tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58108658439358159282024-02-19T01:42:39.717-08:00Brighter Futures MalcolmLI post ideas and thoughts about Health promotion/public health here and look forward to having professional conversations. I am particularly interested in the impact of Web 2.0 on our practice.Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-52646163439351029422011-10-15T04:08:00.000-07:002011-10-15T04:08:30.218-07:00Can Collective Learning be mobilized to solve Wicked Problems<span id="internal-source-marker_0.7906405152752995" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m doing the </span><a href="http://change.mooc.ca/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Change MOOC</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In week 4, we covered collective learning. The week was very capably lead by </span><a href="http://change11.info/index.php/Allison_Littlejohn"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alison Littlejohn</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The main webinar </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HenwmXdL6rs"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is recording is available here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br />
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<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><br />
</u></span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Collective learning was defined as such. “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We mean how people learn through sourcing, using and making sense of the collective knowledge – the knowledge stored in people, resources, computers, networks etc. In this sense collective learning is different from ‘collaborative learning’ in that people can learn collaboratively in different configurations (such as groups, networks, etc) or can learn through direct interaction with ‘the collective.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a very interesting </span><a href="http://littlebylittlejohn.com/change11-position-paper/"><span style="background-color: white; color: #000099; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">position paper to found here. </span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I took away from this week of the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) how useful the idea of collective learning is away of thinking about </span><a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/~/media/ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/General/Fact%20Sheet_Capacity%20Building.ashx"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">capacity building</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> work with networks around </span><a href="http://mentalhealth.epha.org/mental_health_promotion.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mental health promotion</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that I do. Indeed I have been seeing my current </span><a href="http://bit.ly/gDLuCO%20"><span style="background-color: white; color: #000099; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Building Resilience Interest Group BRIG</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> project through a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>collective learning</i></span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> lens all week.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Building communities that raise resilient kids is a task that involves the skills and insights from many and the active contributions of a muitiplicity of partners. They all have many differing values, views and contributions. They are all needed to piece together a solution.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For sometime, I been thinking about my work as involving the solving of wicked problems. For this reason, I introduced the topic of the good fit of collective learning with wicked problems into the </span><a href="http://change.mooc.ca/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">#Change11</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> discussion streams. It proved an topic of interest for several other </span><a href="http://change.mooc.ca/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">#Change11</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> participants. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wikipedia defined wicked problems</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as such:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Wicked problem" is a phrase originally used in social planning to describe a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. Moreover, because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I really like this definition because it links wicked problems with </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">systems thinking</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A recent journal article, </span><a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/vio/1/3/166"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conceptualizing the Challenge of Reducing Interpersonal Violence</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has added to commentary on the characteristics of wicked problems in way I find very insightful.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Among the characteristics of wicked problems:</span><br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is no single, definitive, or simple formulation of the problem;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Multiple stakeholders and participants are likely to be involved, and this leads to multiple formulations of what “really” is the problem and therefore what are legitimate or appropriate solutions;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The problem is not likely to be the result of an event (e.g., violence in the media) or a small subset of events but rather a set of intersecting trends that co-occur and coinfluence each other;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The problem is embedded in other problems, including other wicked problems (e.g., poverty, substance abuse);</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Values, culture, politics, and economics are likely to be involved in the problem and possible strategies to address the problem;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is no one solution, no single, oneshot effort that will eliminate the problem;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The problem is never likely to be solved;</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Information as a basis for action will be incomplete because of the uniqueness of the problem and the complexities of its interrelations with other problems; and</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The uniqueness of the problem means it does not lend itself easily to previously tried strategies.</span></li>
</ul><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give these characteristics, wicked problems cannot be solved by a project management approach. You can’t set up a committee of experts and wham define the probems and set in train the solution and expect anything approaching progress. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Territory_National_Emergency_Response"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The NT intervention </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">comes to mind this week as a failure as usual response to a wicked problem. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The solutions to wicked involve involve constant learning and leaders facilitate communities in this learning and in collaborative problem solving. It about coming up with a more or less coherent and shared understanding of the problems dynamics and what a solution might look like. It also about motivating, coordinating and sustaining a collective and decentralised response that emerges and evolves over time. As we engage, with wicked problems our understanding of the problems changes as much as the problems context evolves. It’s learning as we go, growing to fit the problem. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Experts with narrow skills or a with a command control mindset are unlikely to be effective leaders in when addressing wicked problems. Evidence based practice will also be of limited relevance as every wicked problem is unique. Relationship skills are critical. In a line, wicked problems cannot be solved with toolbox for complex problems, any more than a tyre can be changed with an orange.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When confronting wicked problems, experts need to know the limits of their expert knowledge. For that reason, I love this quote from -</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_J._Peter"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laurence J. Peter: </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To solve wicked problems, it takes methods and mindsets adapted to the complexity. People who can facilitate team learning in networks (collective learning) are the type of people to look forward to lead solutions to wicked problems.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We need to become people with skills and experience in addressing wicked problems. There seems to be very few experts in wicked problem solving.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Learning to master the tools around for dealing withe the complexity of wicked problems, means realising that a lot of the expertise one has is now bunk that is unlikely to work in such contexts. Quite a barrier in solving wicked problems. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not saying one does not need advanced expertise to tackle wicked problems. I think you need a lot more skills and experience and ability to tackle complexity problems than merely complex problems. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The skills needed include communication, emotional intelligence, critical and creative thinking, advanced and diverse literacy, strategic thinking and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">system thinking</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Being very handy with </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Web 2.0</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> tools and their associated pedagogies is a recently emerging skill set because they support low cost collaboration and learning across large and diverse large networks.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m in agreement with one my fellow Change11 co-learners </span><a href="http://suifaijohnmak.wordpress.com/introduction/"><span style="background-color: white; color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sui Fai John Mak </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">who blogged:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<a href="http://suifaijohnmak.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/change11-technology-changes-wicked-problems-and-identity/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“It is so true that the more one explores about the wicked problems, the more one starts to question the assumptions behind the problems and solution”</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me I’m increasingly questioning what I learnt when I studies </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_promotion"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Health Promotion </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">over a decade ago. Increasing I’m reading journal articles from key figures in my filed who are also rethinking our practice paradigm as they think about the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complexity"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">complexity </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of many of the wicked problems we address in </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_promotion"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">health promotion</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br />
</div>Connecting With Kids Projecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05394803682597768824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-30991806639215696152011-04-13T06:53:00.000-07:002011-04-13T14:07:04.737-07:00BRIG-MOBIMOOC course- Draft Mobile Learning MHealth Project<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;">Please comment on draft #mLearning #mhealth project- Building Resilience Interest Group BRIG using this blog post.</span><br />
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</span>Connecting With Kids Projecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05394803682597768824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-74950684454323032802011-04-12T21:25:00.000-07:002011-04-12T21:25:53.025-07:00Health Promotion Steps to a Mobile Learning ProjectAs regular readers of this blog will know, I doing presently a mobile learning course <a href="http://mobimooc.wikispaces.com/a+MobiMOOC+hello%21">MobiMOOC</a>.<br />
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As part of this we are to think of a mobile learning project and the course facilitators have provided us with a template to fill out and a few focus questions.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">1. What do you </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><i><u>really</u></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> want to do with mobile learning?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">2. What should every good plan contain?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">3. What are the needs/opportunities in this area?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">This blog post was based on a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map">Mindmap</a> I made using the <a href="http://www.spicynodes.org/">Spicynodes</a> tool last week. It covers mainly question 2 -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">What should every good plan contain?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I think there needs to tentative and reiterative series of tasks beginning with community engagement and strategy invention, moving through implementation and ending with a range of evaluation/reflection tasks that then inform future planning. </span></span><br />
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To me the pre-occupations of health promotion are manifest in the steps outlined in the Mindmap by :<br />
<ul><li>A focus on capacity building rather than health education about health or illness topics.</li>
<li>An extensive engagement and co-invention with people who are members of the intended <i>'target group'. </i></li>
