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Innovations in Learning conference 2008

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Brandon Hall Research’s Innovations in Learning conference will take place September 25 and 26, 2008, at the Fairmont San Jose, in San Jose, California, with a pre-conference day of workshops planned for Wednesday, September 24.

I will be facilitating a session, Using Visuals to Unlock Strategic Processes

In this experiential session we are going to tap into strategic problem-solving capabilities quickly and deeply. We’ll be using photographs as a way to unlock a group’s ability for innovation and creativity. This process is a way to bridge the verbal and visual, the tactical and strategic, and with the added benefit of building stronger teams. This is a low-tech process for getting high-tech results.

A number of my colleagues are facilitating pre-conference workshops.

Tom Crawford, the CEO of Vizthink, is facilitating a pre-conference session. Visualization for Learning: Approaches, Tools, and Applications to Improve Effectiveness. Here is a podcast with an interview I did with Tom.

During this one day workshop, we’ll explore what visualization approaches exist, how they can be applied, and what tools can be used to assist in the process. Visualization approaches can be used to improve the entire learning development process. Regardless of your specific development approach, visualization techniques can provide dramatic improvements to your analysis, design, development, implementation, and even evaluation processes. During this session, we’ll explore a variety of techniques that can be applied to each step of the development process. We’ll even put several of them to the test both on paper and online. No drawing skills are required.

Michele Martin from The Bamboo Project is also doing a pre-conference session with Janet Cleary, Social Media Jumpstart. Here is a podcast with an interview with Michele.

This pre-conference workshop is for those who want to maximize their conference experience by exploring the social Web before the conference begins. The workshop will introduce you to social media like blogs, social network sites, wikis, social bookmarking, photo sharing, Voice over IP, virtual worlds, instant messaging, videosharing, microblogging, etc. Delegates will be exposed to applications like WordPress, Facebook, Ning, wikis, delicious, SlideShare, Flickr, Skype,SecondLife, YouTube, Twitter, etc. Each media will be presented Pecha Kucha style followed by a brief, hands-on trial or demonstration. You’ll leave with the skills to explore each of these social media applications on your own while at the conference and later, at your workplace.

Gary Woodill and Anya Wood are doing a pre-conference workshop, Emerging Learning Technologies in Healthcare Training. Here is a podcast interview with Gary.

The use of technology in healthcare education has increased dramatically over the last decade, and none too soon. Because of rapid change, providing meaningful access to learning opportunities for both practitioners and the general public has become increasingly important. With the advent of the Internet the general public has become more knowledgeable and, in turn, demands access to healthcare education in a variety of different formats. Practitioners continue to experience time constraints and a need to relate training to practical, real-world experience, making accessibility and application to real-life top priorities.

I presented at this conference last year, and it was great. Not only were the sessions high quality, but the other participants were also very engaging. Here are posts I wrote about sessions last year:

I hope you will consider joining us in San Jose!

Categories: ~ Using VisualsSpeak - Tags: ,

Facilitating Diverse Groups & VisualsSpeak Data

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I facilitated a session at the International Association of Facilitators conference in Atlanta, Seeing Differences: Using Photographs to Facilitate Diverse Groups. Like many of the breakout sessions at this conference the session was three hours long, which provided an opportunity to delve deeply into the material.

We covered a lot of material in the session.

  • things to consider when setting up the room
  • who is your audience?
  • what outcome are you looking for?
  • creating a question to bridge the audience and the outcome
  • what we see in the visual language
  • how the visual language gives us clues about the person creating the image
  • what changes when people make images in a group
  • adjusting questions, images, and process for different audiences

An interesting challenge arose

A VisualsSpeak user dropped by and presented an interesting challenge. How do you convey the results of a VisualsSpeak process to people who weren’t part of it? For those of you who have never been part of a VS session, a tremendous amount of information, ideas, strategies, etc are generated in a very short period of time. The challenge is not getting the input you want but what do you do with the data you get. This is an area that we have been working on and have a few ideas for you to try.

But first, let’s take a look at the kind of raw data that you get from doing a typical VisualsSpeak process. This is a condensed version.

Group images

We created group images exploring the question:

What makes facilitating diverse groups successful?

Here is what the groups came up with.

