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Set up a business for limited liability purposes.

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Set up a business for limited liability purposes.

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Jason - Taranaki Mohoau Kahui Ako lead at Stratford Primary School

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Jason - Taranaki Mohoau Kahui Ako lead at Stratford Primary School

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Learning Pit - diving straight in pit drawing

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Learning Pit - diving straight in pit drawing

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Richard

Andrea

Annabel

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Powerco - generic - livehire registration

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Powerco - generic - livehire registration

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TSB - Kushla Rosser - Head of People and Culture

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TSB - Kushla Rosser - Head of People and Culture

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Mike might have subbie work

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Bryce - Hospice Bay of Plenty Grant Writing

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Bryce - Hospice Bay of Plenty Grant Writing

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Will call when in New Plymouth for coffee.

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From boreworthy to scoreworthy - using points to gamify compliance modules (blog)

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From boreworthy to scoreworthy - using points to gamify compliance modules (blog)

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What a difference a day makes - case study of turning a three day workshop into a one day play and apply experience (case study blog) gamifying real estate/lending

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What a difference a day makes - case study of turning a three day workshop into a one day play and apply experience (case study blog) gamifying real estate/lending

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What's wrong with multichoice - leveling up corporate compliance tactics - blog

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What's wrong with multichoice - leveling up corporate compliance tactics - blog

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Songlists for empathy - exploring pain points with music blog

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Songlists for empathy - exploring pain points with music blog

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Add SEO to site - follow Squarespace instructions

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Add SEO to site - follow Squarespace instructions

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Tips for writing effective meta descriptions to help improve your site's ranking. Meta descriptions, also known as search descriptions,...

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EDSCRIPT subscriber service for Principals

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EDSCRIPT subscriber service for Principals

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Repeat for small businesses

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Create free hopscotch exploration site as taster

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Create free hopscotch exploration site as taster

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Add links to corporate on every page - lure them in at every step

give title and intro for each page to help orient visitors

Aim for training and marketing depts

Add quick links to art workshops to save downward scrolling

Link corporate training into all workships - show how they can be used together in all places to hook people wherever you can

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General enquiries email. Asking for who to contact.

12th July.

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Find 50 companies to email with lookbook. 

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Find 50 companies to email with lookbook. 

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Create lookbook for using operational funding in schools - cheaper zoom menu. 

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Create lookbook for using operational funding in schools - cheaper zoom menu. 

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Cross check that all Brainbadge offerings have been moved over.

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Cross check that all Brainbadge offerings have been moved over.

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Add lookbook as free download on website. 

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Add lookbook as free download on website. 

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This is a great list of how people have used me in the past. 

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This is a great list of how people have used me in the past. 

