Lunch+Discussion

=Working Lunch:= =Building the Foundation for Our Online Learning Community=

Overview
Face-to-face workshops and institutes like this one provide invaluable opportunities to connect with colleagues you may not have the opportunity to communicate and/or collaborate with during the normal course of your day. These face-to-face encounters can help to build connections for a strong online knowledge-sharing community. Online communities can then be used to continue conversations and collaborations initiated in person. The NC 1:1 Ning provides an online community structure but the real potential of the community grows and deepens as members develop their own vision for what they want the community to be, identify the types of knowledge that will be useful for members, and determine what roles members of the community will play. Take time during lunch to talk with the colleagues at your table about the ways in which you can build a vibrant online community that will provide you with ongoing support and inspiration as you move forward in planning for and implementing a learning technology program at your school.

Objectives

 * Develop a vision for an active 1:1 knowledge sharing community that will serve your needs as ITFs or MCs who are implementing learning technology programs.
 * Identify the kinds of knowledge the community would like to share, develop and/or document.
 * Determine what formal and informal roles people will play in the community.

Groupings:
Table tents have been placed on the lunch tables. Please sit at a table that best corresponds to your role.

**Activity**
During lunch, work with your colleagues to build a foundation for a successful 1:1 learning community. Use the discussion prompts below as starting points for your conversations. //**By the end of lunch, please have someone at your table reply to each of the three discussion posts described below.**//

**Discussion Post #1: //Defining Our Domain//**
With the group at your lunch table, define the domain of knowledge you care about as Instructional Technology Facilitators or Media Coordinators. Consider the following questions in your discussion:

Have one person from your lunch table go to the TLI 2010 group on the NC 1:1 Ning and post a reply to the //Defining our Domain// discussion thread that addresses the questions above.
 * What topics and issues do we really care about?
 * How are these topics and issues connected to our schools' 1:1 implementation strategy?
 * What are the open questions and the leading edge of our domain?

"dp1" and "tli2010"

Discussion Post #2: //Specific Knowledge Needs//
With the group at your lunch table, identify the specific knowledge you, as members of this online community, would like to develop, share, and maintain. Consider the following questions in your discussion:

Have one person from your lunch table go to the TLI 2010 group on the NC 1:1 Ning and post a reply to the //Specific Knowledge Needs// discussion thread that addresses the questions above.
 * What kinds of knowledge can we share, develop, and/or document in this online community that would support or inspire us in our work?
 * How should we organize the knowledge to reflect the practice of members?

"dp2" and "tli2010"

Discussion Post #3: //Member Roles//
With the group at your lunch table, determine what roles people will play in the community. Consider the following questions in your discussion:

Have one person from your lunch table go to the TLI 2010 group on the NC 1:1 Ning and post a reply to the //Member Roles// discussion thread that addresses the questions above.
 * What roles will people play in this community? Roles might include moderating the ITF or MC group within the NC 1:1 Ning for a specified time period (TBD by the group); blogging for the community about issues of importance to the group; being a pot-stirrer by raising provocative questions for community members to consider or being a behind-the-scenes linker -- someone who links members to resources and/or other members who share concerns or offer complementary expertise.
 * Knowing the members of a community makes it easier to ask for help or support. How can we develop interpersonal relationships with members of our community?

"dp3" and "tli2010"

**What are others saying?**
As you are finishing lunch, take a few minutes to read what other groups have posted under the three different discussion threads: Defining Our Domain; Specific Knowledge Needs; and Member Roles. In what ways do the ideas posted by other groups converge or diverge from the ideas posted by your group?

Continue the conversation
Based on conversations generated from the three threads, what new questions have emerged? Individually or as a group, continue the conversations with replies to questions that have been raised, by adding or asking for clarification, providing information, and/or offering additional thoughts to the conversation.