Web 2.0 Workshop Video Jukebox
Earlier this week we squeezed a stack of Scotland's leading agents of social change into a conference room at the new centre for social innovation on Rose St. in Edinburgh and we spent a couple of intensive hours exploring some of the basics of blogging, wikis and whatnot. Special thanks to Claire and Adam at the Melting Pot for their help getting this off the ground.
It is clear there is a strong desire to improve skills for connecting and collaborating using the web amongst Scottish social innovators. I am working with the leadership team at the Melting Pot to nail down some dates for 2008.
Stay tuned via RSS to get the fixtures as they are announced.
Afterwards some of the more advanced participants including the bloggers Osbert Lancaster and Myshele Goldberg convened at the nearby Abbotsford to discuss what they'd really like to work on in 2008 and we agreed that there was a need for a number of sessions under the following headings:
- Technology, Techniques & Tactics for Newbies
- Why is Web 2.0 so Important Anyway?
- Organised Information = Being Able to Get Stuff Done
- Basic 'Get stuff done' tips and tricks including Good Stuff from Google
- Getting the word out and Getting the word out II
- Technology, Techniques & Tactics - Masterclasses
- Volunteer and Supporter Engagement - Case Studies
- Understanding Users: Tools and Why
- Free and Open Source Options: OS and Apps
- e-Intelligence for Academics
- Culture & Strategy
- Why is Web 2.0 so Important Anyway? and Towards a critique of web 2.0
- Village Green vs. Walled Garden
- Free and Open Source Options: OS and Apps
Now for those who can't wait till the new year to learn more about some of these, check out the articles above, or have a play with the video selection below:
Video Jukebox: Technology, Techniques & Tactics
In this section my favourite one-stop provider is the The Common Craft Show - (some episodes of which I have embedded in previous posts in case it is sounding familiar) - Syndicated below with the most popular playing first. To get to the next video, just click the >I button in the lower left hand corner.
You can also go straight to their pages and view the videos individually. Here are some of the best:
- Wikis in Plain English
- RSS in Plain English
- Social Networking in Plain English
- Social Bookmarking in Plain English
Also, check out how the Wilderness Foundation has cleverly contextualised the Common Craft video on new lightbulbs.
The digital ethnography working group, a team of cultural anthropology undergraduates led by Dr. Michael Wesch at kansas state university, are exploring the impacts of digital technology on human interaction and have a great set of conversation starter videos:
More videos at http://mediatedcultures.net/ where you can also find links to the full-size WMV/MOV versions that will play better on a big screen or projector.
Further conversation starters:
Richard Baraniuk: Goodbye, textbooks; hello, open-source learning
If you'd like a UK take on what is happening at the bleeding edge of technology-facilitated/enhanced education then have a look at Richard Millwood's blog.and maybe also consider attending BETT where, amongst others, Channel 4 is running an interesting session. For a specifically Scottish take I also recommend Ewan McIntosh's http://edu.blogs.com/ - I hope to involve him in some of the forthcoming workshops.
Also, let's not forget that impact is not achieved through technology alone:
More great talks at http://www.ted.com/talks and specifically have a look at the theme page for Collaboration.
- Last but not least, a few picks from the bookshop:
- On the Internet
- Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
- Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life
- Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite
Later this month I'll be running a pilot for a new workshop specificially for 
