Meeting Notes

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Jun 02 |09:44

Last Updated on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:09

First International Virtual Meeting 7am GMT 2 June, 2009

We started with overviews of what we have done so far: the good, the lessons learned, the bad, and questions or need for next steps

Isle of Wight

1. Good – non educators are the most excited – we can change things – an employer and parent On the other hand during a meeting no one stops talking – motivation to get data

2. Biggest lesson in content: People do care, people are very concerned about regimentation, the way it hasn’t changed since Victorian times. Computer is seen as a subject rather than a facilitative tool for learning. Interest inside and outside of education. Cannot have this data driven society that we have – Questionnaire won’t have big enough stats and that is liberating because it gives glimpses of reality. Children in the UK is labelled and are able to tell you their levels and know what they need to do to get better. Who is setting the levels, are they measured accurately

3. Bad – decline in enthusiasm of third meeting – mix of people educators and non educators – got fresh input – lost interest – feel like the driver –
Element in educators of jaded and sceptical – -

4. Questions – what to do next
Why are we not supporting each others groups?
Maybe we don’t have a commonality? – a common
Voting system

Florida and Facebook

1. Good - our third meeting finally had a disruptive conversation. Initially first discussion all about education all about normal public education. Second much the same – about systems. Now this third meeting april reviewed with the new private education person – works at a school based on Mutliple intelligences – why talk about changing the system? Discussion about networks of schooling. Also discussed should private schools be the future.

2. Biggest lessons – desire to connect business to learning – no ideas how but wants a cycle of things that happen in the community. Home schools are creating new neighbourhood schools. Learning communities of home schoolers. May be the heartbeat of the future. Interested? Follow the Read more link.......

3. Bad – numbers have been smaller (4 from 9) but a lot of passion. It is almost like public education is a weight around their shoulders and they can’t take it off and look at education without it.

4. Questions

The Future(s) project needs a thread to pull us together.
These meetings a great start – its about what builds the desire so that you motivated to get past the learning curve of the website .

New Zealand

1. Good – ICT group meeting – aligning pedagogy with purpose – future thinking in terms in what they want to do. Website links scientist ideas and research with what is currently taught in schools: www.
NZ teams in schools are using Collaborative Action Research to study how teachers construct linkages between ICT/knowledge from world view/into their classrooms

2. Bad – Time constraints, constraints by and in schools, hard to move to creative mode

3. Future: Schools recently closing because of swine flu, those with strong ICT are able to keep going. The positive use of trauma and disaster?

From Around the World

Good – everyone I talk wants to join – agreement the with everyone else that the topic has “juice” or energy.
1. Because of that our work finds publications outlets fairly easily. Three presentations are scheduled this fall about research outcomes from the project and a chapter in an upcoming book will discuss use of diverse PAR groups designing disruptive innovations.
2. Ugandan group has potential for where to plant any potential new design ideas just because their schools face certain difficulties (see their report). Disruptive innovation typically starts and grows in a situation where the ‘normal’ isn’t working well.
Biggest lessons – if you build it they don’t necessarily come. With social networking software/groups/etc the learning curve is hard
Bad – Time constraints to follow all the leads I have on my plate. Things are progressing but slowly
Next steps – if we decide something we can do – we then are driven to learn to use the tools – motivation and curiosity are key
1. Interesting enough – but how to we increase the curiosity level?
2. We need other groups to connect – who know who? How to find and connect with them?
3. Acknowledgment that this discussion is twofold - 1) what we are learning and discussing our learning, our boundaries due to ICT and 2) our topic and its content

i. Decision to start a discussion/study portion where we meet and bring our resources – Alana on PLC

ii. s

1. Two levels of partnership : 1) windows into worlds within education – participants in live meetings -2) planners – themes and ideas to seed new innovation.

Debrief –

You can see the continuum in our current group: Lindsey in the classroom – UK and US are not researching but discussing, meeting based. Would be nice to marry or at least have the full continuum going– Lindsey is science and the rest is across the board. Of course as the rest of us move into PAR’s data gathering mode more of that will come forth.