Sylvia Currie

Doing a quick count I know of 25 people who plan to be at the Rendezvous today. I'm sure John and others have been spreading the word this week, and I've posted a notice on the bulletin boards.

Some people will need to leave early to catch planes, etc and some may be dropping in later. But that's a-o-k! This is very informal and there are no obligations. Feel free to invite acquaintances who would just like to listen. And if they do decide to grab a 10 minute spot to present their community to the group, Liz has hers for sale on eBay 

Over dinner Wedesday night we decided it would be interesting to follow our own community stories by exploring one topic in particular. An idea emerged to look at the design of f2f conferences. The format tends to be very similar wherever you go and it may be time to rethink the design. This group could make a great contribution to conference organizers by coming up with a Design Plan to encourage more opportunities for community building. I spoke with Griff Richards as an organizer for eLearn and he hopes to join us.

Since that dinner I've raised the topic in conversations around eLearn, and people tend to agree. Sandy's description of her experience at the networking lunch is a good example. Do we need to create more opportunities like that? Paul Stacey and Frances Long are planning online conferences (2 separate conferences). How can we build community into the design of those events? Lucifer Chu, who made a memorable appearance at Curtis Bonk's Keynote, described a terrific group discussion which resulted from one conference delegate raising her hand during the Tuesday morning Keynote void to see if anyone was interested in talking about the use of games in education. How can we allow for more spontaneous, loosely organized, member-initiated dialogue?

So if you receive this message before the Rendezvous you'll have a few hours to reflect on your conference experiences. Come with criticisms  and let's turn them into design ideas which will be a valuable contribution back to eLearn and other conference planners.

See you later!

Where: The bar, Sheraton Wall Centre (North Building)
When: Friday, October 28, 2005 1:00 - 4:30 pm

I spent some time yesterday speaking with eLearn conference organizers and hotel staff -- reception then restaurant staff then banquet staff. They were all very helpful.

The space they recommended for us that wouldn't involve moving rooms every hour or rental/staff fee, and that has comfortable chairs and round tables for smaller group discussions, is the bar in the Sheraton Wall Centre north conference building. They don't start serving drinks until 4:00 pm, so it's a fairly quiet area, especially on the last day of the conference.

So the bar it is! See you there at 1:30.

I was recently reviewing some questions that I've been asked during various interviews about my community coordinator role. One question that stumped me at the time I was asked in 2003, and still stumps me now, is:

How do you effectively balance synchronous and asynchronous communication when planning community activities?

I know what my personal preferences are, but I have never been able to get a handle on what community members really want. It would be useful to explore this to find some ideal scenarios -- attendance and participation levels, benefits of pre-recorded events, depth of dialogue, discussion topics that lend themselves to synch or asynch, etc.

What are your experiences? 

I've received email from three members of the BCcampus.ca communities to let me know they will be attending our rendezvous in Vancouver: Paul Stacey, Sandy Hirtz, and Amanda Harby. They're involved in coordinating 4 different communities:
- EdTech Users Community
- BC Learning Marketplace & Expo
- BCcampus Online Learner Community
- A research community (hmmm, can't remember the name off hand!)

I've invited them to drop in here to elaborate on their work, so stay tuned.

The idea for this Special Interest Group came about from conversations with people who are involved in online educator communities. We have found that we not only share the same questions about the work we do, but we also have a desire to share what we've learned through our community experiences.

This SIG will provide a venue for these conversations, and hopefully will facilitate opportunities to organize some of our thoughts and experiences into resources that will contribute to the field of online community research.

To get started I've invited colleagues who have expressed an interest in a Community Coordinator SIG. But be sure to spread the word! This is by no means an "invitation only" format. We welcome and encourage participation from everyone interested in what makes an online community tick.

So come on in, prop yourself up with some comfy pillows, and tell us all about your community life.