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Other companies have harnessed my power to:Run a Design Thinking WorkshopEnhanced innovation and problem-solving through playful design thinking.Redesign Their Onboarding SystemCreated a more engaging and effective onboarding experience.Create a Gamified Escape Room for a Compliance ModuleBoosted compliance training engagement and retention through gamification.Develop Blended Learning Designs Beyond the LMSCombined traditional and digital learning for more effective training.Integrate Digital Tools for EngagementUtilized cutting-edge digital tools to increase learner engagement.Support Learning Support and Remove Barriers to LearningProvided strategies to create inclusive and accessible learning environments.Implement a Strengths-Based Approach to Neurodiversity in the ClassroomHighlighted and leveraged the strengths of neurodiverse learners.Promote Literacy Across the CurriculumDeveloped strategies to integrate literacy skills in all subject areas.Introduce Agile Maths for Responsive Teaching SolutionsApplied agile methodologies to make math teaching more responsive and adaptive.Facilitate Flip Book Photography and Hand-Drawn Animation WorkshopsEngaged learners through creative visual arts techniques.Implement Play-Based Discovery LearningUsed play to foster curiosity and exploration in learning.Provide Coaching ServicesOffered personalized coaching to improve teaching practices and learner outcomes.Integrate Lean Systems for the ClassroomStreamlined classroom processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness.Create a Literacy KeteDeveloped resources and strategies to enhance literacy education.Utilize Digital Tools for Visual ArtsApplied digital technologies to enhance visual arts education.Enhance Digital Tools for Remote LearningImproved remote learning experiences with effective digital tools.Integrate Digital Technology in the ArtsMerged digital tools with arts education to create innovative learning experiences.Develop Local Histories CurriculumStarted with a concept to bring local histories to life in the curriculum.Address NCEA ChangesProvided guidance and strategies for navigating changes in the NCEA system.Apply Kanban and User Stories for Managing AgencyUsed agile project management techniques to enhance student agency.Manage Change in Your KuraOffered strategies to effectively manage change in educational settings.Incorporate STEAM in Curriculum DesignIntegrated science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics into the curriculum.Implement Lean and Agile Systems in EducationApplied lean and agile methodologies to improve educational processes.Bring Design Thinking into ActionFacilitated hands-on design thinking workshops for innovative problem-solving.Develop Digital Solutions for Corporate TrainingCreated customized digital training solutions for corporate clients.Gamify Learning ExperiencesDesigned engaging gamified learning modules to boost motivation and retention.Create E-Learning ModulesDeveloped interactive and effective e-learning content.Integrate Digital ToolsEnhanced learning experiences with the latest digital technologies.Design Rubrics and AssessmentsCreated clear and effective rubrics and assessment tools.Develop Evaluation TemplatesProvided templates to streamline the evaluation process.Code with PurposeTaught coding skills with a focus on meaningful and practical applications.Facilitate Interactive Information CommunicationEnhanced communication with interactive tools and strategies.Streamline ProcessesImproved efficiency by optimizing and streamlining processes.Weave Digital Fluency with Local CurriculumIntegrated digital fluency skills into local curriculum contexts.Apply Computational Thinking in ActionTaught computational thinking skills for practical problem-solving.Implement Play-Based LearningUsed play as a powerful tool for learning and development.Facilitate Universal Design for LearningApplied UDL principles to create inclusive learning environments.Utilize Interactive Tools for WorkshopsEnhanced workshop experiences with engaging interactive tools.Design Lean CanvasUsed lean canvas techniques for strategic planning and project management.

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Double the figures.

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Create a letter offering training and facilitation services to corporates. 

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Create a letter offering training and facilitation services to corporates. 

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DRAFT THE LETTER IN CANVA

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Suggested corporate offerings - rejig and double price. 

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Suggested corporate offerings - rejig and double price. 

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Figure out a 100 thing to do list for monetising my USP in corporate contexts. Aim for 200k. 

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Figure out a 100 thing to do list for monetising my USP in corporate contexts. Aim for 200k. 

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Ward Boards - Visual explainer whiteboards for teachers.

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Ward Boards - Visual explainer whiteboards for teachers.

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Rubric Cover Sheets How To Instructions Below you will find links to and descriptions of all the assignments we use for Choose Your Own Adventure. Click on the individual assignment links to get the full instructions and printable worksheets. The assignments are divided into three categories

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Leader Reader - reading service for time poor educators and leaders. Subscription service? Or pay per book. 

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Leader Reader - reading service for time poor educators and leaders. Subscription service? Or pay per book. 

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Read and review

Plus activities for you to run with staff.

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Download files from English teachers fb page

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Download files from English teachers fb page

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Mine the fdmc drive for previous pld sessions and rework for bigger audience

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Mine the fdmc drive for previous pld sessions and rework for bigger audience

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Double back on Kahui Ako sessions and recreate workbooks or course options

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Double back on Kahui Ako sessions and recreate workbooks or course options

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Literacy Map - Reading and writing skills for exploration. Map version of Grammar Tower. 

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Literacy Map - Reading and writing skills for exploration. Map version of Grammar Tower. 

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CAA - Literacy tips and tricks for READING readiness - 2 hour online workshop for teachers

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CAA - Literacy tips and tricks for READING readiness - 2 hour online workshop for teachers

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Use the assessment report to create a bank of activities

Current state - e-asstle - data and reviewing

What reading skills can be targeted

Understanding the thinking behind reading

CT and the test - decomposition and pattern recognition

Activities to target reading

Asynchronous challenges

Modeling thinking and reading

Planning and resourcing

Student readiness - self reflection

ARBs

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Case studies (blogs) and Testimonials page update

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Case studies (blogs) and Testimonials page update

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Cycles of inquiry - a new quest unit plan design. 

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Cycles of inquiry - a new quest unit plan design. 

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Weekly learning quests.

Mission. Questions. How to find out? How to present?

Reflect and repeat.

A unit plan might then only have one key word and some guiding questions for each week with a link library.

Teachers are filters and curators - we don't need to be pourers of knowledge (students are noe empty vessels) or lecturers.

