Welcome to Week 4!

Welcome to Week 4!

// Great job getting used to 60303's design. I certainly recognize your hard work. Engagement: "can anyone/would anyone doubt the energy and effort you put into your work?" Consider how zero doubt usually looks like a 95+ on a graded assignment. Each week there are four graded assignments: 2 tumblr posts, 2 peer gradings. Occasionally, there will be a special assignment. How are you prioritizing your work? What does your time management look like?

// Understanding and being comfortable with change in all forms is a key skill; have you been agile or grumpy with the new tools, the M-F, not using Blackboard, etc.? What's more productive?

// Where are we with the poll on changing the Friday evening assignment deadline? Please remember the change process first discussed in Week 3's Haiku deck. To change a feature of the class:

// a student must make a motion for a specific change; citing an issue or concern is insufficient, a suggested adjustment must be clearly articulated: "I motion we change the assignment due date/time to every Sunday at 11:59pm..."

// it must be seconded by another student to go to a vote

// the motion in its original form will go to a vote

// each student will vote yea or nay on the motion; a majority is needed to make a change (note: 9/17 needed)

// I will make the change known to the class w/ any necessary caveats (the only caveats would usually be if the change were to harm a class goal or SLIS policy).

Beth used Google Forms for her poll. Awesome. Are there other tools? Pros/cons of the different tools?

As you review the above process, consider the importance of having a clear process to manage change. What happens when an organization doesn't have one (which is common...)?

It is time to get our hands dirty on your special projects.

Our goals:

// By using a real world problem that is important to you, we position strategy, tools, assessments, metrics, and evaluation in ways that will be immediately valuable. We are interested in EXPERIENCING what works and doesn't (and why).

// Do you have a clear topic and problem in your mind? If not, this is the week to firm this up.

no podcasts this week

Brainstorming is arguably the best way to tease out ideas and create a roadmap (wk 6) for your project. There are many ways to brainstorm, my personal favorite brainstorming tool is mind mapping.

There are several very good mind mapping tools out there. I like mindmup.com which is free and integrates well into Google Apps. There are several others that are free and easy to share. Find a tool you like, begin your mindmap and post a link in your tumblr for others view your map.

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I need a simple but informative tumblr entry about your special project. Please navigate to the below link and follow the directions tightly (attention to detail):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PKi2ejH-b6ErshfSE4GVCp0XkhiugE44USll2Lz...

Brainstorming:

https://www.mindtools.com/brainstm.html

Mindmapping:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map



A word on Wikipedia: I am firmly in the camp of Wikipedia being a great resource. No, we shouldn't cite Wikipedia -- doing so would be poor form in an academic or formal paper -- but when you're trying to get a good introduction on a topic, there is no need to dig deep into a heavy book or scholarly article.

If you feel later that you need to dig deeper, just check the references and citations the Wikipedia article is drawing on and dive into those. Wikipedia is a great point of departure, introduction and quick learning venue.

Brainstorming methods:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAidvTKX6xM


Mindmup tutorial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIdvTMQM-aM


The most important Ted talk you'll ever watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S0FDjFBj8o






...FWIW and for the record, I do like Ted talks, I just think they're a little overdone, so I couldn't resist. It's my mission in life to never include a Ted talk in my classes. Oh wait!

Keep it up! Remember:

// answer the question in the opening sentence

// use bullet points

// write a mini-essay that conforms to our "on writing a good tumblr post"; please beware stream of consciousness writing

// reader should be able to understand and consume your post in

PLEASE TAKE A CONTRARY VIEW of the assertion made in my post. For this response, you may repost/reblog if desired (answering briefly inside the 250 characters is fine provided your response is clear).

We're working on our critical thinking here. The effect desired is to understand counter-arguments. We want to be able to have counters dwell in the mind without immediately rejecting them. Observe any emotions, bias, impatience, etc. you may have.

Aristotle: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

Here is the link to the "on peer grading tumblrs" writeup:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1naT27vVTacXsIDHhGHcyh8Ea8_Xsb2GLkUqo4Z4...

The purpose of peer grading:

// increase student interaction

// expose you to different thinking

// increase your comfort with giving and receiving critical feedback

All of these are essential/core KM concepts directly tied to overall assessment and strategy design/delivery.

As discussed in the opening slides, you should now have a firm idea of your topic. If you're still searching, use this week to get on track. Reach out to me and others if needed.

Who is the thinker in the photo? How might he be helpful to us?

a: Foucault. He was interested in the relationship between POWER and KNOWLEDGE. At a basic level, we usually see that those in the know are best positioned to control a situation.

For Foucault, he studied how knowledge, and the control of notions like "expertise", create a power dynamic. If you're an internal consultant assigned to do KM, what does this do to the power dynamic you may encounter with senior leadership not well versed in KM?

It's not too profound to note that those that are privy to things have a mode of power, but it is helpful to think about how this affects organizations (and even society). We should question and be aware of how knowledge affects power dynamics and sharing. The link and relevancy to KM should be clear.

Ex: have you ever encountered a resistant senior stakeholder? He or she told the CEO that they would participate in the "KM venture", only to hamstring your efforts at every turn? Why would a senior person, whose station in the organization would suggest an enterprise-wide interest, stifle efforts to map, understand and share their processes and knowledge?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Foucault