Field notes, listening tours, and community building
The blog has been quiet for a few months as I’ve been working behind-the-scenes to fully build out the concept for the Digital Learning Leadership Community and bring the community to life in a lasting, sustainable, and engaging way. It’s been awhile since I’ve put on an entrepreneurial hat (the better part of a decade, for sure) and I had forgotten how much I love the creative challenge that comes with bringing a business idea to life. If you want to be the first to know when I begin kicking off regularly-scheduled community events, you can join the community here (there’s no cost to join).
At the same time, that I’ve been figuring out the business side of things, I’ve been trying to find the right tone for this blog. There will be a different website for the Digital Learning Leadership Community (getting the website built is one of the many things happening behind the scenes), but I still want this blog to match the community vibe. In essence, I want the overall vibe to feel more like a collaborative, exploratory journey, rather than a place where I stand on my soapbox and share my opinions. The older (and hopefully wiser) I get, the more I find myself bored of my own opinions. I am much more interested in hearing and amplifying the varied opinions and experiences of others.
Sharing Field Notes
The researcher in me likes the notion of sharing field notes versus blogging.
Field notes are focused on observations and curious inquiries, rather than opinions. My research and consulting work provides me with a unique vantage point for observing higher education (often at the global level) as it relates to digital learning. I have the privilege of frequently connecting with smart and talented individuals in the field of digital learning, many of whom have become friends over the years, who are a source of wisdom and who hold a wide range of contextually-different insights. Writing field notes allows me to better share their wisdom with you.
I’m also not tempted to use AI to write field notes. Field notes are personal. For me, I find that the pressure to write interesting blog posts at a regular cadence causes writer’s block, and then I’m just wanting a quick and dirty solution to get something up on the site. Full disclosure: I use Copilot regularly in my day-to-day work as an efficiency/brainstorming tool and I love how AI use has supported my productivity (actual measureable productivity, not just perceived productivity). I also know where I do not want to use AI, and that is on the creative, interpretive, curious, deeper-thinking side of things. Writing field notes feels more like an exclusively human endeavour. Writing a blog post feels like something that could be outsourced to AI in a moment of overwhelm . . . and this is a space that I want to keep fully human.
So, what sorts of things will my field notes be on? All kinds of observations, I’m sure; however, I’m going to kick off my transition from blogging to field notes during my first-ever Listening Tour starting in about a week’s time.
My European Listening Tour
I’m currently at the airport getting ready to head to Europe for about 10 days with stops in London, Manchester, Barcelona, and Porto. During that time, I’ll be meeting with institutional leaders, thought leaders, researchers, and many others doing good work in the edtech space to gather their insights about what is working (and what’s presenting challenges) as technologies and the higher education landscape continue to co-evolve.
If you’ll be in those cities around that time and want to connect, please reach out. If you’re attending the EDEN Conference in Porto, I’ll see you there!
I’m also hoping to kick off a Cross-Canada Listening Tour starting in late summer/early fall. The plan, which is still being figured out, is to come onto campuses for a series of conversations with different groups that are involved in the strategy, development, and implementation of online/hybrid/flexible courses and programs. To be clear, this is not a research study. Rather, it’s simply an opportunity to engage in a relaxed conversation and better understand some of the systemic and contextual barriers to change. While I’m a huge advocate for all things digital, there is something special about meeting with people in person, over a cup of coffee or a meal (or even a walk/hike if you want an excuse to get out of the office), especially when it comes to listening well. More info (hopefully) coming soon.
Community Building Events
Finally, I don’t want to wait until I have everything perfectly in place before launching a regular schedule of events for the Digital Learning Leadership Community. Regardless of whether the website is finished or the marketing plan is fully in place, I’m eager to get going and bring the community together. If you’re on the mailing list, expect an email very soon with topics and dates for a couple of summertime virtual get togethers. I’ll also post details here!
FIND ME HERE:
Want to meet up? Here’s where I’ll be in the coming months:
Open University of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain): June 11-12
EDEN Conference (Porto, Portugal): June 15-16
CDLRA Professional Development Session (virtual): June 25
D2L Fusion (Phoenix, USA): July 8-10
AI-cademy (Vancouver, Canada): November 9-10