What is 1080? What does that mean? Oh, hang on, I can find that out on my own. GOLDEN MOMENT.

Add CRAAP and Rauru Whakarere to it an multiple modes of presentation and you have yourself a winning formula.

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From cult to culture of learning (corporate learning example)

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From cult to culture of learning (corporate learning example)

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The time I transformed a professional learning module in a company.

Did you know that active learning saves time?

Did you know that it is more reliable as a way to showcase learning and offer formative feedback?

If they regurgitate the answers you tell them - it is a cult. There is no free thinking.

If you give them opportunities to come up with the answers in a real context. - it is a culture.

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Write the offerings letter for Principals

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Write the offerings letter for Principals

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Revisit Stratford High workbooks for other schools. Publish as separate e-books. 

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Revisit Stratford High workbooks for other schools. Publish as separate e-books. 

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Turn Brainbadge workshop suggestions into Hopscotch Play Spaces. 

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Turn Brainbadge workshop suggestions into Hopscotch Play Spaces. 

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1. LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM

2. LITERACY AT HOME supporting doc

3. AI - Optimising AI for planning and differentiation

4. Digital tools for agency and engagement

5. Gamification strategies in the classroom

6. Active learning - literacy across the curriculum

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Turn all ebooks into courses. Make them 50 dollar punt at better pedagogy. Affordable and followed up with optional coaching session. 

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Turn all ebooks into courses. Make them 50 dollar punt at better pedagogy. Affordable and followed up with optional coaching session. 

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Five ways to wellbeing - wellbeing resources for writing prompts

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Five ways to wellbeing - wellbeing resources for writing prompts

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These Working Well resources help workplaces prioritise mental health to ensure employees have improved wellbeing, greater morale and higher job satisfaction.

Enhancing mental wellbeing - Five Ways to Wellbeing at Work

These resources will support you to introduce mental health and wellbeing into your workplace and focus on promoting positive mental health, using five simple and proven actions. You'll learn about the Five Ways to Wellbeing (Connect, Be Active, Keep Learning, Give and Take Notice) and how to use them to create organisational/systems change and support people and teams to find balance, build resilience and boost mental health and wellbeing.

The fact sheets and worksheets provide you with the knowledge to frame and explore the issues within your workplace and plan your wellbeing initiative. The comprehensive Facilitator Guide and supporting PowerPoint slides and handouts enable you to deliver the workshop in your own organisation, or others you support. A Word version of some of the worksheets is included so you can tailor it to suit your workplace.

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These Working Well resources help workplaces prioritise mental health to ensure employees have improved wellbeing, greater morale and higher job satisfaction. These resources will support you to introduce mental health and wellbeing into your workplace and focus on promoting positive mental health, using five simple and proven actions.

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Add these artists to the VisArts artist model file

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Add these artists to the VisArts artist model file

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Ngahuia Harrison

Talia Smith

Fiona Pardington

Mark Adams

Bill Culbert

Rangi Kipa

Areta Wilkinson

Aimee Ratana

Jasmine Te Hira

Chase up Len Lye and Puke Ariki files to create some drawing resources or artist model inspo resources.

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Think like an artist - 100 workbook prompts for visual inquiry

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Think like an artist - 100 workbook prompts for visual inquiry

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Workshop Wonderful - 30 ways to transform your teaching game - white page

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Workshop Wonderful - 30 ways to transform your teaching game - white page

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Digital Histories  - digital activity ideas to support ANZHC

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Digital Histories  - digital activity ideas to support ANZHC

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What do thinking and learning look like, and under what conditions do they thrive? What is understanding and how does it develop?

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In the 'Build the MVP Canvas' activity, you'll explore a dynamic tool inspired by lean startup principles-the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Canvas. This visual chart empowers you to validate and refine product ideas systematically. It guides you through defining the MVP's proposal, personas, journeys, features, metrics, and schedule. Step by step, you'll understand each block, fill it with relevant information, and ensure alignment. Whether concluding a Lean Inception workshop or standalone, the MVP Canvas bridges ideas to action, turning concepts into customer-centric products.

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Five ways to wellbeing - wellbeing resources for writing prompts

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Five ways to wellbeing - wellbeing resources for writing prompts

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These Working Well resources help workplaces prioritise mental health to ensure employees have improved wellbeing, greater morale and higher job satisfaction.