<li>An assumption that it all might be a dumb idea unless proven otherwise. This sceptical outlook comes with my commitment to evidence based practice. Mobile Learning or Mobile Health is too new to be a proven Health Promotion approaches.</li>
<li>There is a good deal of focus on marketing. In health promotion, we work with people out in the world and just letting them now about a opportunity can be a major task. </li>
<li>A sense that we are making choices that are based on consultation, data and best practice principles as well on consideration of technology issues.</li>
<li>A suspicion that IT can be risky and that these risks needs to be actively managed.</li>
<li>Planning and preparation but a willingness to be adaptable to learned needs.</li>
</ul><div>I have not put in the usual health promotion obsessions of formulating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria">SMART Objectives</a>, Key Performance Indicators (KPI) a detailed budget and specific timelines. I have done this because I think starting and sustaining an electronic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice">community of practice</a> does not meet the <a href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/project.html">criteria of defined project</a> with definite set of tasks. It is an emergent undertaking that needs to be allowed to take it own form rather than be guided by the pre-ordained strategies of the project manager.<br />
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I plan to use low cost no cost tools. Thus the main budget component is staff time and that will unfold as the community of practice emerges.<br />
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This project sees the network of people in the education/health/human services as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_adaptive_system">complex adaptive systems</a> and the problem of improving social and emotional wellbeing and resilience as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem">wicked problems</a>. The tools and methods proposed fit this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_model">mental model.</a> <br />
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I have been infleunced in my thinking by the following publications on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem">wicked problems</a>:<br />
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<i><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2007.00866.x/full%20">Wicked Problems, Knowledge Challenges, and Collaborative Capacity Builders in Network Settings</a></i><br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/gr2ahn">Tackling Wicked Problems A Public Policy Perspective</a></div><ul></ul>Connecting With Kids Projecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05394803682597768824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-19026324316314727072011-04-09T17:14:00.000-07:002011-04-09T17:14:03.579-07:00Mobile Tools-Like a child in a candy shop- I want them all<div class="MsoNormal">I enrolled in a course called <a href="http://mobimooc.wikispaces.com/">mobiMOOC</a> and as part of week one activities we were asked to “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pick one of the following mLearning tools: qr-codes, pictures taken </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">via mobile device, movies via mobile device, ... and show us how you </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">would use it for learning ... with a mobile device”</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Like a child in a candy shop- I want them all. I can’t see the point of just picking one of the tools. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was thinking how these could be used in <a href="http://www.healthpromotion.org.au/component/content/article/3-general/92-what-is-health-promotion">health promotion</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My thinking as health promotion professional is concerned with increasing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_capital">social capital</a>, social connectiveness and to draw inactive people into a more active life. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My target would be people in a socially disadvantaged areas. I'm thinking of trying to lure the physically inactive by easy increments into be physically active.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To reach this group, I will not be using any words that suggest the dreaded E words- exercise or exertion. I will using the F word - <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">FUN</b>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I suspected I would make a simple Youtube type video to invite people to form small teams to participate in a localised <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scavenger_hunt">scavenger hunt</a>. Family teams from work places and teams where people went to get to know people would also be encouraged. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I would start out use these movies with social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to invite people to a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scavenger_hunt">scavenger hunt</a>. I would also advertise the event and the Facebook events page with handbills, posters in local shops and poststops. The event would be locality based.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In terms of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scavenger_hunt">scavenger hunt</a>, I think you could use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code">QR codes</a> (Quick Recognition Codes) for clues, SMS or SNS posts and mobile pictures as evidence of being at a place at a time, I would also use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code">QR codes</a> for motivation messages about being involved in community organisations and suggesting ways of being more active. Such an event would fit well with the <a href="http://swapit.gov.au/">Swap It Don’t Stop It</a> health promotion campaign my government and employer is supporting at the moment.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code">QR codes</a> could include information on other locality subjects such as <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>geography, or history or natural features or about sun safety.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mobiles phones could also perhaps be used to crowdsource hunt sites or clues. This would be part of the community engagement around the event.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Some may struggle to see this as learning project. It about learning that getting out and about in the neigborhood is FUN. It about getting to know good places to walk or connect with people in a locality.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The FUN<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>key element would be the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification">gamification</a> and prizes from local businesses.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This intervention<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>also draws upon the behaviour modification ideas of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BJ_Fogg">BJ Fogg</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>drawing on his <a href="http://www.behaviorwizard.org/wp/all-previews-list/PurplePath-behaviors-preview/">purple pathway</a>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The course has also asked us think about<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this question: What is the main concern for my mLearning project is devising is provoking and sustaining active participation for a core group of sufficient size and variety to support learning in the learning lurkers After all this is the main group, population wise.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My planning for mobile learning is not so much concerned about the ‘have’s” and the “have nots”. I fee confident from the data I’ve seen and the way our mobile market works, that in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> that the take up of smart phones will become very widespread in a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>few years time. I have been influenced by <a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/about.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Craig Lefebvre</span> </a>thinking. <a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/about.html"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Craig Lefebvre</span></a> thinking that talks a division between the have now and the have not yet. Now is time to reinvent our work models, not the obsess about social exclusion.<o:p></o:p></div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-42820500256107881712011-04-09T02:24:00.000-07:002011-04-09T02:27:41.521-07:00It's the ideas that excite me not the mobile tech<div class="MsoNormal">I’m suspect I’m getting reputation among my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_promotion">health promotion</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_health">public health</a> colleagues as being a bit of tech head. I think they like the idea of having someone around who seems to be into the new stuff just in case they ever need to find out about.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While I have always get on well with computers and ITC, I no guru. I find the thought of being seen as a one as quite amusing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>Here is the truth. I am not a tech head-mobile guru.</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In reality, I struggle to access mobile tools. My workplace has not been an early adopter and my personal budget constraints limiting my purchase of mobile devices.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At this stage, I mostly just dreaming about what is fast becoming possible because of</div><div class="MsoNormal">really fast Internet, a skilled public and mobile devices that are rapidly becoming cheaper to buy and connect. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Personally, I expect to purchase a high-end android mobile phone soon. Because it will need to offer great regional coverage. (In <st1:country-region><st1:place>Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> this means it works with the phone company with best regional coverage and has a <a href="http://www.cnet.com.au/telstras-blue-tick-phones-339284692.htm">Blue Tick</a>.) This points towards the <a href="http://www.motorola.com/Consumers/AU-EN/Consumer-Products-and-Services/Mobile-Phones/MOTOROLA-DEFY-AU-EN">Motorola Defy</a> as being the optimal device for my needs. Also give my history of killing a succession phones in water, it water proofing feature is highly valued.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The good regional coverage that comes with phone is a critical selection criteria given where I live and work in regional <st1:country-region><st1:place>Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. It is also an important we plan latter this year to run our lives for four months via phones and other mobile devices as we do a camping tour of rural and remote <st1:country-region><st1:place>Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. On this trip I want to use mobile blogging as way of keeping touch with my seven year old class and their families and wider friends by a travel blog. This will help learn about good places to visit on our trip and help my daughter learn about mobile tools.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So far because of my access to technology, my mlearning has been limited.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Surprising on reflection, I find the two mobile learning devices important to me has been a cheap MP3 player and CDRom burner.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I use the MP3 device listen to podcasts while doing my 40 minutes walk to and form work. The CDRom burner has been important as I can listen to audio of lectures ect while on work related long drives around my region. I prefer this to driving for hours with earplugs in. Listening while driving is one advantage rural and remote workers have in terms of access to learning. In both cases, MP3 files coverts otherwise wasted time has become valuable learning time. Personally I enjoy listening to audio talks and I have very good recall. I suspect it is preferred learning style.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">All am is a person who is a whole lot excited and little bit scared about the potential of the changes in the internet with truly fast internet and with mobile access.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A small part of me fears that these technologies my do to health promotion what the Personal Computer did to the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/02/a6988602.shtml">typing pool</a>. But mostly I feel excited the new ideas more so that the tech. What excites me the poteitnal reach of the new tools and how they can be scaled up. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What excites me is idea like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Learning_Networks">personal learning networks</a> (PLNs) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism_(learning_theory)">connectivism</a> not computer chips and new screen interfaces. Electronic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice">CoPs</a> not new release <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_system#Types_of_Operating_Systems">operating systems</a>.</div>Connecting With Kids Projecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05394803682597768824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-13523747992991122702011-04-02T19:45:00.000-07:002011-04-09T21:03:33.411-07:00We have always had mobile learning tools-why all the fuss NOW?<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been going through some of the <a href="http://mobimooc.wikispaces.com/Week+1+-+introduction+to+mLearning">Mobimooc Week one wiki materials</a> and am contemplating this Sunday morning, why all the fuss about mobile learning <i><b>NOW</b></i>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/natearcher/378519540/" title="Pen on Paper"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Pen on Paper by nate archer" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/139/378519540_6335d89ff8.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></span></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/natearcher/378519540/">Pen on Paper</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/natearcher/">nate archer</a> on Flickr.</span></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've used pen and paper & books all my life as highly effective mobile learning tool all my life. What tools, expectations and capacities are converging now that surround mobile learning with such a buzz.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We here is a confused list of what comes to my mind in:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Smart phones fulfil a vision of every one carrying pads that I recall from the early days of personal computers. They are bit ‘Star Trek’ and are media favourite.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also have better internet, WiFi and mobile phone systems. They are faster and cheaper and have better coverage.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The massive growth and familiarity and fun nature of social media like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube and many many more Web 2.0 tools.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The innovators of mobile learning are getting somewhere. It takes long time for an idea to come from the margins and it has been a long time. They are overcoming resistance. Kind off-if your still on about that after all these years-then maybe there is something in that.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have many people who are completely comfortable with the internet and Web 2.0. This means mobile learning innovators can shift from talking about “What is going to be</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">possible with mobile learning” to talking about “What we are going to do.”</span></li>