Group 1

From the top left, we enter the concept through windows with many panes. Some we can see through more clearly than others. There are different colors of fabrics, different money, doesn’t matter, there is a variety of people who are different than Western culture. The woman is proud of her fuchsia hair. There is a yin/yang in the arms with interesting bandages where the colors are reversed. Different hands hold objects. There is a man doing yoga, children marching. There are multiple different colors, diversity in images. In some you can tell the ethnicity and culture and some you can’t, just a feel. Really builds us together in the natural world, salad, different bird feathers. Function in the farm metaphor of team working together to provide food. When all is said and done, all people looking all different, all the same, yin and yang parts together. The child in the water is looking to young people for inspiration for the need to take risks. The money shows the governments of the world meeting to build coins, far away, but similar. It is more attractive with all the colors, one would be boring.

Group 2

In the center there is an underlying spark, creativity with new things coming from it. The salad bowl diversity, bounty coming together. The chocolates are all different, but all chocolates are neatly organized. Overall people, metaphors all together, but different. Windows of opportunity. We see some commonality in diversity like the celebration of family ties. Building bridges isn’t easy, fraught with challenges, so this bridge has different bushes and thorns. Different faces, not necessarily ethnicity, but different ideas in some communities. Overall perspective is the giraffe. All different kinds of beads, different but strung together. When it does work, and comes together, there is underlying conflict that can’t be ignored. At the same time you have to leap and hope to survive. Find a team with common things to bind. Doors of opportunity. Diverse looks. Beautiful by coming together with one objective. Bring down the fences, together sign universal cultures, commonalities like currency. Several windows, doors, labyrinths facilitators are aware of when working with diverse groups. A maze of confusion and challenging with pitfalls we can fall into especially if we aren’t partnering with partners in other cultures to help us find the pathways around them. The spider web of connecting. Eggs are the nurturing process, hope for new life bringing diversity together. The balloon has different colors but blended together which makes it interesting and able to take off.

Now the challenge

Here is where one of our VisualsSpeak customers dropped by and asked about sharing the results of a session she had done at her company. She has been using the VisualsSpeak ImageSet for strategic visioning and the team participating had to help others in their organization understand what had happened. She had tried a number of things to convey the outcomes of the session such as making poster prints of the images and having people tell the stories that emerged. It was OK, but didn’t really convey the power of what happened in the room.

The reports from the groups above have the same challenge. Magic happens in the room. People connect deeply. The process of offering your ideas and working through the negotiation to come up with the result is where much of the value lies.

The results seem like they should be more finished than they are. If instead of using photographs we used sketches to record these initial ideas, it would be clear that the sketches needed more work to become conveyable ideas by the very nature of them being sketches. Since the photographs look good, and many of the assembled images are attractive, they seem like they ‘should’ convey a message. And to the people who were there they do. Because to them, the images are like notes, they remind the participants of the experience they had. For someone who was not part of the process, this is more like raw assessment data.

How to communicate the results of a VisualsSpeak process

There are a couple of options. Using the example above, we have two groups who have created images and stories.

You might ask the group participants to create a summary;

  • What are the common themes?
  • What are the images both groups used?
  • How can you arrange the images and concepts to make them easier to understand?

The other alternative is to create a summary yourself to help convey the messages more clearly. In this example, I did not participate in the group discussions since I was facilitating the whole session. If I was facilitating for a business or organization and knew I was going to have to create a report, I would be listening to the process as it unfolded and taking notes. I would also ask questions in the debrief to get input from the group about what they thought the most important points were to include. Remember the wisdom of the group.

Don’t strip out the creative juice

One thing to watch in this summarization process is not to lose the minority input. Part of what VisualsSpeak is all about is giving voice to everyone. Sometimes the most important idea will be spoken by one person. Creative sparks and insights that can open up whole new possibilities most often are not the common themes. Often it is the combination of popular ideas with a minority spark that reveals new possibilities.

For more on using the VisualsSpeak process

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Categories: Facilitation - Tags: , ,

International Association of Facilitators conference

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The IAF conference was held in Atlanta last week. This is the second time I have attended an IAF conference and the first time I presented at one. At the closing session, we were asked to reflect on a key take away. Mine was, this is where I belong.

Yes, I have multiple roles. I am also a trainer, entrepreneur, business owner, coach, artist. Underneath it all, I am a facilitator. It’s so easy to forget when I sit in the office operating my business on a daily basis. I remember when I get around other facilitators and recognize the ease with which I can converse with them.

What makes a facilitator different?

While I hesitate to make any sweeping generalizations, something I notice in my facilitator colleagues is an inherent faith in the wisdom of the group. We focus on the process of the interaction more than trying to control the content.