Enhancing mental wellbeing - Five Ways to Wellbeing at Work

These resources will support you to introduce mental health and wellbeing into your workplace and focus on promoting positive mental health, using five simple and proven actions. You'll learn about the Five Ways to Wellbeing (Connect, Be Active, Keep Learning, Give and Take Notice) and how to use them to create organisational/systems change and support people and teams to find balance, build resilience and boost mental health and wellbeing.

The fact sheets and worksheets provide you with the knowledge to frame and explore the issues within your workplace and plan your wellbeing initiative. The comprehensive Facilitator Guide and supporting PowerPoint slides and handouts enable you to deliver the workshop in your own organisation, or others you support. A Word version of some of the worksheets is included so you can tailor it to suit your workplace.

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These Working Well resources help workplaces prioritise mental health to ensure employees have improved wellbeing, greater morale and higher job satisfaction. These resources will support you to introduce mental health and wellbeing into your workplace and focus on promoting positive mental health, using five simple and proven actions.

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National Council of English Teachers website

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National Council of English Teachers website

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The Secondary Section enhances the professional lives of English language arts educators and the quality of education of their students by providing multiple forums for significant dialogue on historical, current, and emerging topics of interest to secondary English language arts educators.

Featured Secondary Stories

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Featured Secondary Publications

2020 NCTE
Annual Convention

The NCTE Annual Convention is an opportunity to network with and learn from some of the brightest minds in the profession. Join us in November as Denver welcomes many authors, advocates, and literacy educators from across the country.

Learn More Register

English Journal

NCTE's award-winning journal provides ideas for English language arts teachers in junior and senior high schools and middle schools. It presents information on the teaching of writing and reading, literature, and language, and includes information on how teachers are putting the latest technologies to work in their classrooms.

Secondary Awards

Learn about these awards recognizing educators and journal articles and how you can nominate for them:

Leadership

The Secondary Section Steering Committee (SSSC) members are elected by the NCTE membership each year to a four-year term. The Chair is elected from within the SSSC to a two-year term and serves on the NCTE Executive Committee representing the interests of the secondary membership.

Engage NOW!

Explore these resources offering instructional strategies and immersive activities that facilitate research and critical thinking!

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE (ALAN) promotes communication and cooperation among all individuals who have a special interest in adolescent literature, presents programs and conferences on this subject, promotes and increases the number of articles and publications devoted to it and integrates the efforts of all those with an interest in this literature.

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The Secondary Section enhances the professional lives of English language arts educators and the quality of education of their students by providing multiple forums for significant dialogue on historical, current, and emerging topics of interest to secondary English language arts educators.

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In this lesson, students use a Discussion Web to engage in meaningful discussions. Students work in groups to answer the question, "Are people equal?," analyzing all sides of the response, forming a consensus, and presenting it to the class. Students then read "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

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Dialogic approaches to teaching and learning

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Dialogic approaches to teaching and learning

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In a webinar with The Education Hub, Dr Jacinta Oldehaver (University of Auckland) discussed her research into how utilising dialogic pedagogical approaches can positively support the engagement and learning of Pacific students, particularly in relation to literacy instruction, in English-medium schools. Here are some of the key ideas discussed in the webinar:
Dialogic approaches take students beyond low-level, closed-loop question-and-answer discussions, and support them to deepen their thinking, initiate questions, and engage with multiple perspectives. Traditional classroom approaches to discussion tend to be teacher-dominated and follow an 'Initiate-Response-Evaluation' (IRE) model, in which a teacher asks a question, a student responds, and the teacher provides an evaluation of that response by saying something like 'yes, that's correct'. Dialogic approaches move teachers and students beyond this model towards discussions that include both teacher-student and student-student talk, and involve active listening in order to respond to and build on what others have said. Some of the key characteristics of a dialogic approach include student-initiated questions, deep, extended thinking, the exploration of multiple perspectives, and the use of multiple, often multi-modal texts. One objective of a dialogic approach is to shift the locus of control from teachers to students, while maintaining the teacher's active involvement.

Dialogic approaches are built around the three Rs: rules, repertoire, and resources. Rules comprise a co-constructed set of norms and protocols that establish the students' roles and responsibilities in a dialogic discussion. It is important that both students and teachers are involved in designing these rules, and that teachers model them. Repertoire refers to the range of talk strategies and tools, including the talanoa framework, that students can employ in discussion, such as explaining their reasoning and using evidence to support their arguments. Resources describes the range of texts that are chosen to form the basis of or provocation for the discussion. It is important that these resources are deliberately chosen to be culturally relevant, extend on students' existing knowledge, and encourage deep thinking about a range of perspectives. It is also valuable to use multi-modal texts alongside each other, and to support students' engagement with the texts (for example, teachers may read aloud written texts that are above the reading level of students, to enable them to engage with the concepts without being hampered by the limits of their decoding ability. Digital tools can also be used students for whom English is a second or additional language).