</ul></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also for my own part, I encountered Connectivism ideas last year. And that really excited my thinking. I encountered the ideas as a loose golden thread that being curious I just pulled on and pulled on.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism">Connectivism</a> ideas really exciting and seem to fit with the ways knowledge moves these days. I could see immediately how they might fit with the capacity building for health promotion work I was seeking to do.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So last on my list, I would theory development and other mindshifts as making <i>NOW</i> a time when mobile learning takes off. These ideas are as important aspects of technological development as important as the hardware/software.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m aware that this list represents my view from my region in a first world country and from my position as a health promotion officer who is positioned outside of the eduction and school system.</span></div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-87135229979831267792011-04-02T19:18:00.000-07:002011-04-02T19:18:08.390-07:00Why I am joining a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Mobile Learning<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have joined the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://mobimooc.wikispaces.com/a+MobiMOOC+hello%21">MobiMOOC course</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. This follows up on the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online">Facilitating Online Course</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I did in 2010.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is short video explanation of a MOOC.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eW3gMGqcZQc" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br />
</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The MoboMOOC will have many participates from all other the world and from many backgrounds. It is now only day two of the course and already several hundred have signed up. The course is open and online. And it is a course.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The subject is on mobile learning. I like the idea of learning and I think it sits well with health promotion focus on capacity building. There is also a buzz around <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_361383288">mobile health (or #</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MHealth">mhealth</a>)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I suspect that the coming of smart phones will be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology">disruptive technology</a> to health promotion/public health/community health. Elsewhere in this blog, I have called this Public Health 2.0 /Health Promotion 2.0.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the past 18 months, I been excited by potential of mobile devices to transform what is possible in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_promotion">health promotion</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> practice. Health promotion has been defined as the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/6gchp/hpr_050829_%20BCHP.pdf">the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">".</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">I have been developing some project ideas and funding submissions and developing my networks. I will write more about these some of these ideas in future blog posts. Some have stalled from lack of funding and some are moving ahead.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">What I find most exciting about mobile health is not so much the gadgets but the theory around how to use them and what it means for collaborate with others to solve important social and health problems.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">What is want to learn is how to use new </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0">Web 2.0</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"> tools and mobile devices to build capacity to promote health in networks of educational, human and health services.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">I will learn that in part from continuous learning, in part hopefully from this course's materials and from the unfolding connections I hope to make with the learning resources and people I encounter via this course.</span></div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-59484677694265486082011-01-25T02:32:00.000-08:002011-01-25T02:32:37.978-08:00Do we need a Public Health 2.0 Special Interest Group or eCop<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">I am wanting to engage with interested Public Health/Health Promotion colleagues around Australian and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">New Zealand</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"> and even around the globe about an idea of establishing a <i>Special Interest Group</i> (SIG) around professional practice and new communications technologies and ideas such as:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.45pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">social media, (including tools such as Blogs, Social network media like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, Webinars, Podcasts, Wikis, Skype, Social bookmarking, RSS and a long list of other tools/methods and settings),<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.45pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">mobile phones/smart phones and apps, and<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.45pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;">·<span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">changing public expectations for participation, co-creation and engagement linked to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0">Web 2.0</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 38.45pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">I think a <i>Special Interest Group</i> should aim to include Public Health/health promotion people from </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Australia</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"> and </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">New Zealand</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"> but will obviously have very porous boundaries both geographically and professionally. I open to be persuaded we need a global group.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Rationale<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">I have come to realise that health promotion/public health practitioner face many challenges in mastering these newly emerged and emerging <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0">Web 2.0</a> technologies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">The incorporation of these new tools and ideas into our practice will shortly no longer be optional. The uptake of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0">Web 2.0</a> by the general public continues at an extremely rapid pace and our professional practice lags behind. These new tools also give the people we formally called our 'target groups" new capacities and have been accompanied by new Web 2.0 expectations for opportunities for greater participation and engagement. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Increasingly our audience is no longer happy to go to a static health promotion web page and read our material. They now demand to comment on it, criticise it, improve it and share their ideas throughout their networks. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">As <a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/">R. Craig Lefebvre</a>, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 13px;">has said, our targets now carry guns. See <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/rcraiglefebve/social-media-strategic-shift-or-tactical-tool-5360928%20See%20Slide%2010">http://www.slideshare.net/rcraiglefebve/social-media-strategic-shift-or-tactical-tool-5360928 See Slide 10</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;">These new technologies offer great potential for Health Promotion and Public Health. We are getting new ways of engaging with the public. Increasingly powerful and affordable smart phones give people new capacities. These new media tools potentially offer new ways of reaching and engaging with communities. They are also fantastic collaboration and partnering tools. We are only starting to glimpse the future implications of these changes for Public Health/Health Promotion</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">However for us as practitioners, the adopting these new tools means involves learning new skills, mastering new jargon and methods, overcoming many practical and organisational barriers, considering and managing novel risks, dealing with policies and procedures that are yet to be updated to take account of new technologies and public expectations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Not least, adopting these new Web 2.0 tools will involve considering new methods and reconsidering established ideas, models and theories. These new tools have implications for our professional roles, competencies and our professional identities. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">It is possible that the new Web 2.0 tools are not just a collection of tools. There collective impacts on out practice have a potential to reshape of our institutions and practice. Hence the terms, Public Health 2.0 and Health Promotion 2.0.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">At present I feel that the early adopters of these new ideas are scattered across Australia and that many practitioners feel excited by the potential but daunted by the challenges. People are feeling isolated and are looking for a electronic <a href="http://www.ewenger.com/theory/">community of practice</a> (eCoP) to share information, share skills, ideas and solutions. Some people are sensing that this we need to talk how Web 2.0 will change profession.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">What would a SIG or CoP do?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">A Special Interest Group SIG or electronic Community of Practice (eCoP) could:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.ewenger.com/theory/">http://www.ewenger.com/theory/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div><ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Set up an email based e-network for sharing news, ideas, tools, relevant literature, asking for help and feedback on project ideas and other documents such as organisational policies.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Organise online events such as Webinars and Twitter chats (perhaps in conjunction with #hcsmanz (link <a href="http://bitethedust.com.au/bitingthedust/2010/12/04/healthcare-and-social-media-discussion-on-twitter/">http://bitethedust.com.au/bitingthedust/2010/12/04/healthcare-and-social-media-discussion-on-twitter/</a> ) <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Share a group blog to share ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Share contact details and interests so people could make contact with each other for small group professional conversations using e-media and perhaps Skype.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Organise face to face events and meet-up perhaps in conjunction with significant Public Health and Health Promotion conferences.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Develop position and discussion papers on key issues.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">It may be useful to align such a SIG with key professional bodies such as the Public Health Association Australia, Australian Health Promotion Association, and Environmental Health Australia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.healthpromotion.org.au/">http://www.healthpromotion.org.au/</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.phaa.net.au/">http://www.phaa.net.au/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.aieh.org.au/about/index.php">http://www.aieh.org.au/about/index.php</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><b><i>I am interested in your ideas. Please leave your comment and vote.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><b><i><br />
