#untech10 – Learning 2.0 in Action

Yesterday, a conference died and a new event – I won’t call it a conference – was born immediately in its wake. By 3:00 in the afternoon, it was clear that many attendees and speakers would not be able to make it the annual ASAE Technology Conference in DC, and it would be unsafe to even try. To its credit, ASAE called off the event and promised to refund all registration fees.

Even as this was happening, though, #UNTECH10 – The Unofficial Alternative to the Canceled Tech10, was already in the works. As a result, folks who are in DC will be meeting up in-person at the Renaissance Hotel and those who are not in DC will be able to participate virtually.

I wanted to be sure to highlight the event here because it actively represents so many of the key traits of Learning 2.0, i.e., the blending of the social Web and everything it enables with traditional approaches to education. Here are three big ones I see in UnTech10:

• It is about the learners
  The original conference was driven primarily by ASAE. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that paradigm, but it is nowhere near as learner-centric as the learners themselves taking the reins and shaping what the learning experience will be. That’s what’s happening at UnTech10.

• The technology is an enabler
  It’s not about the technology. In fact, it’s not really even about the community. The technology makes fast, flexible creation of a community possible and greatly facilitates communication between participants. But ultimately this community has come together because these people want to connect and learn from each other. The value – the social object – is in the learning and the learners.

• It is more network-driven than group-driven
  This point is a bit more subtle than the first two, but I think it is the real touchstone for identifying a Learning 2.0 experience. The idea – which comes from Stephen Downes – is that groups are characterized by unity, coherence, and a focus of voice – a fair statement, in my opinion, about the original ASAE Technology Conference. Networks,  on the other hand, are constantly changing and defined by interactions — more like what will happen at UnTech10.

Months of planning and agenda setting do, of course, have their advantages. Clay Shirky and Vint Cerf won’t be at UnTech10 (as far as I know). CAE credit won’t be available (again, as far as I know.) But I am betting a tremendous amount of learning will happen.

Is this the solution to replace every canceled conference, or to be tried in place of holding a conference? No, but it is certainly a good solution in some cases, and the sheer flexibility of Learning 2.0 approaches makes them a great option to consider in this situation. Kudos to Maddie Grant and Lindy Dreyer of SocialFish for recognizing and – better yet – acting on the possibilities.

All of this has inspired me to finally move creating a new version of the free Learning 2.0 for Associations eBook to the top of my list. (Hard to believe it is already two years old!) And, of course, I’ll also be participating in UnTech10. Be sure to drop by and check out the site at http://untech10.conferencespot.org/ and if you will be in DC on Thursday, register for the face-to-face part of it.

P.S. – Here is a Learning 2.0 resource page I put together for a session Lindy and I did at the ASAE annual meeting. I’ll be adding UnTech10 to it!

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Tagged as: associations, Learning 2.0, tech10