It’s been a week since returning from Barcelona, where I was like 5 Yahtzees in a row luck enough to be a part of the Open EdTech 2009 summit co-organized by Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the New Media Consortium (NMC). I remember hearing the raves of the 2008 meeting from my colleagues that got to go.

This was actually my first trip to Europe since attending a Geology conference in Germany back in 1990. It seems patently obvious, but was slightly eye widening in a place where (a) there is visible history going back 3 or 4 times the history of the US and (b) the driving distance proximity of different speaking and culturally’historically countries makes for a different feel than we get in what can seem like ironically isolated vastness of our large country, where it takes a multiple day trip to get to a different culture.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

Even for a small example is this city’s monument sized honor of Christopher Columbus, being the place where he gave his “report card” to Isabella and Ferdinand after his first foray into America, while over here, he is either painted as cartoon schoolbook hero or a villainous fraud.

Below I outline more reflection/notes of my tech end of the meeting. This is less of a comprehensive recap of the trip and more of what is still simmering after a week in this fascinating city, where my neck was certainly rubberized in the visual feast of its Gothic and modern architecture, walking on cobblestone streets through twisty canyon-like streets that have visible Roman remnants, and oh, the tapas, the tapas, and the wine. And the art. And the Cathedrals. And the…

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The purpose of the trip was our part at NMC in helping plan and organize the meeting for the Open EdTech 2009 summit, where 40+ international educators gathered to follow-up on the themes explored at the 2008 meeting which focused the question of What does it mean to be educated in the 21st century? (PDF).

The plan for this year was to look at what organizations need to evolve to in the future to educated these learners.

Now at probably any week of the year, there is some group, meeting, conference, online discussion, class of people sitting around trying to suss out the (caps required) Future of Education. To me, it’s less than trying to be predictive or come up with some grand schema, but the process of this discussion that hopefully, elevates us a bit out of the silos of our present.

We had a heavy hitting group, of which I can see I knew less than a quarter of the attendees (most whom seemed to know each other from last year), and I always like a meeting that allows the connecting of more nodes in my/our network. We had a meeting room not best for this meeting (a long shoebox room) but made it work somehow. We had an insanely compressed scheduled. I even wondered how it could really work well.

But it did.

My piece was the usual tech end of meeting set up. I set up a wiki to be used for both information but also the group work, using our hosted Wikispaces Private Label (which works better for basic users than MediaWiki; ordinary humans really don’t need to author in WikiText)

The design was up in the air, but litteraly came together a few days before I left for the trips; I;ve been using on our NMC wikis a design template crafted for us by Jo Kay that uses for the header a transparent PNG over a background image. The header images are tricky to craft since they need to wrap repeat in a horizontal manner. I found a great flickr cc image that I cropped to size in PhotoShop, and then fixed the repeat by using the offset filter, and some magic brushing, blurring to smooth the overlap (which I also hid a little with the icons on the PNG overlay). The seam is just near the top of the hill on the right.

The content there mimics (e.g. copied) the Horizon wikis including some readings tied to the 4 themes of the 2008 paper, a collection of RSS feeds displayed with a grazr widget, links tagged oet09 in delicious, a twitter stream based on #oet09 hashtag (just use the basic Wikispace RSS display), a place to display tagged photos, and a custom Google search for a set of open education sites.

These are all everyday project tools I use, but typically we see maybe 10-15% of people in these types of projects really contribute much by tagging, etc. That’s another whinging blog post.

The meeting was set up with a brief opening and context setting, and then outlining of a basic scenario (a brand new learning organization was chartered by a fictitious country) our groups would address via 4 themes

The real use of the wiki was a place for our discussion groups to post their brainstorming work; we had groups set up with a set of questions for each of the four themes (see example) to create a future institution that would meet the needs of 21st century learners.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

The groups were picked with the input of our UOC colleagues along the lines of a “wedding dinner table selection” for mix and compatibility, and sent to 4 rooms. The plan was to have all 4 grops move through all four topics in… 2 hours, leaving 30 minutes for each theme. I thought that was crazily over ambitious, but time was a constraint. Each group had a facilitator (I was one) who was mainly the time whip to move them along. We also got a “wiki-ist” form each group to record the group discussions into the wiki.

So here is a clue- if you are ever playing the edtech playground pick up game involving a wiki, be sure to pick Gardner Campbell to be on your team! He not only gets notes in the wiki, but comprehensive analytical full sentences! Yes, Gardner Writes.