</i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><b><i>Please share this with your colleagues.</i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">Questions that we need to think about.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;">I<i>s this a good idea? Please vote on the poll to the right by date end of February. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Is the scope and purpose right or wrong?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><i>How does health promotion in the context of community health or general practice fit in?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><i>What would you change about as a rationale and purpose?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><i>What do you think of the sort of activities that the SIG could undertake?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><i>What do you think it should be called and what about a suggestion for a Twitter hashtag? <o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><i>How does this relate to the wider worldwide set of #hcsm twitter tags?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Is the time right for a distinct Public Health group? A lot is happening already around Health 2.0 such in the #hcsmanz Titter group. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 10pt;"><i>How doe we spread this to practitioners and the universities?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-87086975576408085942010-12-04T23:25:00.000-08:002010-12-04T23:25:20.978-08:00Reflections and Recollections on our Mini-conference event.<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve been delayed in writing up an evaluation of our <a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online/Mini_Conference#Jillian_and_Malcolm.27s_Event">Facilitating Online 2010 Mini-conference event</a>. Now that the pressure of each week's tasks is off and the Christmas is getting closer, it's been hard to prioritise getting back to this blog to finish the last assignment of the course.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I teamed up with </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://jillianclarke.blogspot.com/">Jillian Clarke</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to organise a mini-conference event.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jillian lives in my region, works for the same organisation and has a work interest in communities of practice like me, it was</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">natural step to link up and collaborate with our mini-conference event. During the FO2010 course, we had several really interested conversations and exchanges, and in these the germ of the idea for our mini-conference was found.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The title of our event was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Driving Change: Introducing a virtual education and training portal into a large government organisation - the opportunities and challenges.</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What went well, and what did not go so well.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall I think the event went pretty well. It was generally very professionally organised and most importantly it worked as an engaging learning opportunity. We mastered the technology and kept the gremlins at bay. We demonstrated to ourselves that we can work in a team to organise and facilitate an online learning event. We have come out of this FO2010 course feeling confident in our abilities and with the host of new skills and knowledge to apply this in our work in the future.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Organising and facilitating the event as a duo was a more meaningful learning experience for me because this how I want to organise events in my work. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given the need to have a backup plan for everything, I can see real advantages of organising online events in my organisational context in a duo, just in case a server goes down at one site or a person is sick. After all the effort of setting up a synchronistic event, managing the risk that a sole presenter could be sick or have ITC issue, seems like a good practice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How the event was organised and promoted <o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jillian and myself had a lot of delay agreeing on the title and the description for the event. This harmed our efforts to promote the event. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In organising the event we used </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html">Google Docs</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.skype.com/intl/en/home">Skype</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to record our collaborative decisions and share ideas both synchronistically and a synchronistically.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We used the word processor in <a href="http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html">oogle Docs</a> to make up a table listing responsibilities in sequential order and allocated who was primarily responsible and who was the back-up, and when the task was completed.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jillian had some unexplained problems with using </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.google.com/google-d-s/tour1.html">Google Docs</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and this slowed down our work.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had a very useful practice session with our presenter Kayleen Gordon in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.elluminate.com/">Elluminate</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> web conferencing platform on the Sunday before the session. This was essential for sorting out some problems that would have otherwise crippled the session.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For both Jillian and myself, both work and homelife combined to make the week leading upto tour mini-conferencing event a week form hell. This impacted on our ability to get on top of our event. Giving adequate attention to the event publicity, was a problem. So it goes. We could have done this better.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the event started, I could see that of the group attending our event, most were familiar through FO2010 that all but one of the attendants were familiar with the Elluminate environment. Jillian had helped a newby colleague of hers, and provided one on one guidance to her before and during the during the session to nurture her in the use of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.elluminate.com/">Elluminate</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> web conferencing tool.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think the topic was relevant to the course and will help courses participants and ourselves put our newly skills and knowledge into practice, whatever their sector or organisation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was pleased we attracted seven punters to our event. We were limited in the times that we could organise the event for a range of reasons, and our choice of time, may have limited some attending the event live. So it goes.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We promoted our event with Twitter using the #FO2010 hashtag and via the Facilitating online Google email list group. These linked back to info in the course’s wiki. It was also promoted on Jillian's blog. I did not repeat the publicity on my blog as this seemed excessive. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the day, the event went very smoothly so we did not have any unchosen disruptions. I was keen to make the event interactive, so with the agreement of the presenter I encouraged participants to use the chat to ask questions and make comments. I think this worked well. We had a very good discussion at the end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We made a minimal number of introductions at the start of the session as this saved time. This seemed appropriate given all but one of the participants had been interacting extensively though the life of the course.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was pleased with my summary I gave at the end of the session. I used a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map">mind map</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to make notes of the presentation. I managed to cover the presentation by Kayleen Gordon and many of the themes in the discussion and question session a the end. Our timing was good. We ran to time and I think we discussed the topic for correct amount of time-not to short and not to long. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many issues and learnings came up in the discussion session because of the the sharing of the participants. I at one stage, stepped out of my facilitator's role and gave a comment based on my own perspective. However, I made it clear that , this was what I was doing and then stepped backed into the facilitator role.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The discussion went off the set topic of "<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><i>opportunities and challenges</i>" </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but I felt really comfortable about this. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think we adapted to the learning needs and interests of the session's participants. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We kept to time and a had a good ending.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We had some good feedback on our event which we asked people top post on<a href="http://jillianclarke.blogspot.com/2010/10/feedback-from-mini-conference.html"> Jillian's Blog</a>. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We only got a few comments but we value them highly. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The feedback comments above have informed some of this reflection.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My follow-up of the event has been pretty weak again because of work and home issues. The arrival of new baby in my extended family has been a priority. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a mix up in the url link to the recording of the session and no one noticed this for several weeks until I came to listen to the session in preparation for writing this.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the future as I try to introduce web based conferencing into my workplace, I'm going to need to put a lot more effort into:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Guiding and supporting people with the ITC.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More effort in marketing and getting a large </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">attendance.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More effort in introductions in order to create relationships. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More effort in evaluation.</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I going to follow some advice Tweeted from Gov 2.0 expert <a href="http://egovau.blogspot.com/">Craig Tomler</a>, which was to "<i>Think Big, Start Small and Fail fast</i>." It makes sense.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My main gaol is to consolidate my skills and learnings from </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online">Facilitating Online 2010 course</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> lead by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://sarah-stewart.blogspot.com/">Sarah Stewart</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and to explore using the new Web 2,0 tools to find better ways of promoting heath.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In concluding, I would like to say that I found this the whole </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online">Facilitating Online 2010 course</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> a kick ass learning experience. Thanks to everyone who shared and asked questions throughout this course.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would particularly like to thank </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://jillianclarke.blogspot.com/">Jillian Clarke</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> my co-facilitator at this mini-conference event and Kayleen Gordon, our most capable presenter.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also would like to thank </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.claireonline.ca/">Claire Thompson</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> with whom I co-facilitated one of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online/Course_Schedule#September_6th_Working_collaboratively.2C_planning_and_recording_decisions">earlier course sessions</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. It didn't go as well as this mini-conference event but it worked OK. I sure learnt at lot with Claire.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to watch the recording of our mini-conference event the correct link can be found </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://elluminate.tekotago.ac.nz/play_recording.html?recordingId=1260253889796_1288567356923">here</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span></div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-72229089282141503662010-09-27T04:51:00.000-07:002010-09-28T03:11:36.197-07:00Why am I so pessimistic about cultural competence in an online world.<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span">I've been putting off writing this.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-converted-space"></span><span class="apple-style-span">I'm usually pretty positive we can make the world a better place. Hey look at at title of this blog Brighter Futures.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-converted-space"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="apple-style-span">About culturally competent online facilitation on a global scale, I'm feeling pretty pessimistic.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="apple-converted-space"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">I think there are many, many difficulties.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="apple-style-span">When you go to live in new country you are immersed in a new culture. If you study or work in that new culture you learn the language and how things are done, you learn about the world view of the new culture. You also learn about your own culture.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="apple-converted-space"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="apple-style-span">You learn that that you have norms, expectations, values and assumptions that you had no idea that other cultures don't share.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><span class="apple-converted-space"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">You can come to understand this, and go meta on this because you are embedded in the new culture and you are an outsider. You also change the culture you are embedded in because you relate to people you encounter and form ongoing trusting relationships. You have to share you thoughts about with others in the form of models.