As Jack Johnson sings, “It’s always better when we’re together.” Well WE are together, and even better … we are together with all of you LIVE here at the ACAMIS Conference in the Black Box Theater at THE International School of Macao! On today’s podcast we are talking about the wisdom of crowds, the power of sharing, and we’ve come up with some – hopefully – creative ways to tap into the group brain right here in this room.

Lessons Learned

Dennis – You can embed a live web page in a Keynote Slide (Thanks Daniel!) https://www.liveslides.com

Daniel –  Mel Varga led a session yesterday on Learning Spaces and TIS was intentional in calling their space a Learning Lab because the title can limit or restrict the perception of the space.

Chris – When you discover that  32 attendees to an Ed Tech conference have  signed up for a 150 minute workshop with the innocuous  title, “Ed-Tech Workshop (Advanced)” and that you are expected to lead it, you’d better be familiar with  adragogy. Iron Tech to the rescue!

Fun Fact

The total land area of Macau is 30.3 sq km. The total land area of Disney World Resort in Orlando is 111.4 sq km.  Almost 4 times the size of Macau.  That means Macau is 4 times more fun per square kilometer than Disney World.

Notes & Links

Today’s Meet Transcript from Live Event

The Wisdom of Crowds

  • Sir Francis Galton, 787 villagers, and a dead cow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Galton
  • “Wisdom of the Crowd”: The Myths & Reality http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140708-when-crowd-wisdom-goes-wrong
  • Just for fun, a home-made wisdom of the crowd experiment: http://www.the-vital-edge.com/wisdom-of-crowds/

TAKEAWAY Point: We are smarter together than we are on our own.

Collaborate vs. Compete (Dennis)

  • Two schools of thought:
    • I don’t share because I don’t want other people stealing my stuff.
    • I share because I love seeing what other people come up with to improve on what I’ve created.
    • “Everyone I meet knows something I don’t.”
  • VIDEO: “Obvious to You-Amazing to Others” https://youtu.be/xcmI5SSQLmE

TAKEAWAY Point: We are better when we SHARE!

“Learning is all about Relationships”

  • Face to Face is the strongest connection
  • Online powerful too but ultimately weakens over time if no F2F
  • When I read your writing I hear your voice.
  • I learn when I hear YOUR stories.

TAKEAWAY Point: If you are at this conference TAKE ADVANTAGE of the F2F!  Meet someone new. Learn their stories.

Our Podcast Mission:

  • To share our own stories.
    • In spite of all the technology advances, the human brain has been on a slower evolutionary trajectory than technology. Our brains still respond to content by looking for the story to make sense out of the experience. No matter what the technology, the meaning starts in the brain. The transmedia producer may get the credit line, but the success of the transmedia effort rests on the resonance, authenticity, and richness created by the storyteller. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positively-media/201101/the-psychological-power-storytelling
  • To take what we learn from others and share it with a new audience.
  • To inspire others to be better.