On Whitespace, Daniel Rose noticed:

When designing large collaborative sessions with complex topics it is almost always the case that there is a big variance between the few people who know a lot about the topic and a few who have little to no context and everyone else falls somewhere in between. Sponsors are generally very anxious to do a lot of “education” around the project so that everyone gets up to speed. Usually this results in a desire to do a 3 hour PowerPoint presentation.

He goes on to talk about the difference between instructional learning versus constructional learning, and how part of our role is to help our sponsors have faith in the group. When I talk with someone who has been facilitating for any length of time there is an almost automatic assumption that the group is wise. Just help the members surface what they know.

Done well, facilitation looks so easy

Not that facilitation actually is easy. There are so many factors that effect the success of the meeting, from the flow to the environment, to the way people are invited and prepared. However, the better the execution, the more seamless and effortless it appears. Do a good job, and the details go unnoticed. The focus shifts to the content, and getting the work of the session done.

Some of the things I appreciate about the IAF conferences

  • the opportunity to participate in large group processes
  • seeing how various methods work
  • three hour breakout sessions, so you can really get deep into the material
  • advanced level tracks
  • reflection built into the design
  • half hour breaks so you don’t have to run from one place to another
  • colleagues who do amazing things around the world
  • people with passion to make a difference

In the days ahead, I’ll be writing about some of the session I attended and the one I facilitated. I always think this is going to happen faster than it does, forgetting about all the things to catch up on from being out of town. I continue to be amazed by the people who can live blog, and work toward accepting that I’m more reflective and need more time. More soon.

Categories: Exploring My Work - Tags: ,

SIETAR USA 2007 Conference

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Christine Martell, Principal of VisualsSpeak LLC, will be presenting at the Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research (SIETAR) USA Eighth Annual Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. The Conference is being held November 7-10, 2007 at The Westin Crown Center Hotel.

Christine will be facilitating in three sessions.

Thursday, November 8 from 3:15 – 4:45

Exploring Multiple Perspectives on Conflict Using Photographs

Christine Martell

This session will explore the meaning of conflict, conflict resolution, and conflict management in personal, professional and global contexts. Using photographs and the stories that emerge from them, we will explore the similarities and difference in how individuals and groups interpret these concepts. When we see multiple perspectives clearly, we will begin to seek avenues to come together in new ways.


Friday, November 9 from 8:30 – 10:00 am

Community, Collaboration and Conversation: The Art and Practice of Blogging

Michele Martin, Christine Martell, Rob Pusch

There are more than 15.5 million active blogs around the world, with some 1 million new posts per day. The best of these are fueled by passion, authenticity and immediacy–elements that also feed our most courageous conversations. In this session, you’ll learn how this new medium is transforming how we communicate, collaborate and connect with one another. We’ll examine the the six pillars of blogging and what makes blogs unique as online communication tools. We’ll also explore the continuum of ways to participate in the blogosphere and how you can use blogging for professional development, to create community and to forge a personal or organizational brand. By the end of the session you’ll have a new perspective on the world of blogging and a host of practical tools and tips for becoming a “conversation architect” using this exciting new medium.

Christine is joined by Michele Martin from The Bamboo Project and Beyond the Glass Ceiling and Rob Pusch who will be the person leading the Communication effort for the board starting at the conference.

Saturday, November 10 from 3:15 – 4:45 pm

What Makes A Culturally Competent Professional Association?

Christine Martell ,Andy Reynolds, Peggy Pusch, Ann Marie Lei

This session will explore the factors that contribute to organizations becoming more welcoming and inclusive. Using photographs, participants will explore how we can collectively create more effective associations.

Christine is joined by Andy Reynolds the incoming President of SIETAR-USA, Peggy Pusch the Executive Director of SIETAR-USA, and Ann Marie Lei from the SIETAR-USA advisory board.

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Technology at NASAGA 2007

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I love technology, so I was excited to see there was a range of presentations at the North American Simulations and Gaming Association (NASAGA) conference covering a wide swath of possibilities. I’m not a fanatical online gamer, nor do I develop a lot of e-learning, but I spend a large portion of each day at the computer. I get really antsy when my internet connection goes down.

Design Instant Online Flash Games

Raja Thiagarajan’s session was hands down my favorite of all the technology sessions. Why? Because Raja’s session was designed with the learning first. The technology merely served the learning objectives. I learned:

  • How engaging simple flash games could be
  • Which type of game to select for what type of content
  • How to login and access the software
  • How to create games through the admin interface

I immediately saw how I could use this to aid stickiness after a training by emailing a link to participants to play a game around the key points. I could see using them in a webinar, or other online engagement.