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"> <span class="apple-style-span">You say in effect, "<i>Am I getting this right? In this culture when you say this and do that, you don't mean what we mean in my culture you mean something like this</i>?"</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span"></span><span class="apple-style-span">The</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><a href="http://alistair.cockburn.us/Making+the+strange+familiar,+and+the+familiar+strange#discussion"><b><span style="color:#3366CC">German poet Novalis (1772-1801)</span></b></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">who first combined the following words said it well. "<i>The strange becomes familiar and the familiar becomes strange"</i>.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"> <span class="apple-style-span">Because you are embedded in a strange environment you come to see your assumptions and thoughtless biases and your habitual heuristics.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span"></span><span class="apple-style-span">But when you stay home and interact across the world over the internet, you stay embedded in your environment and the members of your online community are embedded in theirs.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span"></span>There are less chances to see the familiar as strange. We carry on and with our invisible assumptions. If we have more power than those we facilitate, they try to fit in as best they can.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 17px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">We carry on in our culturally insensitive ways, blind to what were doing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"> <span class="apple-style-span">If our cultural biases were ever pointed out to us, we might be horrified or even hostile, possibly dismissive.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-converted-space"></span><span class="apple-style-span">I'm not sure my pessimism about cultural competence is correct.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"> <span class="apple-style-span"><i>Am I justified in thinking this?</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span"><i></i></span>I wonder if anyone has researched this.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"> <span class="apple-style-span">I found this article</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><a href="http://nlc.ell.aau.dk/past/nlc2008/abstracts/PDFs/Goodfellow_553-559.pdf"><b><span style="color:#3366CC">New Directions in Research into Learning Cultures in Online Education</span></b></a></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">by</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/00138408404345093163"><b><span style="color:#3366CC">Robin Goodfellow</span></b></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">on Google that seems worth a read.</span><br /><span class="apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span">This posting was inspired by my fellow FO2100 students but Matt Blackstock's blog post on this topic,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><b><span style="color:#3366CC"><a href="http://mattybeefo2010.posterous.com/cultural-competence-in-the-online-facilitatio">Cultural Competence in the Online Facilitation Environment</a> " </span></b></i></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); line-height: 22px; in which he wrote " be="" aware="" of="" your="" own="" i="" guess="" my="" thinking="" is="" that="" this="" easier="" said="" than=""></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><b><span style="color:#3366CC"></span></b></i></span></span></p><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><b><span style="color:#3366CC"><p class="MsoNormal"><span></span></p><span><p class="MsoNormal" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >In this post he writes "</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >Be aware of your own assumptions</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" >" </span></span></span></p></span><span><p class="MsoNormal" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span></span></span></span></span></p><span><p class="MsoNormal" style="display: inline !important; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I guess my thinking is that this is easier said than done.</span></span></span></p></span></span><i><b><span style="color:#3366CC"><p></p></span></b></i><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p></span></b></i></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:13.0pt;font-family: "Trebuchet MS";color:#333333"><span class="apple-style-span"><i><b><span style="color:#3366CC"><br /></span></b></i></span></span></p>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-15079269347777651452010-09-24T04:06:00.000-07:002010-09-24T04:47:36.297-07:00Knowledge brokering in the Web 2.0 era<p class="MsoNormal">I was recently asked to fill out an evaluation of <a href="http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/Professional_Information/Lifestyle_Risk/Physical_Activity/AusPAnet/Pages/default.aspx">AusPAnet</a> to fill in a surveymonkey survey.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I would describe <a href="http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/Professional_Information/Lifestyle_Risk/Physical_Activity/AusPAnet/Pages/default.aspx">AusPAnet</a> as knowledge brokers or evidence brokers. I also would describe myself as a knowledge broker/evidence broker.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Since encountering Web 2.0 concepts, I’ve been rethinking my assumptions about the best methods to advance my evidence brokering work in mental health promotion.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Before going on I need to own up. The following criticism of <a href="http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/Professional_Information/Lifestyle_Risk/Physical_Activity/AusPAnet/Pages/default.aspx">AusPAnet</a> knowledge brokering strategies is also criticism of my own past efforts at knowledge brokering.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/Professional_Information/Lifestyle_Risk/Physical_Activity/AusPAnet/Pages/default.aspx">AusPAnet</a> on their very basic website is says “AusPAnet is targeted to building knowledge and capacity in the physical activity workforce.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Their main activity is a regular e-bulletin. It contains links to with short summaries, teasers about events, new journals articles and reports.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Internet technology has moved on and broadcast Web 1.0 e-bulletins are fast becoming outdated. Readers expectations are also changing. People are using less email and devoting more time to interactive social media such as Facebook and Twitter. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I and others want more interaction and discussion and opportunities for online professional conversations. Look how Facebook traffic has increased while email is dropping.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I don’t just want information gathered, selected, sorted and shoved at me. I want to talk about the ideas and contribute and discuss the ideas and information that I and other have found that we have found significant. I want to do this because it helps me integrate the new knowledge into my practice. It helps me learn.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/2769179821/" title="Old One Way sign by mobilene, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2769179821_2e9a761e4d.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Old One Way sign" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/2769179821/" title="Old One Way sign by mobilene, on Flickr"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(102, 102, 102); line-height: 14px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong class="username" id="yui_3_1_0_1_12853273868661207" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; display: inline !important; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); margin-top: 0px; line-height: 13px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">By </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 99, 220); background-color: transparent; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">mobilene</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(187, 187, 187); line-height: 10px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">FLICKR </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/mobilene/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: transparent; ">Jim Grey</a> http://flic.kr/p/5dGLFF </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(187, 187, 187); "><a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/mobilene/" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); background-color: transparent; "></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">W</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">hile it is useful to get a regular e-bulletin with lots of good stuff, a one-way e-bulletin does not engender dialogue about the ideas contained within</span>.</span></p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To get evidence and ideas into practice it takes more than telling people about the research/ideas and data. There are many practical issues to be worked through to get a new idea into action. There are barriers to overcome, facilitators to mobilize, lots of practical details and contextual factors to understand and access. There is also the task of integrating the new knowledge into existing understandings and practice. This is a social process.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Online discussion supplemented by occasional face to face gathering help do this. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice">community of practice</a> idea is a very useful strategy for discussing new ideas and to consider the implication of evidence for practice.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The essential point that I’m making is that in order to assimilate new ideas and take those ideas to the stage where they can be actioned locally, a social process of learning and the making meaning shared needs to happen and that social media toll can help. The logical conclusion of this is that successful knowledge brokers will in future being spending more of there time facilitating online learning communities.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">While knowledge brokers will still devote their time to gathering, selecting, sorting and sharing evidence this will be a far more social process. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Web 2.0 tools offer no cost and low cost tools for doing this work. Web 2.0 tools such Facebook groups, Twitter, Ning, Linkedin, Skype, Youtube blogs and online events such webinars, Tweetups, video conferences can help with this.</p><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span>I’m yet to really adequately explore social book-marking tools such as Delicious as an evidence brokering tool. My organization uses an old version of Internet Explorer that does not properly interface with some Web 2.0 tools. I patiently await its update but eagerly explore these new ways of thinking.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Do you think I'm being foolish to embrace these changers?</p>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-40009983962272647222010-09-12T04:24:00.000-07:002010-09-12T04:54:34.834-07:00Twitter ConversationsI was in my first twitter sustained conversation this week. The hashtag keeping it altogether was #nzaot10. I think it was a international conference of OTs (<i>Occupational Therapists</i>.)<br /><br />I was following it out of curiosity when the conversation turned to some mental health related topics, that I'm quite interested in.<br /><br />So I contributed my ideas from my position as an mental health promotion expert.<br /><br />It was an interesting professional conversation because I don't often get to dialogue to academic inclined OTs.<br /><br />Some of my Tweets were retweeted by key participants and that encouraged me to participate more. Further, a few questions were directed at me.<br /><br />In the next few days, my Twitter account 'lewismal' picked up a handful of new Twitter followers who are OTs in different parts of the world.<br /><br />I'm not sure what that will mean for them or me. I do sense the value from this Twitter interaction of having conversations with people who think differently about topics I work on from my peers.<br /><br />I look forward to what comes my was from them by way of ideas, news or questions that disrupt my professional assumptions.<br /><br />I wonder what would happen in my home town of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toowoomba">Toowoomba</a> ( to our already strong community networks and to our fairly weak local media if local tweeters started using a #Twba hashtag.<br /><br />Does anyone have any predictions?<br />Does anyone know of a town/small city that has adopted a hashtag based on its name? What happens to community spirit?<br /><br />I should Twitter out those questions.Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-84317821798004662252010-09-07T23:54:00.000-07:002011-01-25T02:28:45.235-08:00The implication of people of like minds and purpose tending to cluster in a Web 2.0 ageThere are implications of the observation that people of like mind and purpose tend to come together and form networks.<br />
<br />
For me the big implications for project/campaign work in health promotion is in what this means for strategy.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div><div>I have found that if you can make a few strong links with keen people, these initial contacts will guide you or take your message onto others of similar mind an d purpose who will be likely be interested in what your saying or trying to achieve.<br />
<br />
<div>This has always been the case but this dynamic has been amplified by Web 2.0 and social network media.<br />
<br />
</div><div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Mead">Margaret Mead</a>'s famous quote, "<i>Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has</i>."<br />
<br />
The power of a few has been upped by Web 2.0 and social network media.<br />
<br />
Before social media, if we had the money, we used mass media to get the word out to the multitudes in the hope that we would link up with the few who were ready to interested. This was relatively effective compared to other choices. Hence so much advertising and mass media.<br />
<br />
New social network media tools and the networks they have created and supercharged are now relatively more effective than mass media.<br />
