create some more clarity.

 

In my initial posting, I was definitely thinking of those events where the intent is also to initiate the 'second breath', as you say. But it's great to bring your question "Which role should the virtual dojo serve at the event?" into the design, and your comment that "elements not serving as core at an event will have difficulties in serving as core when the event is over."

 

What I am seeing right now, after a specific, very powerful, event, is that there is a wonderful, deep and meaningful conversation going on by email among the participants that would be very valuable and interesting to a wider community, but which will moulder in people's mailboxes unless someone plucks it out and places it online in the community's knowledge garden where people can come and view it in its context and richness. The space still isn't there yet, and we are back into our busy lives after the event, and the energy is in danger of dwindling...

 

Your statement that it might be a challenge to enable collective knowledge building "if some of the knowledge is shared only virtually" touched off a realisation in me: If we stop and think about it carefully, knowledge is only ever shared virtually. Perhaps it is our own attitudes to the online environment - our own beliefs and values - that limit the value that we can get from a virtual knowledge garden? If so, does this tell us anything useful about how else we can hold this question?

Virtual Cafe

Submitted by jimmiller5417 on August 26, 2008 - 14:32.
 

We need some content for the Virtual Cafe meeting. We are capable of talking about the technology and what works and how, and that ought to be part of our discussions.

However, the real value of a Virtual Cafe is taking a subject (perhaps one new to us) and exploring it in some depth just to see if we can do such exploration and accomplish some result.

I propose the subject of our first meeting be: HORIZONTAL EDUCATION.  The typical vertical education we have all had (talking head, read the text, memorize, spit it back on the test), leaves me with a headache.

There is another way, horizontal education, that is one group of folks teaching a different group of folks. The best example I've seen of this force in action is Campesino a Campesino: Voices from Latin America's Farmer to Farmer Movement for Sustainable Agriculture at: http://www.foodfirst.org/store/book/Campesino_a_Campesino.

Please read the article and be prepared to discuss it. One point is to come up with some good applications of horizontal education which can be applied in the Cafe setting (virtual or F2F). Whatdahyathink?

Jim Miller

Feeding the virtual 'dojo' or letting the 'dojo' feed the event?

Submitted by Vibeke Batting on August 26, 2008 - 12:53.

Thank you for your posting, Helen! We're in the same field and my instant reflections are as follows:

In many years I struggled with getting deployment of changes integrated in earlier phases of a change, eg. change of mindsets for adopting an organisational change before the change actually is carried into effect. Not always an easy mission in hard core business surroundings where we may experience examples of people regarded as objects on which you have the mandate to impose instant changes.

What entered my mind reading your posting, Helen, was a question of what is the desired manifestation of the event? If the intent also is to initiate the "second breath" -creating a breathing virtual community enabling a continous evolution- I agree that we need to include this intend in the mindform of the "first breath".

And which role should the virtual dojo serve at the event? Can we hold the purpose virtually without connecting the computers we use at the event? I'm asking this question because elements not serving as core at an event will have difficulties in serving as core when the event is over.  

I have experienced state of the art creative labs holding events for many people. They have (usually :) succeded in also creating a communication vehicle as part of the event by employing a professional crew to do all the tapping, photographing, loading, printing aso. Also because it is an issue to "get it into the PC". During the event everyone could follow what was happening (a lot of information was shared this way and not everything with everyone present). And maybe that could be a challenge for us: enabling collective knowledge building if some of the knowledge is shared only virtually..? 

These were my instant reflections. Allow me some more time and I'll get back to your detailed listing..

Warm regards, Vibeke