General Framing

[zefrank]

There are two types of awards in this competition.

The Innovation Award is about developing new platforms and models of learning which can be applied across subjects - accordingly these represent a larger challenge and therefore a larger budget.

The Knowledge Networking Award seems to be more about harnessing current technologies and platforms to facilitate dialog and activity around particular subjects. Because this is more about framing and less about development, the grants are smaller.

The above links provide examples of projects that fit into each category.

The MacArthur foundation has poured plenty of resources into learning initiatives, and i'm not under any illusions that it will be an easy task to come up with viable ideas. That said, in the past couple years, the foundation drastically shifted its priorities and is aggressively looking for outside perspectives.

The web is still very young, and i think that there is plenty of opportunity for ideas to be put forward by ordinary people based on their own experiences navigating the networked world. This community, our community, has placed value in participation and engagement...maybe that can lead to something good.

[eliza]

I shy away from the innovation award idea now because we’re talking massive amounts of time and probably something someone has been working on and documenting for a few years that is also specific to a certain discipline. Not that something like that couldn’t be described here, but that would require a ton of brain power and heaps of time. It’s hard enough getting people working during the day to show up in real life for a meeting about the instillation of a new sewer.

I also shy away from coming up with a new or another form of computer learning tool, because there are so many out there already. However, if one has gobs of knowledge in that particular field taking the best of what is available and making it more user friendly is always a good thing, but I see this as limiting to the community at large, though worthy of a side project if people can hook up and work together.

What you have here already, I mean here at zefrank.com needs grant form describing, maybe a little more organization and more energy behind certain projects; both short and ongoing. Wasn’t that part of the purpose behind the ORG?

Personally, I think the net is over saturated with stuff and the only thing that really makes it all worthwhile and keeps people coming back is community, that or commerce. So how does one developing community, maintain community, and keep a community prospering around a series of innovative ideas?

Seems to me all the trimmings are here, they are looking for a particular style, a couple of destinations and with the utmost affection some dedicated hard working monkeys.

Perhaps, I am stuck in an old paradigm, but I see the internets as a wilderness full of pioneers looking to develop a small town near water. Well, here’s water, lumber and some pretty fertile ground, all that is needed is someone to start pointing a finger.

Sheriff?

[Booalready]

Figuring out the different areas of expertise and having those people get together and do homework and then meeting online here would work. It is more communication than what happens in most public schools.

The ORG already has a good start if we want to actually form a place to learn. However, it needs a few things according to my evolving vision of what this can be.

Which is a good place to start, I mean with people stating their ideas. If we do not know what we are looking to do saying it can't be done is moot.

I'm posting my ideas over in ideas.

But the innovation deal, I like it.

[lukkucairi]

Originally Posted by eliza

I also shy away from coming up with a new or another form of computer learning tool, because there are so many out there already.

I'm not in pedagogy, so I don't know what kind of computer learning tools exist right now. Is there a list of examples somewhere?

There are always opportunities for building a better mousetrap, though we don't necessarily need to be in the mousetrap business. Just sayin'.

[eliza]

Originally Posted by lukkucairi

I'm not in pedagogy, so I don't know what kind of computer learning tools exist right now. Is there a list of examples somewhere?

districts usually contract with insider hard sells.

There are always opportunities for building a better mousetrap, though we don't necessarily need to be in the mousetrap business. Just sayin'.

Thinking about this a little more... I'm not certain we are far enough outside the box yet. I know there are new ideas floating just above our heads, but I'm not wearing the correct lenses to see them yet. However, the advice I was given was to start small go what you have and know, the solution will present itself.

Abracadabra?