It was an interactive session about an interactive method. YES! I know it took a lot of effort for Raja and the others behind the scenes to get the software running on all the computers, but it was totally worth it. People were highly engaged, clustered around the computer screens.

I have played the shell games on the Thiagi group site in the past, but I never thought I could create them and use them. Now I know how easy it is.

Playmotion

I missed the keynote session on Playmotion, since I got talking with a colleague. I did see the demo of it before the evening auction. It appeared to be some kind of interactive projection system. You could stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling screen and interact with whatever was projected.

Some examples were that smoke would respond to dancers, puzzles that could be solved by hitting the letters into the boxes, balls that would bounce. The possibilities for interactive full body learning were huge. I just kept seeing all the little kids in schools being freed from the confines of their desks….and actually engaging the way most kids like to engage.

This is the type of technology that would be great for VisualsSpeak. The ability to move the images around is so vital to the process for many people. I would love to be able to create huge interactive vision maps.

NASA’s Distributed Observer Network (DON)

Even the title of this session is an indicator of it’s complexity. This session was in two parts. In the first part, Tom Cuddy described a bit about the challenge of creating a simulation environment for the complex process of taking care of the shuttle. Allowing engineers to explore on the computer and especially try things out, makes a lot of sense. Particularly after the Challenger and Columbia disasters.

I did learn there is some kind of core code you can purchase from game developers that you can use as a head start for a simulated environment. What that is or what it really means is lost to me as a non-programmer. Being married to an electronic engineer, I am accustomed to nodding and saying un-huh as I listen to complex descriptions of the inner workings of electrons and the codes that command them.

Despite a moody electrical system, Tom and Tate Srey were able to get the simulation running on computers and we were able to play with it. Being able to move part of the shuttle’s tanks around and look at them from different angles was interesting. Why I would want to do that is a bit lost on me, but I’m not the target audience of engineers. I certainly can imagine my husband and his software guys spending hours analyzing and creating any number of theories to test using this simulation.

Ian Bogost: Future of games in learning

Ian spoke after dinner, before the silent auction. As a professor from Georgia Tech, he had a well constructed argument laid out. It started with assumptions people make about the value of games, possible ways of looking at the value of games, and moved to propose a new set of assumptions.

Clearly, Ian has worked to develop his presentation, and it was engaging to listen to in the moment. The slides were well designed. He did not read them to us.

I remember the overall message, that games can be engaging and educational. I remember he plays a lot with his kids and they love the Animal Crossing game. I remember persuasion being a key to these new designs his company is developing.

I can’t remember any of the details. Why? No handouts. We were sitting in a darkened room after dinner and I wasn’t prepared to take notes. Notes for me are a way to convert audio to visual. I many never look at them again, but they anchor learning for me in the moment.

Another thing that happened was Ian showed screen after screen of visuals from the games. They were well done, but in fairly rapid succession they became a form of visual overload. I remember thinking they were compelling in the moment, but the concepts didn’t stick.

I enjoyed Ian’s presentation and I remember enough of it to feel I got value from the experience. He was a good speaker, his content was developed and thought through.

There has to be a better way

There were a number of other technology demo sessions. Not just at this conference, but at a number of others I have attended recently. Here is the formula:

  • people sit in rows of chairs or at tables
  • presenter tells audience how cool their new interactive engaging e-learning or game is
  • show screen after screen of what some of the screens look like
  • if the audience is lucky, there may be a branching choice the audience gets to call out for them to select

Now I realize most conferences aren’t in computer labs. Even those that suggest bringing laptops suffer from unreliable wireless and slow connections. I know handouts with a lot of images are hard to produce and quite expensive to print, especially in color.

Still, there has to be a more effective session design. Even when I was interested in the product being showcased, very little stuck. About all I remember is that it was interesting. I can’t even remember why.

This leads me to some questions for those of us making presentations:

  • How can technology sessions about interactive designs be done interactively?
  • Can you get beyond the technology challenges?
  • Can we apply the interactive principles in the products to the demos and the sessions used to showcase them?
  • How can we manage the visual overload of showing multiple screens of visual interfaces?

What have you seen work?

Technology Overall

I really appreciated the inclusion of all the technology at the conference. There was learning in all the sessions, even if it wasn’t exactly what the presenter intended.

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