<br />
I realised this reading Craig Thomler's <a href="http://egovau.blogspot.com/">blog</a>. He recently gave a presentation on <a href="http://innovation.govspace.gov.au/2010/09/01/social-media-in-government-seminar-august-2010/">Social Media in Government</a>. Watching the video of his talk really lifted my thinking to this conclusion. The shock of this realisation also got me going through some old notes about ideas I encountered a few years back from <a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/about.html">R. Craig Lefebvre</a>. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The increasing influence and effectiveness of social media will reinvent the way that health promotion works. The tried and true methods of based on the <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/clevermonkey/smcr-211208">linear Source -- Message -- Channel -- Receiver (SMCR) process</a><a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/r_craiig_lefebvres_social/2008/08/the-audience-as-producer.html"> </a>is becoming outdated.</div><div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/about.html">Craig Lefebvre</a> work seems to point to newer paradigms. His paper <i><a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/Publications/SMQ-The_consumer_as_participant_2007.pdf">The New Technology: The Consumer as Participant Rather Than Target Audience</a> </i>is a good read. Wriiten back 2007, it was a harbinger towards Health Promotion 2.0.</div></div></div></div><div><br />
</div><div>His blog post <a href="http://www.blogger.com/Social%20Models%20for%20Marketing:%20Social%20Networks">Social Models for Marketing: Social Networks</a> from Oct 2009 is also a recommended read.</div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/about.html">Craig Lefebvre</a> has a flock of writing on social media that are interest to anyone who wants to use social media in social advocacy or health promotion on his blog under the <a href="http://socialmarketing.blogs.com/r_craiig_lefebvres_social/social_media/">tag social media</a>. I'm working through and reworking my way through them and their hyperlinks.</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-2233815344356280802010-09-05T05:23:00.000-07:002010-09-06T04:46:38.755-07:00Skype as a collaboration toolThis video sets out my thinking on Skype as a collaboration tool.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwbK8VbDMSyaIW-YSf10dX4bFqkiC86twXPOu_Euc6eNgS9m2bB_ks0XLk5hXRfFlDjKNc-YvHx3MaQIv1-uQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />It is also an trial of video blogging.Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-90451718537735808262010-08-30T19:19:00.001-07:002010-08-30T19:19:21.369-07:00A strong example of health promotion using e-learning.Found this slideshare from Cathy Moore which I find to be a strong example of health promotion using e-learning on <a href="http://mattybee.freehostia.com/blog/2009/11/25/create-an-experience-not-next-next-oh-look-a-quiz/">Mattybees main blog</a> . <br /><br />I'm looking for more exampes of peopel doing amazing scalable Health Promotion 2.0<br /><br />It has strong links with our FO2010 e-session week starting <a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online/Course_Schedule#August_16th_Case_studies"></a>.<div style="width:425px" id="__ss_2573606"><strong style="display:block;margin:12px 0 4px"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/CathyMoore/how-to-save-the-world-with-elearning-scenarios" title="How to save the world with elearning scenarios">How to save the world with elearning scenarios</a></strong><object id="__sse2573606" width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=storyslideshare-091124072050-phpapp01&stripped_title=how-to-save-the-world-with-elearning-scenarios" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed name="__sse2573606" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=storyslideshare-091124072050-phpapp01&stripped_title=how-to-save-the-world-with-elearning-scenarios" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div style="padding:5px 0 12px">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/CathyMoore">Cathy Moore</a>.</div></div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-65715185266583401182010-08-28T06:22:00.000-07:002010-08-28T06:54:53.775-07:00What is online facilitation?<strong>We were asked to summarise your learning so far in our blog. </strong><br /><br />This a bit late. I’ve had a hard time getting to this task with kids parties and political parties in our general election. We had a great result for my team, The Greens.<br /><br />The most important learning for me so far has been that I have a clearer idea of what I need to learn and how to go about that learning.<br /><br /><strong>What is online facilitation? </strong><br /><br />I’ve been into facilitation for a long time. I wrote a book back the early 1990s that had chapter on facilitation of meetings. Well before that I was doing workshops on meeting skills built around facilitation. I was also doing workshops on concepts of networking and net weaving way back in 1988.<br /><br />My very first experiences of virtual facilitation was using a “bridge” to hold a teleconferences back in 1985 with people who where interested in forming a national Greens party. This was well before telephone companies offered this service. You needed to go to someone who had an expensive hi-tech device called a “bridge” that linked all the individual calls together.. We were lucky that a technology steward at one of the local universities pointed us towards this technology. I remember the bills for a hook up in of people in six capital cities were comparable to one airfare to Sydney from Brisbane.<br /><br />Now going on teleconference is often a mundane experience. One to be endured. But I do recall the feelings of the new teleconference bridge. I recall the thrill of the new possibilities from a new technology. I feel that thrill about the Web 2.0 again.<br /><br />I first started online facilitation in the early days of email. I participated and played a leading role in a swarm of public and a private email groups that debated the best way to form a national Greens Party in Australia.<br /><br />We joke we got a black belt in cat herding from what we learned from that process.<br /><br />Curiously, I have not used a lot of online facilitation skills, other than in teleconferences since I started working for Queensland Health.<br /><br />So I guess I’ve done a lot of online facilitation and found and developed theories and concepts to help myself along.<br /><br />I seem to have a wider conception of what online facilitation is than most in this course. Also seem to I want to put online facilitation of communities to a wider and more ambitious range of uses than most.<br /><br />Some of my learning I will use in my professional life and others in my activist and volunteer in NGOs life.<br /><br />Some of the things that I’m exploring with online facilitation include:<br /><br />* Promoting social connection (social capital) between people in a geographical community<br />* Improving community governance and create more effective and responsive services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other newly emerged ethnic communities.<br />* A self help online community for carers and people experiencing chronic illness.<br />* Communities of Practice.<br />* Organising F2F events with social media for families of small children.<br />* Online advocacy campaigns using viral methods.<br />* Selling health promotions products, ideas or marketing health related behaviour change.<br />* Use of social media in planning, consultation and even research.<br />* Using social media o project development and management.<br /><br /><strong>What skills do you need as an online facilitator? </strong><br />You need a wide range of skills.<br />* Generic facilitation skills<br />* Keep learning<br />* Play.<br />* Adapt previous skill and knowledge.<br />* Understand the tools and help others with them<br />* Barriers facilitators and risks.<br />* The ability to plan an coherent session.<br /><br /><a href="http://brighterfutures-malcolml.blogspot.com/2010/08/risks-barriers-facilitators-way-forward.html">My mindmap</a> set out long list of related skill that come in handy in online facilitation.<br /><br /><strong>How does a facilitator build an online community or network? </strong><br /><br />You need to have suitable purpose/problem in mind. Online tools need to be appropriate to this.<br /><br />You need to pick the right online tools for the purpose and context. This might mean not using the best but the best fit with the community.<br /><br />You need enough people for the online community to reach a critical mass. There is no magic number but you do need readiness to use the online tools and to work on the focus problem. You will need a core group of champions.<br /><br />You will need to be persistence and responsive. You need to Do it and keep doing it. If you strategies need to change, Recognise they need to change.<br /><br />You need ask questions and listen. Social media is about two communication. Prepared to invest time and effort in doing this.<br /><br />* You need to acknowledge people for their contribution.<br />* You need to keep people on topic. The topic might take its own course but as facilitator you need to wisely influence the process so that it get the results that are wanted/needed. <em>(Needed by whom? Wanted by whom?)</em><br />* You need to summarise previous discussions and decisions and test for agreement about the main points to at least allow others to give their versions..<br />* You need to establish social norms via rules and customs and you need to police them. Light policing is probably better than nuclear options.<br />* You need to model a respectful tone and the norms and skills people need to participate in an effective online community..<br />* It helps to throw in interesting things into an online discussion and ask for comment.<br />* You need to be interactive not a broadcaster.<br />* It is important to use the old publicity skills. Call people, send emails ect, put up posters. What does it take to let people know and to get them interested?<br /><br /><br /><strong>What are the key things to remember when facilitating an event, meeting or education course, especially when working with people who are new to online technology? </strong><br /><br />* Remember and be prepared it can all turn to Custard.<br />* Attempt to understand the risks.<br />* Use the facilitators to over the barriers.<br />* Explain and help people over the barriers. Screenr is a good tool for this.<br />* It takes practice to master the tools.<br />* F2F skills and know need to be modified.<br /><br /><strong>What is the difference between teaching and facilitation? </strong><br />Teaching and facilitation are just words- contested words.<br /><br />There is a lot ferment and research and theorising about what good educational practice means in a new online world.<br /><br />Online tools create new pedagogical possibilities. Teaching is not what it was when I studies teaching at the ends of 1970s.<br /><br />It is more participatory and learning is co-constructed, and situated. Learning is also becoming more flexible.<br /><br />I feel it’s a case of change or become irrelevant. Consumer expectations have changed and we need to adapt our methods. The teacher as the expert has been undermined by move to technology. Learning has become more interactive, more responsive, and punters have many more choices.<br /><br />Learners have needs and are demanding new methods. Web 2.0 has precipitated a powershift between teachers/schools and the consumers of their services.<br /><br />I really enjoyed this wiki on new understanding about e-learning: <a href="http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/wikis/etl/index.php/What_we_know_about_learning">http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/wikis/etl/index.php/What_we_know_about_learning</a><br /><br /><strong>What is netiquette?</strong><br /><br />Netiquette is etiquette in the online world.<br /><br />Like F2F etiquette, netiquette is a constant flux and is culturally constructed.<br /><br />Netiquette has the same purpose as F2F etiquette. It si about putting people<br />at ease. When people are at ease they can learn and perform better. They can also enjoy more.<br /><br />Netiquette like etiquette consists of rules and customs and social norms so people can cooperate achieve social goods they value.<br /><br />Netiquette also arrises out the technical issues surrounding online tools.<br /><br />One of the reasons you don’t hit reply all button to some emails is that it can bring down the email system.<br /><br />Poor netiquette can waste peoples time, and hog shared resources. Sending big files as attachments can clog up someone system.<br /><br />There is also tendency to be crueller online than people are face to face. I think this might be related to the perceived lack of consequences There is a greater social distance and reduced empathy.<br /><br />The lack of social cues can mean people take offence when none was intended.Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-68775359424629032092010-08-17T13:51:00.001-07:002010-08-17T13:54:15.814-07:00Online facilitation as Building Social Capital<p class="MsoNormal">Social capital is a emerging concept. There are various definitions and understandings and no agreement as to what it is, how to measure it and how to change it. It seems to really important for health and many other social outcomes such a educational and social order outcomes but some troubling questions remain.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Social capital is not an easy idea to explain as it could be a course in and of itself. It is the subject of many Phds already.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Because of all this, it not clear what is the best way to improve social capital for those individuals and communities who have low social capital.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In short some people live in communities with rich social connections and a high degree of trust and social order. Such people and communities tend to get on and do well. They tend to be happy and healthy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In communities with the opposite, people struggle and you have higher rates of illness, school failure and other nasty social problems such as crime.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But is all this causative or a just an association?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">What caused what?