Welcome to Day 3 of this week's online event. Today's focus is building community online. My name is Carole and I coordinate the Open Weekend events at Knowplace. Through Knowplace's "First Annual KnowTIPS Conference" held in February, we all learned first hand about organizing an online event virutally. As Frances said we extended our knowledge base exponentially.
My focus today will be on the "how", as I am confident that Frances will discuss the recruiting presenters, networking, and marketing perspectives.
What worked for us...
* having a fearless leader and a group of volunteers who collaborated, commiserated, brainstormed and supported each other through the months of preparation
* developing descriptions and expectations for the various roles the volunteers would take on
* honouring the diverse skills people brought to the planning and delivery of the conference and building on those skills
* acquiring a certain level of comfort with ambiguity as initially there were far more "unknowns" than "knowns" in the early stages
* being willing to experiment to see what would work or not work; an openess to suggestions
* having a Moodle conference site independent of Knowplace's site
* having a Moodle course within Knowplace dedicated to the conference organization where each committee could post updates
* regularly scheduled weekly meetings with a 24-hour advance friendly reminder
* spontaneous chats when the need arose
* becoming familiar with the global time zones; presenters do not want to be synchronous during the middle of their night
* arranging for online payment that accepted different currencies
* creating a mascot, TIPSY, and having a lounge where people could drop in and chat between events (Moodle chat)and/or get directions
Undoubtedly, there are some very important aspects I am omitting, so I rely on your questions to job my memory.
Joined on 04-04-2005
TechSoup Member
I think that the most important piece in any conference (be it face-to-face or online) is the social networking.
Certainly there is information to be learned from speakers, but how do you apply the information?
This week I am busy attending a face-to-face conference and I find myself listening to speeches. There is a large series of them and then a coffee break.
In the online world this is similar to having a web broadcast. You sit at your computer and you listen.
I don't think that that either of these methods (the lecture format) promote actual learning or application... and to me it doesn't matter if you listen to someone online or sit and listen to a panel of speakers in a face-to-face environment.
What I like the most about attending conferences is the synergy of ideas between the delegates. I enjoy the networking - the people contact.. I enjoy the opportunity to share and learn what others are doing. I enjoy those ahhah minutes. I like exchanging business cards!
BUT - how do we replicate this interchange... this networking online? How do we host the coffee break online? How do we create the round table discussions during the lunch hour - online?
What tools would you use? and what can you do with them to make people feel that they have connected with others so that they want to follow up and chat with them after the conference is over...?
For example here in tech soup you have learned a few things - there are new discussion threads created for new topics, new ways of posting (using colour, or icons).
Any thoughts about how you would be able to replicate this social networking online with the tools you have used so far? Any questions about (what i consider to be the most important aspect) how to have social networking online?
Don't be shy - we don't bite too hard :>
Frances,
I also think the networking is one of the greatest benefits of coming to conferences. We've organized the Tutor/Mentor Leadership Conferences every six months since May 1994. While we've had some keynote speakers, we've found that most people don't care if there is no featured speaker. Each participant is the keynote.
The reason we've added eConferences is that at a face-to-face conference people can only attend a few of the workshops or meet a few of the people. There may be people at a conference that could be your best friend, but if you don't meet them, it's a lost opportunity. Some conferences use message boards and publish lists of participants, which can help with networking.
When I attended the Wired.org conference a couple of years ago, the directory of participants was one of the features that interested me. As I attended workshops and as people posted comments, I could chat with them, I could email them, or I could make a list for future contact.
Last year we tried to offer the eConference and face to face conference on the same dates, hoping people in the face to face would also network on line. It did not happen.
This year, we're starting on eConference the week before the face to face, hoping that some people will meet on line prior to coming to the Chicago conference. Then we have another eConference the week of May 23, which we hope will gather some people from the face to face and the econferences, including from Tech Soup.
We still don't have the on-going platform we'd like to have to support this process. Our goal is to have an ongoing meeting, with a live directory that anyone can use at any time to connect with others.
The LearningTimes.org platform is a model. What we want to add to that is the web site library, with maps that show where poverty is most concentrated, and where tutor/mentor programs are located. In the end, the purpose of our conference is to help existing programs get the resources they need to use good ideas to get better, and to help programs form where there are now voids.
The conferences and econferences can help this happen by connecting people with each other, with us, with information and with resources.
It will take the work of a lot of people to bring th is to scale, but that's what our networking and econferencing is intended to create: an army of people working for a common cause.
Here are a couple of other examples of econference and meeting place sites that I use as models:
http://www.socialedge.org
http://www.gifthub.org
Wired.org ConferenceTechnology, Leadership & Learning Conference
Joined on 08-18-2004
TechSoup Member
I, too, agree that the networking is one of the biggest parts of a conference, online or offline. The Introductions Forum here at TS is really important and is one of the places where people get comfortable speaking. It really helps with the networking because I can then see who these people are. Have people experimented with the concept of having side conversations and coffee klatches dduring an online event? I don't know exactly how these would work, but it seems as if they could be an interesting way of providing that networking opportunity.