Dialogic approaches align well with and can be adapted according to the talanoa framework of Tongan and other Pacific cultures. Jacinta has adapted the talanoa research methodology developed by Timote Vaioileti to develop a reconceptualised model for understanding and promoting dialogic approaches (the Pacific Dialogic Indicator Tool). The model depicts classroom talk as a continuum from monologic beginnings ('vave') to a deeply dialogic form of classroom discussion ('tālanga laukonga), and values the journey through the layers of the discussion as essential to developing and extending students' thinking. You can read more about this tool here.

Talanoa and dialogic teaching benefit all students because, when they are talking, they are thinking. Ensuring that the 'rules' have been effectively co-constructed by the class and modelled by the teacher ensures that the discussion is manageable in large groups. It also provides a mechanism to include the quieter students who are less likely to contribute to class discussions, while moderating and valuing the contribution of those who may tend to dominate. The norms and protocols for dialogic teaching also support all students to learn to actively listen to others, in order to extend and deepen the discussion. Dialogic teaching can be used with students of all ages, and indeed it is valuable to introduce these approaches from the first year of primary school, so that students develop and hone their skills throughout their years of schooling.

Recommended further reading
Alexander, R. (2020). A Dialogic Teaching Companion. Routledge.

Kim, M.Y., & Wilkinson, I. (2019). What is dialogic teaching? Constructing, deconstructing, an reconstructing a pedagogy of classroom talk. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 21, 70-86.

Oldehaver, J.L. (2018). Developing a 'culturally validated' dialogic indicator tool: A reconceptualised analytical framework using talanoa to code classroom talk. Waikato Journal of Education. 23(1), 15- 41.
Vaioleti, T. M. (2016). Talanoa research methodology: A developing position on Pacific research. Waikato Journal of Education, 12(1).

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Using dialogic approaches to deepen and extend students' thinking and learning - THE EDUCATION HUB

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Key insights from our webinar with Jacinta Olderhaver exploring dialogic approaches to teaching and learning.

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CAST is a multifaceted organization with a singular ambition: Bust the barriers to learning that millions of people experience every day. We do this by helping educators and organizations apply insights from the learning sciences and leading-edge practices to educational design and implementation.

Learn about our mission and vision

UDL-Con: International

This year, for the first time, CAST's Annual Symposium and the UDL-IRN Summit are joining forces to create the world's largest International UDL Convention.

Learn More

The UDL Awards 2024

In honor of our 40th Anniversary, CAST proudly presents the inaugural Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Awards, recognizing exemplary leaders and distinctive contributions that drive innovation and inclusivity in education.

Learn More

New Board of Directors Announcement

We welcome Karla Estrada, LaRon A. Scott, and Kristina Ishmael to the CAST Board of Directors! Their expertise and passion for equitable, inclusive education align perfectly with our mission.

Read More

Upcoming Learning Events

Search all learning events

PreK-12: Live Virtual Class

Learn the core concepts and foundations of UDL, practical applications of UDL to lesson design, and how to support flexible, inclusive instruction.

Monday, April 1 - Tuesday, April 2, 2024

PreK-12: Live Virtual Class

Designed for educators who have a handle on the UDL core concepts and are ready for the next step in their learning. Prerequisite: Introduction Explore Universal Design for Learning or Engagement, Motivation & Emotion in the UDL Classroom

Monday, April 8 - Tuesday, April 9, 2024

PreK-12: Instructor-Led Course

In this introductory online course for preK-12 educators, participants learn the research basis for UDL, practical applications of UDL to lesson design, and helpful technology tools that support flexible, inclusive instruction.

Monday, June 3 - Monday, September 9, 2024

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Find out more about CAST. We're busting barriers to learning, until learning has no limits®.

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What are taonga Māori?

According to Te Aka - the Māori dictionary, a taonga is a 'treasure, anything prized - applied to anything considered to be of value including socially or culturally valuable objects, resources, phenomenon, ideas and techniques'. This is a very broad definition. So for example te reo Māori language is considered a taonga, waiata | Māori songs are taonga, rongoā | Māori traditional medicine is a taonga etc.