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">After all you don't have to go to uni to know that the wealthy healthy people move to the good neighbourhoods and the poor and sick get to live in the crappy parts of town in the crappy houses.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Also you can debate if social capital is something individuals have or something only communities have?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And can you build social capital from low to high and improve outcomes of concern?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Or to improve social capital do we need to reduce things like crime, improve wealth(financial capital)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>and education (Human capital), Health (Human capital) to improve social capital and if this is the case is there much point to the concept of social capital.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Social capital could be a trendy new term to talk about social issues without talking about tuff issues such as human rights, discrimination or economic inequality. Such tuff topics can question our own privilege and leave our own self serving bias untroubled.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Anyway we know that when people have social connections that feel good, tend to be healthier, engage in healthy behaviors, and they feel they can solve problems and give it a go and they can use their social connections to help them solve problems. Pretty significant stuff. Apple pie.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Similarly we know that if there is social order, people feel safe. They can feel in control and they can take risks. You can benefit from this risk taking. Even if you fail, social capital can buffer you from any lasting harm.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">You also need to feel safe in order for the brain to be able to work effectively. Learning requires a trust and a feeling safety.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Feeling safe is related to people's perceptions, their experience and to norms and rules of a community.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We know some people have connections with many similar people (People who only have relationships with people of a similar background, eg same ethnic group, same education or age backgrounds).</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is called bonding social capital. This can be quite harmful or helpful depending on the dynamics. (I know I said that above that social capital was apple pie.)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Others have what is termed bridging social capital, links with dissimilar people. This is really useful for solving problems.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Think of a learning group when everyone has the same background vs a diverse group. People might be a little out of their comfort zone but the learning can be much more dynamic and deep.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Nazi party made lots of bonding social capital for their<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>in groups and excluded others. The Nazi were not big on bridging social capital, particularly across ethnic groups.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ultimately the Nazi's lost the war as their social capital fell apart.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I hope you can see how building and shaping the dynamics of social capital is a core role of online facilitators.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">When a leader in group can facilitate ways in which the group can can make collective decisions, the group can become alive. It has control and whole new dynamic emerge. The capacity of groups to engage in self governance<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>is also a part of what makes up high social capital.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i>All questions welcome?</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><a href="http://scholar.google.com.au/"> Google scholar</a> throws up the main theories and key pubs very well.</p>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-57818837634816483562010-08-16T02:44:00.001-07:002010-08-16T02:58:31.463-07:00Risks, Barriers, Facilitators & the way forward to Online Communities<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufR8-QjMlgq4LAPvRhQvemKq7ZYHX78bfteb_1kXX71VdyITh8eb6RLG0RRhth0oz25C1GL3uu18CBXSpqTPali3pW9S36BjlWhDvUfpq_oFijQhxVIShbNYg1wAliOdjaL3KTvlnqt4/s1600/online+facilitation.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhufR8-QjMlgq4LAPvRhQvemKq7ZYHX78bfteb_1kXX71VdyITh8eb6RLG0RRhth0oz25C1GL3uu18CBXSpqTPali3pW9S36BjlWhDvUfpq_oFijQhxVIShbNYg1wAliOdjaL3KTvlnqt4/s400/online+facilitation.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505942875793519618" /></a><br />This is a Mindmap that I made up reflecting my understanding of some the Risks, Barriers, Facilitators that I might be facing.<div><br /></div><div>It also Mindmaps other considerations such a return on investment (ROI), project management and adapting a host of F2F skills to the new online world we find ourselves in.</div><div><br /></div><div>You might need to save the image and open on image software on your computer to view all the detail.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-90850512089244535222010-08-15T16:04:00.000-07:002010-08-15T16:43:19.071-07:00Using Online Networks to promote social connectednessIn my work in health promotion, I am concerned about social isolation.<br /><br />Other buzz words include social capital, social inclusion, social connectedness, and loneliness.<br /><br />Every now and again one sees something that really underscores how much we can underestimate something we know is critically important.<br /><br />Have a look at this new reserch. This <a href="http://tinyurl.com/2e68z55">table</a> and this <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316">meta analysis</a> on health impact of social isolation really was a surprise to me in the scale of the positive impacts.<br /><br />A <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=relationships-boost-survival">Scientific America magazine article</a> on the research is also available.<br /><br />In short, good interpersonal social networks are more crucial to physical health than exercising or a low <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index">BMI</a> . Same goes for much of the other health messages out there. The table shows that social relationships are more influencial than smoking more than 15 cigerettes per day or drug treatment for hypertension.<br /><br />To quote, "These findings indicate that the influence of social relationships on the risk of death are comparable with well-established risk factors for mortality such as smoking and alcohol consumption and exceed the influence of other risk factors such as physical inactivity and obesity. "<br /><br />The conclusion to me- in your work, being teaching or health care, or any other- Take account of social connection-it matters. Build <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_capital">social capital</a>.<br /><br /><br />As for what I hope to learn out this F0201o, I wonder everyday, <em>"How can we use tools like Facebook, Twitter and Ning to promote healthy social connections?"</em><br /><br />I have found useful background on <a href="http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/loneliness-and-mental-health/">loneliness</a> at the UKs <a href="http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/welcome/">Mental Health Foundation</a>.<br /><br />I'm worried about internet addiction, links between use of the internet and depression.<br /><br />I'm excited by newer social networking tools such a Facebook.<br /><br /><em>Ideas and leads welcome? </em><br /><em></em><br /><em>I’d value a good question if you don’t have part of the answer.</em><br /><br />And look after your social connections while doing this course.Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-88900560947863056572010-08-04T16:03:00.000-07:002010-08-04T16:13:26.667-07:00Stocktaking my relationshipsYesterday, stimulated by this <a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online">FO2010</a> course, I did my first professional relationships stock-take. <br /><br />I’ve been based in Toowoomba for 5 years and been working in mental health promotion for over 13 years. <br /><br />I’m also fairly introverted. I’m predisposed towards quality relationships over quantity of relationships.<br /><br />Anyway, I seem to have around quality 200 professional relationships with people out there in human services and the education sector that are relevant to my current work directions. <br /><br />By this term, I think they know my name, value me because my reputation and they would give freely of their time and resources to help me and my projects. <br /><br />As I’m teaching my kids say: “<em>I’m a lucky duck</em>”. <br /><br />The task before me is better link with these people via social media. To do this I'm having a good hard think about our relationships and F2F and e-connections.Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-79335980117605125852010-08-04T15:26:00.000-07:002010-08-04T16:12:52.068-07:00Our Online Personal Brands and Reputations Undepine Our Success<p>Thanks to the fellow adventurers in learning doing <a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online">F02010</a> for the discussion on the various blogs and twitter about branding and online identities.<br /><br />Reflecting on what branding means for my work in health, I have been stimulated me to write this blog entry.<br /><br />I think we all have a personal brand-whatever work we do-be it for profit or on not for profit. We all have reputations. I have a reputation. I hope my reputation is a good one.<br /></p><br /><p>The people like the people we work with think that some people are:</p><br /><ul><br /><li>useful to know, </li><br /><li>a conflict manager, </li><br /><li>a problem solver, </li><br /><li>concerned, </li><br /><li>creative, </li><br /><li>culturally sensitive, </li><br /><li>determined, </li><br /><li>genuine, </li><br /><li>a good communicators, </li><br /><li>helpful, </li><br /><li>honest, </li><br /><li>innovative, </li><br /><li>insightful, </li><br /><li>inspiring, </li><br /><li>motivated, </li><br /><li>reliable, </li><br /><li>respectful, </li><br /><li>up to date </li><br /><li>and working on projects that are deserving of support.</li></ul><br /><p>The list goes on. You could make your own version of list for our profession.<br /><br />If people thought that the three quarters of the above about a person concerned with health promotion, that person would have a lot of advantages in their work. They would are much more likely to be successful over the long run because people would want to help them and work with them.<br /><br />They would recommend to others that it was worthwhile working with this this person.<br /><br />People also think the opposite of this type of list about other people's reputations.<br /><br />They think people might be: </p><br /><ul><br /><li>a waste of time, </li><br /><li>a conflict avoider, </li><br /><li>a problem avoider, </li><br /><li>unconcerned, </li><br /><li>dull, </li><br /><li>culturally insensitive, </li><br /><li>wishy washy, </li><br /><li>fake, </li><br /><li>a poor communicator, </li><br /><li>unhelpful, </li><br /><li>untrustworthy,</li><br /><li> a laggard, </li><br /><li>lacking understanding, </li><br /><li>unimaginative, </li><br /><li>a time server, </li><br /><li>unreliable, </li><br /><li>insensitive, </li><br /><li>out of date, </li><br /><li>and only in it for themselves<br /></li></ul><br /><p>People with such reputations would be <strong>much less likely to be successful</strong> over the long run because people would not go out of their way to help them and nor choose to work with them. They would issue warning about such people, not endorsements.<br /><br />People think many other good and bad things about reputations, some is based on what is true and some of misunderstanding. Some is based on hurtful gossip. Some may even be based upon mistaken identity. (Have you seen how many people called Malcolm Lewis are out there on Google, Facebook, ect ect.?)<br /><br /><strong>If you have a good reputation you get call backs, invitations, doors opened, help, people's time, the ‘heads up’. You get all sort of help and goodwill.<br /></strong><br />All this may make a big difference to whether you achieve you goals and realize your mission. </p><br /><p>Valued relationships can be used by a person to create changes they choose and desire.<br /><br />It seems that social media amplifies our reputations- good and bad. Social media and the internet more broadly can also bring up our past in ways that are problematic and sometimes in ways that are wonderful.<br /><br />I’ve realized that if my work generates a bigger online presence then I need to be better able to manage these ups and downs.<br /><br />Also I have realized that people don’t always understand that people change over long period of time. People don’t always understand that we are all do dumb things when teenagers. People don’t always understand the back story or the context of some fragment of information. We need to be careful arriving at judgements.<br /><br />Social media also blurs the distinction between our personal lives and our professional lives. I read again and again with social media, there is need be authentic. Blogger Mike Volpe, cloundsouced the wisdom about online authenicity at his blog <a href="http://www.mikevolpe.com/">www.mikevolpe.com</a>.</p><br /><p><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2009/11/updated-social-media-guidelines.html">The LA Times Social Media Guidelines</a> advise, <em>"Assume that your professional life and your personal life will merge online regardless of your care in separating them."</em></p><br /><p><em>As we move more of our private, community and professional interactions online and use social media more, Can we can all expect this merger to occur?</em></p><br /><p>We all know from experience that being authentic matters in our face to face work. Authenticity is how we build rapport and ultimately relationships.<br /><br />We also have stories about ourselves and lives and our pasts.<br /><br />Seems that people can now check back among long lost <a href="http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/digital_footprint.html">digital footprints </a>to see if those stories gel. Beware the bull artists (Polite Version of Australian slag for liars.)<br /><br />Seems in this new digital age and every changing economy, we all need to think about our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_branding">personal brands</a> and have strategies to manage them, particularly our online tracks and our privacy settings.