The following message is sent on behalf of Susan E. Jackson, AOM President
Dear Colleagues:
On behalf of the Board of Governors, I invite and strongly encourage you to attend an important caucus session at our upcoming annual meeting in San Antonio. The session will explore ideas for the creation of an open space repository environment for teaching materials and cases. Our members have expressed great interest in Academy-sponsored teaching resources, and this caucus will begin to explore how we might begin to address this area of need. Here's the session information:
Caucus Session: Developing an AOM-sponsored Open-Sourced Case Repository: an Exploratory Conversation Short
Hotel: Grand Hyatt
Room: Bonham B
Day: Monday, August 15, 2011
Time: 1:00-4:00 PM
Please let us know if you will be attending by visiting the following site: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22CGKK4ZACR/
Below is a list of participants and a brief description of the session. We have been fortunate that several leading experts on open space environments and the development of teaching and case materials have agreed to participate. In addition, we need you to share your ideas and help shape the future direction of this initiative.
Our executive director, Nancy Urbanowicz, will be participating. She will share details from the membership survey and also capture the ideas that we discuss during the caucus so that they become part of our ongoing dialogue.
As a follow-up to the caucus discussion, we are expecting to see the development of at least one Strategic Doing proposal. Ideally, any proposals that move forward will reflect your input and serve the interests of your Division and Interest Group.
Caucus Organizers: Alan Glassman, Deone Zell, Cal State University, Northridge
Caucus Discussion Leaders:
- Richard Baraniuk, Founder, Connexions Project, Rice University
- Robert Kennedy, Executive Director, William Davidson Institute/GlobaLens, University of Michigan
- Marc Robinson, Director, Educational Outreach, William Davidson Institute/GlobaLens, University of Michigan
- Jeff Shelstad, President and Founder, Flat World Knowledge
- Candace Thille, Director, Open Learning Initiative, Carnegie Mellon University
The Caucus Design
The Caucus Session is divided into two parts based on the beginning of an appreciative inquiry approach.
Step 1: Discovery (approximately 90-100 minutes)
This part of the session will involve presentations to begin mapping the territory
- Nancy: Overview of the AOM's historical record in this arena; the membership survey findings; and any Divisional/Interest Group initiatives currently being pursued
- Bob and Marc: Experience in developing cases with a focus on global/third world challenges and early experience in an open space environment
- Richard: Experience in developing a global repository of educational materials
- Candace: Current research findings on applying the learning sciences to the design, implementation, and evaluation of open source learning environments
- Jeff: experience and speculations about the future of open-source platforms
Step 2: Dream (approximately 80-90 minutes)
This part of the session will include structured data gathering from the attendees, discussion, and possible nominal group voting. Questions (not yet decided) such as "You have been asleep for 10 years and awake to find that AOM now has a fully operated case and learning materials repository for its members, considered the best in the world. What would this environment look like? How does it operate? What is the best outcome you can imagine? How should AOM partner with others?" or "In your opinion, what is the most strategic opportunity for AOM?" If you have a specific question that you'd like to include, please contact the Caucus Organizers so they can work it into their final design for session.
Post AOM Meeting:
Step 3: Design – A "Strategic Doing" proposal will be developed and submitted to the AOM Board of Governors for evaluation.
Step 4: Destiny – Following approval by the Board of Governors and the commitment of required resources, begin implementation by a project team (to be determined).
Thank you for being attentive to this request. This session is an important step in our journey toward providing expanded opportunities to create and share teaching resources.
Sincerely,
Susan E. Jackson
President