Connected futures workshop starts November 10
We’re pleased to announce that CPsquare members are offering “Connected futures: New social strategies and tools for communities of practice” — a five week workshop for community managers, designers and conveners to explore social strategies and tools to support them (referred to by some as Web2.0) for the second time. It starts November 10, 2008. We anticipate offering it twice a year. This workshop is a hands-on, practice-shifting, dive into using new technologies to meet community needs. At the end of this workshop, participants can expect to:
- Become more confident in managing and combining tools to support a community’s orientation and ongoing activities
- Develop a deeper understanding of how new tools enable one another, are adopted and supported in communities
- Have productive and lasting social connections with other participants, leaders and community conveners.
New technology stewards are especially encouraged to join us. The workshop includes virtual field trips to successful communities and deep dives into the use of new tools. We will explore many freely available technologies, including web conferencing, teleconferences, blogging, RSS syndication, microblogging, social bookmarking and tagging, wikis, mashups, and social networking. Each aspect has the support of experts and leaders in areas such as organizational, educational, government and enterprise communities. Participants will work through a process of thinking through new social strategies and technologies to support the ongoing life of their respective communities of practice. Participants will also receive an advance electronic copy (PDF) of parts of the forthcoming book “Digital habitats: stewarding technology for Communities” (Wenger, White, and Smith 2008).
More information about the workshop is here:
Registration page is here:
It’s true that we’re forcing it into the calendar, offering it without a lot of advance notice, but we’re trying to build on the experience of the first offering in the Spring of 2008. We’ve decided that we can’t really claim to offer a “practice-altering” workshop unless the presenters collectively practice offering it — at least twice year.
One thing we’re exploring this time is how different Web 2.0 tools build on each other. That matters in a workshop setting, but it also shows up in the trajectories of individuals and communities. Another is how to use a new “Action Notebook” chapter in “Digital Futures” in a workshop context.