The other twist we tried, that worked even better than I thought, was that each group had a “Tweetist” someone who would do live reporting via twitter with the #oet09 hashtag. Each room had a PC with a projector, not to show the wiki, but the twitter activity, so groups could see what was going on in other rooms.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

I was going to use the advanced twitter search; I thought it automatically updated the tweets, but saw the day before that it requires refresh clicks. I set up VisibleTweets, which is pretty and works nice for a conference lobby, but is not as effective in seeing the most recent tweets as they come in. Just by accident when we were setting up the computers the day before, Lev Gonick asked if we were using TweetGrid– which I had never heard of, but thought ti might work. It allows you to set up a grid of multiple tweet Dashboards, but what it does is refresh itself. I ended up putting all 3 as tabs on the machines we were using. The functionality of TweetGrid was best, but it is small text and pretty unreadable on a projected screen, even in a small group.

I also remembered to set up a TwapperKeeper to archive the tweets, of which there were/are nearly 500, including a good stream from people watching from outside. I like that TwapperKeeper allows me to grab the tweet data as CSV. This process really worked well for the groups, even some that got into trash talking. Then there were gems like Carlos Miranda multiple tweeting in 3 languages!

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

So we managed to get through all the discussions by lunch time (which in Spain is an extended activity at a relaxed pace I got to like, not the 45 minute American cram a sandwich over a laptop).

The afternoon had us gather for report outs, pulling out of each group not the summaries, but what were actionable items- this was all summarized artistically in visual facilitation style (see the visual meeting notes) by my NMC colleague Rachel Smith. The room was mesmerized, with reactions like Ismael’s

This resulted in about 40 some action steps, and what the group was charged with is voting to pick the top 5 or so to be discussed in the final report. We used a low tech Delphi method we’ve done in a lot of meetings; each person gets ten color dots, that they can allocate on the charts, spreading all 10 on multiple votes, or piling more on ones they feel strongly about.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

By the end, there is some quick work to find the cut off point, and then there is open group discussion to add/frame the final list of items.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by newmediaconsortium

This is summarized in the Call to Action “communique” issued the day after the meeting (more fully explained in the Call)

• We must encourage the reuse and remixing of rich media.
• We must embrace the full promise of mobile devices as learning platforms.
• We must award credentials based on learning outcomes.
• We must enable a culture of sharing.
• We must take care that open resources include the context that will enable their use and understanding.

I’m sure people can jump in and throw pot shots at the list; what is here now is merely the synthesis of one meeting’s one day discussion. All of the meeting content, notes, wikis, tweets, are part of the raw material a writer will use to compile a report of the 2009 meetings.

Most intense meetings like this end with people dispersing, some to dinners and bars, some to their laptops in hotel rooms, but we had a truly amazing wrap up with a group visit to Cook and Taste, a dining experience where they teach us, and have us make our meal.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

Many of us have had the “binding” type group activities, but the joy, camaraderie, and community feeling in this night’s experience went beyond any I have done before (well I did like the time my office at Maricopa played laser tag).

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

The paella we enjoyed was a fitting metaphor for the time in Barcelona- a rich, tasty mixture indeed.

There are things I ‘m getting to tired to mention, the chance to run on the beach, the visits to the Gaudi architecture, the light, the Picasso Museum, the dwarfing Gothic cathedrals, an inspiring presentation on mobile tech in Africa by Jessica Colaçao, the chance to get to meet fellow edtechs like Ismael Peña-López.

And really, the folks at UOC are just tremendous, especially our dynamic duo of Evas– and really, there is a lot that the education world needs to see at what a rather youthful organizations such as UOC has achieved, 45,000 students, all online, an organizational embracing of open education and open technology (they are soon to release their own developed open source LMS).

Barcelona… I’m ready for more.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by cogdogblog

Talkin’ Bout Open from cogdog on Vimeo.

I could not help selecting the D’Arcy Norman Bigger Than Life glare for the freeze frame!

These quotes from colleagues near and far were taken from the 34 longer interviews I collected for Amazing Stories of Openness, and the full stories will be made available after the presentation next Wednesday.

I got the videos in a variety of ways; in person with my Flip Mino (the best quality); Skype video interviews (doh, guess who did not mute his mic and ended up sounding like a wheezing phone pranker), response videos to my YouTube Call for Stories video, ones people just sent me, audio recordings I set to images, even from my little Canon pocket camera at a dark bar in Hawaii with subjects lit by LED flashlight.

I actually did all the edits in a 2 version back copy of iMovie HD (the one before the really bad version)– I have a pretty good technique for lifting out video so I can insert voice overs of screens (and hopefully not too much Kens Burn nausea).