<br /><br />So try to do good, be ambitious but don’t over promise, be honest and when we make mistakes - deal with them, learn from them but don't try to cover them up. Fix them up if you can and move on. Say sorry. Make amends if possible.<br /><br />We also need to be careful about how we handle the reputations of others. Seems we do this a bit to particularly on Facebook.<br /><br />And somehow <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_portfolio">e-portfolios </a>of our work and study fit in with all of this?<br /><br /><em><strong>That is my current understanding/confusion about all of this?<br /><br />What do others think?<br /><br />Am I on a good track or heading off the rails?<br /><br />What is a good brand in your field?<br /><br />How does an e-portfolio fit with this?</strong></em><br /><br /></p>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-71147967940355351862010-07-28T22:27:00.000-07:002010-07-28T23:15:48.825-07:00So many choices: What are the tangible steps<p><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;">So many choices as to me learning needs and goals.</span></strong></p><br /><p><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I might want to choose to develop the capacity to:</span></strong></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span></p><br /><ol><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Cloudsource</span> ideas and improvements to health promotion resources that I have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">been</span> involved in developing such as The </span><a href="http://www.co-ops.net.au/File.axd?id=be5fdcc5-a769-48e0-9676-3504ecb7d672"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Connecting with Kids cards</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, </span><a href="http:///"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">SEEDS (Social and Emotional Early Development Strategy)</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.health.qld.gov.au/health_professionals/childrens_health/hbhm.asp"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Healthy Bodies Health Minds</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> comprehensive framework. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Run a Community of Practice around using these resources/programs/approaches. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Using <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">wikis</span> to get comment on project plans and grant submissions and to register community. support for grant ideas. I think Google docs might be the tool for this. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Weaving together <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Youtube</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Facebook</span>, blogging and my email contacts to explain the strategic directions in my mental health promotion work and to engage people in a conversations about how we could work together in pursuit of common goals. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Organizing launches of health promotion resources/programs and do online familiarization sessions. </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Use social bookmarking for evidence brokering. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Deliver more inclusive online and interactive training particularly to rural and remote partners. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Use email list managers, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Facebook</span>, Twitter and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">SMS</span> to organize F2F or virtual events.</span></li></ol><br /><p><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;">So many options and decisions.</span></strong></p><br /><ul><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><strong>But it is much clearer to me what I need to being doing now . </strong></span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><strong></strong></span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Practice, Play, Explore, Trial, Checkout, Evaluate, Put aside, Adopt, Reflect.</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Master the software.</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Take reasonable and wise risks. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Understand and manage the risks of these technologies. </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Understand identify, monitor, avoid, live with. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Bring along my managers, peers and partners.</span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Feed this into my professional association. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Be enriched by the perspective and professional conversations about these tools and the emergent Health Promotion 2.0 paradigms. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Share and discuss my learning with line managers and worm teams and key partners. Invite colleagues to my blog. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Find allies and partners for new projects. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Understand what resources are needed. (Time and money and IT resources are needed or these types of projects.). </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Work towards a project plan for small online project as a practice event. This is my sand pit -a safe play space for learning and development. </span></li><br /><li><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Work towards a “<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Session</span> Plan-Lesson Plan” with-in such a project. I need to set up accounts and manage all the passwords and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">log ins</span> securely.</span></li></ul><br /><p><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Do I need to find a buddy with someone who has mastered what I'm still to master about online facilitation?</span> </em></p><br /><p><em></em></p><br /><p><a href="http://www.health.qld.gov.au/industry/school_carecentres/seeds.asp"></a></p>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-63025081845156214562010-07-27T23:48:00.000-07:002010-07-29T16:24:40.426-07:00Zooming In-What do you want to learn to facilitate?<p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">What do you want to learn to facilitate?</span></strong></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>What would I like to achieve, change or do more of? </strong><br /></span><br /><strong>I’ve been unable to separate these two focus questions for this </strong><a href="http://wikieducator.org/Facilitating_Online"><strong>Facilitating Online Communities 2010</strong></a><strong>.</strong><br /><br />Give my role in Health Promotion, I’m asking myself what do I need to be able to do with Web 2.0 tools and online communities. </p><ul><li>Find, organize and spread evidence based practice, useful data and ideas.<br /></li><li>Find people who might be interested in health promotion.<br /></li><li>Understand my partners and their needs and beware of opportunities to offer advice and collaboration.<br /></li><li>Interest people in becoming involved in health promotion projects and strategies. Link them up with other with a similar interests and complementary abilities.<br /></li><li>Improve readiness of others to engage in health promotion and build their capacity to do the work.</li><li>A Find innovators and early adopters and support them and raise their profile with others as pat of a larger change strategies.<br /></li><li>Advise others and provide expert support with my specialist skills and knowledge to undertake programs and projects that will improve population health outcomes.<br /></li><li>Manage projects and collaborate with other on projects.<br /></li><li>Evaluate projects and programs.<br /></li><li>Set up and facilitate online Communities of Practice LINK<br /></li><li>Set and facilitate wiki based events to capture practice wisdom around specific topics.<br /></li><li>Produce and publish digital everything from podcasts to small videos to<br /><a href="http://www.elluminate.com/">ElluminateLive</a> sessions. </li></ul><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">*****</span></p><p><br /><strong>I want to know what these new web 2.0 tools can do? – What types of problems they can be applied to?</strong></p><p>I want to know how to use them well-both strategically and tactically. </p><p>I suspect there might be foundational skills and advanced skills that build on the foundational skills. </p><p>I suspect I also ready have some skills from my 13 years of participation in online communities. I suspect it is a case of building on F2F skills as used for collaborations, project management, event organizations, communications, and meeting facilitation. </p><p>I want to learn how to modify my F2F skills to the new online environments. I’m interested in many things. </p><p><strong>How can I use web 2.0 tools to collaboratively: </strong></p><ul><li>focus collective attention on hot topics, issues and possibilities,</li><li>define problems and map there dimensions and dynamics,</li><li>brainstorm possible solutions ,</li><li>identify and draw in resources,</li><li>choose priorities, </li><li>consider evidence of what strategies are most likely to work in local contexts </li><li>write and agree on collaborative action plans, </li><li>implement and evaluate the impacts of these action plans. </li></ul><p>I'm also interested in building online <em>Communities of Practice.</em> The Australian Government has published some useful <a href="http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/better-practice-and-collaboration/docs/Guidelines_for_Establishing_and_Facilitating_CoP.pdf">definitions and guidelines.</a> </p><p><br /><strong>Related to this I am yet to master: </strong></p><ul><li>Using online tools to further community engagement and mobilization. </li><li>Using Facebook and other social network media (Linkedin) and traditional strategies to interest people in working on the problems and solutions I value. </li><li>Online advocacy and marketing of ideas and interesting people in problems, heuristics and paradigms. </li><li>Using Web 2.0 surveys such as <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/">Surveymonkey</a> and polls<br /></li></ul><p>There are many tools to play with <a href="http://delicious.com/">Delicious,</a> <a href="http://digg.com/">Digg</a>, <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">Slideshare</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/">Youtube</a> ect.<br /><br /><br /><strong>So many more options. How do I choose?</strong><br /><br />I read today at <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/07/28/social-media-productivity/">http://mashable.com/2010/07/28/social-media-productivity/</a><br /><br /><em>Map out the various social media apps and tools that you use in your daily work life and rank them in order of importance to you. If you could only keep one of them, which would it be and why? Ask yourself which tool helps you accomplish the widest variety of tasks on a regular basis. Is that the same tool as the one you couldn’t live without?</em><br /><br /><em>Good Questions but oh I wish that I was at that stage now.<br /></em><br /><br /><br /></p>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-37518359012975265762010-07-27T23:19:00.000-07:002010-07-28T20:41:06.768-07:00Leaning Outcomes<div><br />At the end of this course the students will be able to:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote>1. describe the features of online communities and networks; <strong>(4/10)</strong><br /><br />2. describe the elements of skillful online facilitation; <strong>(5/10)</strong><br /><br />3. demonstrate an understanding of how online communication tools can be used to facilitate online; <strong>(4/10)</strong><br /><br />4. plan, facilitate and evaluate an online event. <strong>(7/10)</strong></blockquote><br />The danger of this self-rating is I don’t know what I don’t know I need to know yet but I think I’m seeing the new Health Promotion 2.0 paradigm at least in outline.<br /><br />I’ve made a detailed list of my relevant skills but I’m not putting it up on the web. I’m not sure I understand the risks or the benefits.<br /><br />I can see advantages about being very open but I’m also aware of some risks. </div>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810865843935815928.post-48404259460789541602010-07-27T20:11:00.000-07:002010-07-27T20:46:13.227-07:00What do I want to learn – The Big Picture<strong>Zooming out</strong>. <em><strong>What do I want to learn to facilitate - A new and better world- a wiser, more cooperative and healthier tomorrow-a brighter future.<br /><br />I suspect some recently developed web based tools will be very useful in achieving this big goal. </strong></em><br /><br />I want to learn how to use them as software and how to select and combine these tools to achieve in ongoing work and collaborative projects. Web 2.0 is a common term for many of these tools.<br /><br />If you wondering what <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0">Web 2.0</a> is see the definition on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page">Wikipedia</a> -itself a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0">Web 2.0</a> phenomena.<br /><br />It appleals to me to see the literature terms, like <a href="http://gov2.net.au/">Government 2.0</a>, <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Education20">Education 2.0</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_2.0">Libraries 2.0</a> , <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_2.0">Health 2.0</a> The list goes on. You can Google these terms for more. <br /><br />Another way of saying this, what I’m trying to understand and master what is Health Promotion 2.0.<br /><br />Being an old campaigner in my life outside of work, I also want to know all these new possibilities and public expectation mean for political campaigning, and NGO public advocacy work.<br /><br />I’m aware this is a big undertaking. It will take longer than this course. It is a work of ongoing professional development.<br /><br />There is an empty blog <a href="http://healthpromotion2.org/">healthpromotion2.org/</a> billed as <em>a how-to guide to promoting health in the 21st century</em> that outlines in its empty structure the learning task before us.<br /><br />Another source that scopes out the way towards Health Promotion 2.0 is the wiki <a href="http://technologyinprevention.wikispaces.com">http://technologyinprevention.wikispaces.com</a>Malcolm Lewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05471912982142260350noreply@blogger.com1