Embracing Web 2.0 Technologies to Grease the Wheels of Team

Cohesion

IWMW July 2008

Andy Ramsden

Marieke Guy

eatbath-present08

andyramsden

QR for text of presentation

aims

• Review our experiences of adopting more web 2.0 characteristics and technologies to enhance team cohesion within the e-learning team at the University of Bath

• Provide the opportunity for people to share different approaches and effective practice (a mini barcamp)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bidryboo/300945382/

how the session will run

• Collaborative learning experience

• Experiential learning experience

• Audience participation

ways we can communicate

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#iwmw2008

Do you like my shirt?

42%

21%

37%

1. Yes

2. No

3. Is my handset being logged?

Where would you place the team you work in …

Shar

ed d

ocum

ents

i...

Bet

wee

n 1 &

3

Effe

ctiv

ely

using

coll.

..

Bet

wee

n 3 a

nd 5

Effe

ctiv

ely

using

c...

41% 41%

6%

0%

12%

1. Shared documents in Word or equivalent format. Shared and discussed via email. F-2-F meetings focus on admin.

2. Between 1 & 33. Effectively using collaborative tools such as

wikis and social bookmarking tools. All people in the team regularly maintain a individual blog, and we have agreed on tagging conventions.

4. Between 3 and 55. Effectively using communication tools to

support content creation tools. Face to face meetings focus on developmental and team cohesion activities. Layers of different aggregation for rss infeeds so that people get an effective way of viewing material.

Are you trying to move towards 5?

68%

26%

5%

Are you in a team which is actively trying to move towards Point 5 (on previous slide)?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

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why move towards point E?

For those that said yes, why are you trying to move towards point 5? What benefit do you see?

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Tag responses: Q1

why move towards point E?

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Better group comunicatiom

Q1 browsable project history, logging, accountability

Q1 to bring together a dispersed organization

Greater time/work efficiency.

Q1 efficient communication.

Q1 a streamlined faster adoption of useful technologies through better communication.

Q1 We need to make use of all available technologies so we can promote them to the rest of the instituion. Nice to be proactive and highlight opportunities

Q1 crowdscaling

Group Activity 1: The dispersed team

In groups of 3 or 4, describe some of the issues you might expect to see developing over time in the following team scenario. You should think about this from the perspective of both the office based worker and the distance worker.

What approaches might you adopt to reduce any negative effects?

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5 people work in a team, with a few people working on each small project. These people have only been working together for 6 months. 1 person works from home (about 150 miles away), so only make it for the occasional meeting. While another member of the team works on a different campus (2 miles away). The other three work in the same office.

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E-learning team @ bath: context

• 8 people altogether• 5 in office (hub), of which, two rooms – 2 techies & 3 LTs• 3 in departments

Six months ago, 0 kept a work/ professional blog, 5 had delicious accounts for their own use.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/toshio1/396874473/

E-learning team @ bath: why change?• team is not effective

• lacks cross fertilisation of ideas

• doesn’t scale with more people

• slow emergence of new skills / ideas

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E-learning team @ bath: how change?

Characteristics of Web 2.0:

1. harness the power of the crowds2. collective intelligence3. democratisation of content creation4. re-use (mashing) content5. mass participation6. read / write web7. not controlling behaviour8. social networks

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My role (Phase 1):

1. Ensure what we do as individuals or in small projects is open (transparent) to the rest of the team.

2. Create a sense of “critical friends across the team”.

3. Empower people to take ownership

4. Reward initiative5. Encourage more risky

behaviour6. Lead by example7. Let go … watch them fly8. Find some easy wins

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tgr/115680871http://www.flickr.com/photos/bensheldon/212159782

current practice in this room

5%

95%

1. Yes

2. No

Within your team do you regularly share web resources such as web urls?

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Current practice in this room (2)

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How do you share these web resources? E-mail, shared document, wiki, blog, bookmark software …

Tag responses: Q2

Word cloud from sms activity

current practice in this room (3)

13%

88%

1. Yes

2. No

Within your team do you regularly share your thoughts about these resources?

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Current practice in this room (4)

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How do you share your thoughts about the web resources you’ve shared within your team?

#iwmw2008 AM

Was this the easy win?

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1. harness the power of the crowds2. collective intelligence3. democratisation of content creation4. re-use (mashing) content5. mass participation6. read / write web7. not controlling behaviour8. social networks

Process: Agree on tags, bookmark resources (delicious), review resource on your individual blog (using tags), rss infeed to group blog / wiki

Group Activity 2: Sharing resources

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In the same group as before, do you think it is important to share web resources across the whole team? If not, could you explain why. What strategies do you think we’d need to employ to make this a success? ------------------------------------------------------------

5 people work in a team, with a few people working on each small project. These people have only been working together for 6 months. 1 person works from home (about 150 miles away), so only make it for the occasional meeting. While another member of the team works on a different campus (2 miles away). The other three work in the same office.

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Where should we go from here?

50%

13%

38%

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1. The easy win (meaningful activity)

2. Collaboratively creating stuff

3. Communicating stuff

The easy win: e-learning SSS

• Group Blog• Team effort – paired hub with spoke, techie with LTO• agree on tags• slideshare• flickr• personal blogs• delicious• twitter (eatbath)• podcast post session

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Overall score 7/10

Collaboratively creating stuff: wiki

• password protected• heads up on what people doing. Changes to pages and rss infeeds from blogs, slideshare, delicious etc

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Overall score 8/10

Collaboratively creating stuff: working papers

• promote critical reflection in team• heads up for others at Bath about what we are doing• include wider members of the team in earlier as a critical friend• promote ourselves at UK HEI level.

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Overall score 6/10

Work Flow

Ind Blog >> f-2-f >> Wiki >> Blog >> OPuS

Communicating stuff: background noise

“a … social experiment with no roadmap” Howe (2006/7 Time Magazine)

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Overall score

?

Lindsay follows: Andy, Roger, NitinAndy follows: Lindsay, Roger, NitinNitin follows: Andy Roger LindsayRoger follows: Andy Nitin Lindsay

Lindsay updated in last 48 hoursAndy updated in last 48 hoursNitin updated in last 48 hoursRoger not since May

Nitin work related 8 out of 20Andy work related 14 out of 20Lindsay work related 9 out of 20

Communicating stuff: ideas

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Overall score

5/10

Geraldine - http://edsgmj.wordpress.com/ - no blog rollNitin - http://colligo.wordpress.com/ - links to 3 people in teamRoger - http://rogergardner.wordpress.com/ - links to 2 people in teamAndy - Mobile - www.mobile-learning.blog-city.comAndy - General - andyramsden.wordpress.com - no blog rollLindsay - http://lindsayjordan.edublogs.org/ - no blog roll

General evaluation (phase 1)

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Overall score

5/10

Good Not enforced, people seem to see benefits, significant change in work practices in 5 months

Bad Not consistent in terms of use of tags

Ugly Not all the team engaged

where next? (phase 2: roll out)

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Breadth and depth• enforce a more structured use of the tags• engage with other members of the team• accommodate more diversity in tools (delicious and diigo) using Yahoo Pipes• adopt more tools (podcasting & dipity)• roll out CRM software

mini barcamp … across to you

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Who in the room would like to share their experiences of adopting a web 2.0 approach to trying to enhance team cohesion? What have you done, and what lessons have you learnt?

thank you & questions

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Andy Ramsdena.ramsden@bath.ac.uk

eatbath-present08

andyramsden

Feedback for me … what did you like, what should I stop doing, and how might I improve this session?

Tag responses: Q3