Joined on 04-11-2005
TechSoup Member
When I read your postings about Tutor/Mentor Connection, your passion shines through. You remind me of the keynote speaker I witnessed last at the Opportunities 2004 Conference in November who held a room of 800 people spellbound.
Bill Strickland, President of Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and the Bidwell Training Center described the inner city school that grew from his vision and persistence into a phenomenal community centre for education and the arts.
I believe you both share the commitment to give a voice to economically disadvantaged youth. The T/MC is developing a culture of volunteerism with these young adults who are sharing their gifts. May the cycle continue.
I agree with Frances on the value of social networking at these conferences, but I'm not yet sure about their worth for generating collective wisdom. Observing these discussions, and others, its obvious that each of us can mine the dialogues for the nuggets of value to us, be they new colleagues, new insights, new markets - whatever.
But that doesn't tap the collective experience and wisdom of the whole group in a systematic way. I'd love to know, for instance, what success everyone has had in reaching group decisions asynchronously, for organizational planning purpose. Better yet, I'd love to know what organizational purposes are well-served by asynchronous deliberations, and which are not. Planning decisions? Consortiums with other agencies? Public advocacy? Training exercises? etc.
But these answers would require some polling activities and mechanisms.
There's no shortage of research that validates the quality of online communities for learning, but not much on their value for directing action. Any thoughts?
Burgess,
The work we're doing with Paul Collins is a step in this direction. Visit http://jordan-webb.net/tmc and you can review surveys being taken at the conferences and via the Internet. These are hosted on WebIQ, which is a commercial group decision support technology that support group discussion, polling, concensus building, etc.
We've had to move slowly on this because of lack of resources, but it demonstrates that as you gather a group, you can begin to do surveys that build understanding of what works, what does not work, what are common needs, and what are ways people could work together to increase resources without increasing costs.
Joined on 04-11-2005
TechSoup Member
The virtual lounge area served as the "informal meeting place". People would drop in to see who was there and then post a quick "brb - going to get a tea". I understand too that when several people working in the same office attended a synchronous event hosted in Elluminate, there would often be lively f2f discussions among them about the topic immediately afterward.
Joined on 04-11-2005
TechSoup Member
I believe that the time frame within which a decision must be made strongly impacts the use of asynchronous communication.
For example, let's imagine everyone participating in this week's event needed to make a decision by Friday. Some of the challenges facing us are...
* getting the initial scenario posted in a forum to which every participant is subscribed realizing that not everyone will open the introductory email within 24 hours
* creating a brainstorming and/or think tank area for general discussion
* establishing the criteria which impact the decision and then creating an online survey which reflects the criteria and the available options
*announcing the location and time frame to the survey through the communication forum to which everyone is subscribed
* sharing the outcome of the survey and then moving on to the next step
However, once a pattern for asynchronous decision-making is established, the process moves ahead more smoothly. In my experience, online activity may take longer; however, the advantages asynchronous communication offers results in an outcome worth the time investment.
Moodle offers a wiki activity which is great for gathering information, brainstorming as well as surveys, yes/no choices for polling purposes.
Hi,
Thanks for the thoughful forum. Doing more reading than writing now, and have to run. But I wanted to share a resource we published on our Web site called
6 Keys To Building Online Community, which speaks to collaboration.
We presented an extended version of this at NTEN in DC last year, and demonstrated Free Software tools that can foster collaboration and community online.
Best wishes and hasta mañana,
Chris
--
web (at)ifpeople.net
ifPeople - Innovation for People
www.ifpeople.net
Burgess, you raise some excellent questions.
One way I would start is by saying that much depends on the kind of grouup and stage of group formation. In this event, this week, we have an informal "drop in" situation. That is very different from a situation where people working for a dispersed organization are committed to a project and are working in a focused way. It is also different or where people are registered for a conference, course or workshop where some kind of outcomes are expected. So for planning purposes, the trick is to match the approach to the circumstance.
You asked: I'd love to know, for instance, what success everyone has had in reaching group decisions asynchronously, for organizational planning purpose.
We've mentioned the Wired.org conference, and I co-produced another international online conference called "Collaborative Learning." In both cases the ENTIRE process of organizing and planning was done at a distance with my wonderful partners at iCohere. We have NEVER met in person.
I've also worked with multi-site non-profit organizations who had some face-to-face meetings and training, but did lots of organizing, planning, polling on decisions from a distance using asynchronous means.
Here is one technique that I thought worked well in that situation: we created an email newsletter with hyperlinks to the fuller details. That way we could get the highlights out to everyone and the people more involved in decision-making could read the full story. Time frames for response and specific questions to address could be easily sent out. From my view, being clear, specific and organized is the important thing when trying to involve lots of dispersed folks in decision-making.
What organizational purposes are well-served by asynchronous deliberations, and which are not. Planning decisions? Consortiums with other agencies? Public advocacy? Training exercises?
