Hi Bill, Owen, Ged and Dave,
I haven't had time to digest all of the rally yet, but I'm for going ahead and sending out some kind of basic directions for Firefox, Google, Delicious on Tuesday.
To me, Tuesday seems better than Friday because we can explain it briefly in the meeting. Everyone will know that the 3 set ups are just a foundation for more training to come and can be reassured in person that C3 members will help them.
As Owen noted, our mutual understanding of how it will all fit together and proceed may not be complete, but the basic plan of using Google applications for sharing and archiving seems clear, and everyone in the department who I have talked to seems ready to get started with the basics.
I don't see the point of delaying the release of basic set-up directions beyond Tuesday. The directions that we currently have will get almost everyone up and running, and we can follow up with anyone who has trouble. Training sessions in April and beyond can deepen understanding and appreciation of the system step by step.
I'll try to go over the directions once more on Friday-Saturday and see if I have any suggestions to make them clearer.
So...Owen are you still opposed to sending out basic directions on Tuesday?
Mark
On 2/7/08, Bill Harshbarger <billh@icu.ac.jp> wrote:
Hi,
This seems to be turning into a more of a tennis match between me and Owen than a comprehensive discussion. I know that that is largely due to the unfortunate time constraints that affect us all, particularly right now. That is why I have been trying to take more unilateral action than I would otherwise prefer. I am willing to wait until Tuesday at the ELP meeting to introduce our launch, but I don't know how to have the "missing discussion on the big what and big how" between now and then. In fact, we are unlikely to be able to take up that discussion until next term. In addition, achieving a completely shared understanding within C3 may never happen, nor do I think it needs to. This means that if we don't start on Tuesday, we need to cancel our plans to have anything in place by the beginning of next term and announce that things are on hold indefinitely.
I agree that with more time, we could become better prepared to launch our plan, but sometimes "perfect is the enemy of good." Also, I don't think we are embarking on anything as knowable as heading out for an arctic expedition. We are starting an organic process that will change and evolve in ways that we can neither foresee nor control. It will be (I hope) a collaborative learning process for all of us. C3 can provide a catalyst -- enthusiasm, some initial knowledge, and a little bit of experience and guidance -- but not a perfectly planned expedition that will march everyone from point A to point B. One thing that is certain, if we never start, we will never get anywhere. On the other hand, if we don't believe in what we are doing, we are also unlikely to get anywhere. We have some enthusiasm and momentum in the ELP now and many people will have time between now and April to work on getting started. If we delay our start until sometime in next term or later, we risk losing a great deal.
I am ready to go -- even in a (metaphorical) thong and T-shirt! -- but I need the rest of you with me. If we do decide to wait, I really want to base that decision on a concrete proposal for an alternate plan and time line. Right now the only suggestion is that we wait until we are better prepared and have better understanding -- that translates to me as forever.
Bill
On Feb 7, 2008 11:53 AM, Owen James <okokoj@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Bill & C3ers,
1. Timing: My first suggestion is that we do not send anything on Friday. I think any Friday is a bad day to send out a 'to do'. This Friday may be especially bad, it is not a work day and it is followed by a working Saturday. A day earlier in a week is better.
2. Preparation: I am concerned still that we have not had adequate opportunity to talk about the big 'what' and the big 'how' with regards to the implementation phase. This 'missing' discussion is contributing to what I feel is a lack of shared understanding in C3 at present. Successful roll out is crucial to successful initial uptake and to long term sustainability. I feel we are setting out on a journey under prepared, like heading out across the Arctic in thongs and t-shirt - probably not a good idea! This is essentially what I failed to communicate properly at Tuesday's meeting - sorry about that.
3. Content: Given Point 2, I am not sure if the current content of Bill's 'getting the tools' email is basically what we need or not. I am really unsure. Your advice will be much appreciated, I would like to help us 'get it right.'
But now, off to the park for a bit, then soba!
Owen.
On Feb 6, 200 11:02 AM, WCHarshbarger@gmail.com <WCHarshbarger@gmail.com> wrote:
I've shared a document with you called "Beginning directions for the C3 plan":
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df8mx5rb_259fxg5fkc2&invite=c9rs72b
It's not an attachment -- it's stored online at Google Docs. To open this document, just click the link above.
---
Here is a draft of an email I would like to send out to all ELP staff on Friday. Please let me know if you have any recommendations for improving it.
Thanks!
Bil
--
ELP, International Christian University,
3-10-2 Osawa, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-8585.
Office ph: +81-(0)422-33-3371
Home 0.5: http://okoj.net/james/
Skype ID: owen_james
Delicious ID: okoj
--
Bill Harshbarger, Ph.D.
Director, English Language Program
International Christian University
3-10-2 Osawa, Mitaka-shi
Tokyo 181-8585
+ (81) 422-33-3219
billh@icu.ac.jp
http://indirector.blogspot.com
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