02-13 - Horizons

While I am still having difficulty dealing with the lack of connection time with my group, I beginning to think that I've set my sights too small. By asking for volunteers, I've locked myself (in my own mind) into focusing solely on them. This AHA moment came while I was brainstorming on new ways to draw the staff in working together on technology projects. To do this I will create, Fun Tech Fridays (FTF). This day will be a day that any member of the staff can come in and work together on any project of interest to them. One way I can contribute to cultivating a community of practice is to bring people in and put them in more informal spaces and get them talking to each other about what they are doing. It was at this moment that I realized that while I am working more formally with my CoP group, I should be also working informally with the staff in general. As I am evolving that thought, I am thinking that my volunteer CoP group will actually become my "Trainers" next year to launch Tapped In with the entire staff. This group will provide the foundation necessary to help support the entire staff and to keep the interest going. The AHA mentioned earlier also launched about AHA -- draw in other staff members by creating an online library of resources (The Nook). To do that I came up with the idea of polling the staff to determine: I Got It (something they are willing to share) and I Need It (soemthing they need). Of course, just sending the request will spark curiosity about what's happening and where it's going. The CoP group can help organize the resources, sort them, post them, etc.

Finally, I worried that while there are small-clique type- CoPs within the organizations, there may be staff that do not connect with anyone and the small mini CoPs may not "cross pollinate" to the other CoPs. To discover that answer I will survey the staff an ask for the names of three people whom they go to for help or questions. When I have that answer, I will map that and look at where our learning connections are. The people who are pillars are people that I need to tap, the people that are floating alone are people that I need to connect with and draw in.

I'm still struggling with value for online collaboration - but I also think that I may be putting the cart before the horse -- they need to be able to navigate Tapped In and somewhat comforable before being able to contribute items, discussion, links etc. On the other hand, the value must come quickly to avoid disinterest. I have been thinking about what value could be added to TI to draw them there--An expert. Value for my group would be getting online with an expert from outside the division talking about something they are interested in. I'm not sure who that could be.