Learning Log - Week #2: Start ONLINE

"I have found that pre-F2F work online makes F2F meetings more productive. For groups that have to go online and have a chance to be F2F, I usually suggest they start ONLINE first.

This helps people test their sense of others online, gain some identity and trust, then when they go F2F not only does the meeting get going faster, but people can verify their impressions. This builds trust in each other and in online communication. I find groups that start online also go back online easier after the F2F. Groups that start F2F leave with good intentions, but often are slow to go back online.

Finally, there is a time when starting F2F is advisable - that's when you have a group with NO technology experience. Then you can work with folks hands on to learn the tools. Then go online. Otherwise, start online first!"

Learning Log - Week #2: Motivations

"People often don't learn a skill just to learn it. Try to make sure people have applications in mind before doing the training. It helps!
When expressing this, you might also want to include WHY this is important. Help them see POSSIBILITIES. Some people have a clear picture of why. Others may need some illustrations or examples. A short story can be powerful for this."

Learning Log - Week #2: Organizational change

We may be trying to facilitate collaboration and networking, but we may not be operating in an organizational culture with this competency. When we fail, we often blame it on the technology. If we look closer, it can often be related to our organizational culture. So looking at initiatives that reinforce the value of and skills to network in ANY environment is important for online success.

The introduction of a "network way of thinking" (many to many, peer to peer and often around and between our traditional top down systems) which is enabled by internet technology actually is about organizational change. It asks us to change the way we work, the way we think, the way we lead and manage. But it is often surfaced as an issue of technology and cost savings.

In reality, it is about deeper changes and if we don't pay attention to those deeper changes, the online stuff may not work.

Layer of layers

This is one layer of my photographic layer!

These pictures were shot during the AMARC training course for Rural Radio broadcasters at the Soweto hospital, in August 2003.

- Interviewing people in the hospital


- Preparing the radio program


- Mixing voices and music


- Recording in the studio

Learning Log - Week #2: Meaning and value for participants

"How might you communicate with your participants to market your online interaction space? Remember: If you build it, they may not come!

There is the saying that you can build something that is wonderful, but unless others know about it, care about it and want to participate, they won't come. Just setting up an email list or a web interaction space is not enough to ensure success. We must make sure it has meaning and value to the participants and we have to let them know it is there!"

Learning Log - Week #2: Facilitation tips

"It was great to see that when a newcomer made an introduction, members of the group chimed in to offer a welcome. This is great from the facilitator's perspective. One facilitation tip is to role model the behavior you want to encourage and once it is taken up, ease back.

Furthermore, some of us help "hear" our humor by using smilies or emoticons. This helps understand the tone of postings - so we DO have body language and tone online, it just gets expressed differently."

My new Podcast station opened!

Something very interesting happened last Friday.

I discovered Odeo, a very interesting place that allows everyone to open a podscast station. What make me very surprised is that, with a microphone and a couple of speakers, you can have a podcast station ready to transmit in few minutes.

Try it and try to listen to my new podcast channel called Communication for Development at http://odeo.com/channel/67987/view. I will add soon new files with more explanations on my new projects on com4dev.

Learning Log - Week #1: Relationship&Trust

"We begun to build our RELATIONSHIP as a group through INTRODUCTIONS.

Relationship is one of the cornerstones for building TRUST. In professional networks, our professional credentials and experience are important, but by bringing other parts of ourselves online, we can discover other bridges that can help us when things get more difficult. In the end, the little things matter a lot!"

Learning Log - Week #1: Benefits

Benefits: "Benefits include better resource management because of information exchange.

Online sharing could help all participants to, inter alia, eliminate duplication (of efforts, resources etc), access more resources and opportunities (including funding opportunities) so that everyone isn't stretched by relying only on what they have available to them or their organisation.

In this way, through the sharing of ideas and information online, better resource management should result."

Learning Log - Week #1: Pacing

Qualities for good facilitation

“Pacing is a really important issue. There is a (good) tension between pushing and slowing down. As facilitators we need to know how to do both. And we have to use all the tools and channels available to us. It is a rare treat to have a team to work with. Often we juggle this alone. So think about who is on your facilitation team!”

Podcasting supporting rural radios

Interesting news from the world of "podcasting for development" (shall we start talking about "poddev" ?!?! :-) ). In Peru, Practical Action is testing the potential of podcasting to disseminate knowledge and information for poverty reduction, using a mixture of new and old technology. Read more about this experiment at http://www.practicalaction.org/?id=podcasting_peru

The 2006 World Press Photo winner

The World Press Photo Contest

Podcasting and e-learning: together in the future

This is something very interesting about podcasting learning contents:

http://punto-informatico.it/p.asp?i=57606

http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/itunes_u/

The Flickrization of Yahoo!

A very interesting article from Business 2.0 about using the online community approach by Flickr and Yahoo!

Qualities for good interaction

"We respect each other as human beings and as qualified professionals. We tolerate one another and respect each others opinions, although we do not necessarily agree."

Learning Log - Week #1

Week #1 learning goal:

Careful reading of all the emails sent to the group to understand who the members are, what their needs are and how an online community could be suitable to their job.

Reflection:

I like the way we started. On my side, I have been working on the training course on Online communities for a long time. Everything seems to be ok with the course in theory. But I prefer to discuss with you and test our solutions before being sure that the course is really ok.

Welcome

Dear all, welcome onboard in this new space to share our experiences. I'm very happy to reflect together on the possibility to increase our capacities using the online commuity.