It’s gonna be a fun show! I’ve got a few surprises up my dog collar. I am sure you are not going to miss Open Ed, eh? Go buy a plane ticket and register, willya?

I’ve gotten a good collection of Amazing Stories of Openness so far for my August presentation at the Open Ed Conference.

But you know what?

I want more.

I’ve got a bunch of messages, sweet tweets about what a great idea it is, or “I’ll work on it”, but folks, c’mon, this is not all that hard? I’ve outlined examples. I made a comic version. I’ve put a call to respond on YouTube.

What is so hard? Is it worrying about being “not Amazing” enough?

All I need is a small story of how a time when you shared something online, a blog post, some media, that someone used it, connected with you, got you a visit or a job just as an unexpected outcome of sharing on the Open Web.

I’ve been video recording people in Skype or with my Flip, but really, all you need to do is send my a little background info via my Google Form and send my an audio and/or video file with a 2-5 minute (or whatever length) recording of you telling a story.

And you know what? All you folks coming to Open Ed who just talked about sharing a story? I dare ya to come to my session. I call into question your Openness! I dare ya! I double dare ya!

cc licensed flickr photo shared by kevinclark

That’s the last I will badger you. Pfffffffffft.

it seems so web 2.0ish.

I’m having problems with what looks like fine MPEG 4 video on my computer upload to YouTube and end up with the voice and video way out of sync, like the badly dubbed Godzilla movies, so here it is hoisted on my own server.

It’s still a call for responses, so please reply to the bad synced version on YouTube or post a comment here with a link to your video response. And I have to admit, I need some diversity- so far (self included) my cast mostly all white guys. C’mon ladies and folks from outside the US? But I am not picky, white guys are still welcome.

call for amazing stories (quicktime)

In my first cut of shotting the video, I used the laptop camera on my MacBookPro and spoke audio into my headset mike. The audio was pretty shabby, and started out out of sync.

So I redid my monologue, using my Flip Mino sitting on a GorillaPod. With no one at home, it was a bit of trial and error (out-takes not) to get the shot aimed right. I edited it quickly in iMovie (I am still using the 2 versions back one). I add titles, and I like to separate the audio track to I can cut and drop in some still images. I also went to ccMIxter for some background music- Happyhappyrainbows by colab.

I save mine as broadband high quality MPEG-4, which comes in at 640×480. I uploaded to YouTube, and the web version was way out of sync. I redid it at medium quality and same result. I don’t understand what YouTube is doing in the processing, but it is borked. I give up.

Sometimes, you just have to say, it ain;t gonna work, and move on.

You can also send me some details on your story via the Google Form at the bottom of http://cogdog.wikispaces.com/AmazingStories. I am really excited about the bits I got so far, and I have a fun reto idea for the presentation in Vancouver.

If one goes beyond (what is to be a bit too much) over analysis, what I think ought to stand out what a fabulous effort this is to pry open the traditional course model. It’s not the first nor the last, but getting alot of participation.

It’s not just MIT, okay? But hey, without their brave effort to go the OCW route, none of this might be happening. I am eager to dig a bit into the new new Carnegie Commons book on Open Up Education, itself sensibly being made available in an open format (catch Gardner’s take on its launch).

There are lots of good things to rummage in the Open Education Resources site and the OER Hnadbook out just a few weeks ago. There is serious action going on in Opensource Textbooks.

A true pioneer and making great strides is David Wiley- follow the long comment trail on his recent posts on Open Accreditation

The links could go on and on, an dits easy for my to go link crazy.

This all started because on one of the many bus/train/plane rides I have done in the last three weeks, I listened to a podcast of a short talk by Mark Pesce for an ICT Roundtable for the New South Wales TAFE system on Collisions & Smash Repairs Mark Pesce. If you have been tracking this awhile, there is not much “new”, but I really latched on to some phraseology he used.

He calls for educators to Share Everything:

There’s a new rule for how economies of information work in the 21st century… the more something is shared, the more valuable it becomes. Information is no longer an economy of scarcity, it is an economy of hyper-abundance. Therefore, the resources that are shared the most widely… extend the value of the environment.

And even better, when citing why the pioneers started “giving away” the content of a $40k per year education (which is not really what is happening):

The value of an education is not being able to watch a lecture on a screen- its the moment of transference that takes place when you have a competent instructor in an embodied way with a student who is actually physically present. But sharing this information, actually extends the value of that embodied education.

So what do you think? Is there a tipping point looming for Open Education / Content/ Learning / ________? Got some stuff to share on this? Play delicious tag with openuped