In my experience, any and all of these can be done online. Surely anyone who looked at the Dean campaign, Move On.org or other recent advocacy efforts has seen effective examples.
Once again-- from my view it is the organization, facilitation and commitment of those involved that makes the difference.
Janet
Good points and thought-provoking questions, Frances.
Presentations to introduce ideas, concepts and share successful strategies are great. But as discussion starters, not an end unto itself! I agree that presentations without interaction is boring live or online. I think that moving toward more interactive, substantive participation on the part of conference attendees is a cultural shift in live or online situations. In either case, as presenters we need to encourage, support and invite participation. And be ready for either lively groups with lots to say or dead silence!
Online we may also need to be clear about how to do it-- the mechanics.
A successful synergy-building technique we used in the Wired.org conference was a "Collaboration Cafe." This was the place where anyone could start a threaded discussion. We "seeded" a couple by encouraging some conference volunteers to post. The outcome was that we had more posts to the Collaboration Cafe than any other area of the conference!
I would say that this is not a negative point to the presenters, on the contrary. People viewed asynchronous presentations (there were a couple of real-time events, primarily asynchronous.) The presentations got people thinking about other aspects of the issues, particular ways the topics related in their fields, etc.
We also, on day one, had a chat version of a happy hour. Moderating it was a bit wild! But I asked then: what else do you want in the conference? They wanted a session on youth work, for example. So we scheduled a time and added it to the schedule, notified participants-- and it was well attended. Asking in advance of the conference is great, but building in some flexibility to respond at the moment is also valuable. I think the fact that we asked, and acted on the response, empowered people to participate even more.
In summary, if we want to change the culture of passive consumption versus active engagement, we need to model those practices.
Janet
Joined on 04-04-2005
TechSoup Member
Burgess Smith writes
I'd love to know, for instance, what success everyone has had in reaching group decisions asynchronously, for organizational planning purpose.
Wow - great question burgess! We have huge success using asynch! With our first course at knowplace, we throw our folks into this decision process in asynch. Something simple - like when can we meet for a synch meeting?
So - we start this on day one and get our folks used to this method of decision making. What this means is that our folks are so comfortable in communicating this way, that they don't see it as a problem.
We planned our whole conference this way with a synch meeting once a week.
Think of this situation face-to-face. When you have meetings you talk and discuss... you reach a common decision/point of agreement.
The only real difference between doing this asynch versus other methods is that it takes a bit longer! (well, okay - sometimes quite a bit longer :-)) AND just like in real life, sometimes, one person has to make the decision if the group is deadlocked.
If this brings up any further questions for you - just post some more!
When I attended the Wired.org conference I recognized the potential for on-line learning and collaboration, not just as a short term event, but also as an on-going process.
I've been trying to find a way to incorporate this into the Tutor/Mentor Connection ever since. However, when I investigated the costs of using professional econference systems, it was more than my small non profit could pay. We don't let lack of money keep us from doing what we feel needs to be done, but we end up patching together solutions rather than using off-the-shelf services. We're hosting on-line learning and networking in a variety of ways, but not yet in the best way possible.
Thus, I posted messages in that conference and in many other forums since then, inviting people to pool resources to create a shared conference space, like a coop, that partners could use a few times each year, or where they could maintain a directory that participants could log into to connect with others who have attended past conferences.
At IUPUI we're beginning to have access to the ONCourseCL learning and collaboration platform, and that may serve the need for T/MC. But that's not available for everyone who needs it, and we will also have difficulty using it if we cannot create a support team who can facilitate people's use of such technology.
Having the technology, and support for econferencing still does not make structured elearning available to distribute through the econference space. Thus other partners, probably in universities, need to be recruited to structure the knowledge that we're collecting through experience and networking, into consistent and quality courses that people will want to take, and that will result in people better prepared to do the work needed to achieve an organization's mission.
If someone would like to set up an eConference space just for this discussion, and to find a solution, perhaps we could apply all that we've been learning this week into a process that benefits us all.
Thanks to all of you for those responses. I’m quite encouraged. I’ve deeply immersed in the literature of online communities, while in the final stages of a dissertation on distance education networks, e-mentoring groups, and virtual communities of practice. There’s tons of material out there, mostly focused on program analyses, learning designs, and quality concerns. But I’ve encountered very little that addresses using asynchronous discussion technologies for organizational planning.
Surely that’s going to happen, for models like MoveOn won’t go unnoticed. But right now, those of you who have responded positively to my question about asynchronous decision-making may be way ahead of the curve. Might I suggest a continuing forum on this topic?
I’d be a careful listener mostly, but I could contribute a 5-point Likert-type survey mechanism, if we wanted to identify the level of consensus on particular strategies, tools, and the like. It’s not yet a “slick” device, as I still transfer the data to Excel manually, for analysis. But I can manage that on a controlled basis, until I get the computations automated. I also have the Moodle polling system available, but it’s rather unwieldy, since each item on which consensus is surveyed requires a separate poll.
Just some thoughts….