In terms of the scope of this course, when thinking about Object-based learning, and the intersection with taonga Māori we are actually only focusing on one relatively small aspect of the broad concept of taonga, i.e. taonga in relation to physical objects or Māori artefacts, and in particular those items within museums. So the use of the term taonga Māori in this course needs to be understood in this context. It refers to physical objects and should be read as meaning Māori artefacts, and in particular, those that are within museum collections. However as you will see below, a Māori artefact, is never just simply a physical object!

Object-based learning is a western term and in many ways also a western concept in that it is based in part on the idea that objects are 'separate things', or things that can be separated from people and from one another. However, as already mentioned in the previous article, this notion of separation and individual objects being viewed in isolation from one another or from people is in contrast to a Māori worldview which understands all things as being connected, both to each other and to people.

Therefore rather than trying to create any artificial affiliation between the disparate concepts of Object-based learning and the cultural concept of taonga Māori it is more useful to think of them differently.

Legacy of Te Māori exhibition

Since the landmark Te Māori exhibition opened in New York in 1984, there has been a shift in museum practice wherein the concept of Mana Taonga, (introduced in the previous article) has been more widely embraced and enacted. The exhibition was a milestone in a Māori cultural renaissance and the first time Māori were actively involved in the process of exhibiting their taonga overseas:

'The management committee recommended that Māori accompany the exhibition as guardians, ensured Māori were trained as guides, and helped arrange a dawn ceremony to open the exhibition at The Met. This included traditional elements such as karanga (call) and karakia (prayer) familiar to the 90-strong New Zealand party of kaumātua (elders), cultural performers, carvers, weavers and officials'.

In light of the above definition of taonga Māori, and within this cultural context of prioritising Mana Taonga, this section of the course considers how we can teach and learn within museums through and with taonga Māori | Māori artefacts. It recognises that the various cultural meanings related to these artefacts and the various connections they represent are all essential aspects of any learning associated with them.

Mātauranga

Māori artefacts are more than physical objects. They cannot be reduced to being understood just as 'things' in the world. They are complex. They are connected. They are both tangible and intangible cultural markers. They are windows into the Māori world. They embody mātauranga | traditional Māori knowledge, wisdom and skill.

Mātauranga Māori is about a Māori way of being and engaging in the world - in its simplest form, it uses kawa | cultural practices and tikanga | cultural principles to critique, examine, analyse and understand the world. Mātauranga Māori is a dynamic and evolving system of knowledge used by tangata whenua | indigenous people of Aotearoa to explain, interpret and understand the world they live in.

Mātauranga | Māori knowledge is framed by whakapapa | genealogy and whanaungatanga | kinship relationships between all things. It is evidenced by Kōrero-ā-whānau | family histories, ā-hapū | sub-tribe histories, ā-iwi | tribal histories, Karakia | prayers, waiata | songs, and knowledge arising from generations of interactions with Te Ao Tū Tonu | the universe and Te Ao Tūroa | the natural world.

Taonga Māori can embody and transfer mātauranga | Māori knowledge. Taonga Māori are also usually made to be used, or worn, or touched etc. They have important symbolic and practical cultural roles to play in life. They are rarely made with the explicit intention that they will take up a 'sedentary life' within a museum collection.

Keeping taonga warm

Director of Audience and Insight at Te Papa Puawai Cairns (Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi) explains during this webinar the challenges she experienced when she worked as Mātauranga Māori curator at Te Papa. She describes the effect of pulling a taonga out of the circulation of life, acquiring it and placing it within a museum collection. 'You interrupt or pause the cultural life of an object'. She goes on to explain that usually when objects are collected they lay dormant and unused. She makes reference to an article by Mina McKenzie called A challenge to museums - keeping our taonga warm where Mina states:

'In Māori language, the word taonga describes both tangible and intangible elements of culture which are considered to be treasures handed down from the ancestors, in Māori language, tonga tuku iho. Māori believe that when the treasures are identified, recognised, guarded and thus connected to their people, the tangible object or special knowledge remains alive and therefore 'warm'. The so-called 'warmth' signifies that there is an unbroken thread between the people and their past, present and future. When the people are alienated from their taonga, the thread is broken and the taonga are 'cold'.

As part of the collection agreement she entered a clause which enables James and any of his whānau | family or future descendants to be able to continue to use it whenever they want or need to. She also commissioned a recording of a live performance where the karetao | puppet was being used by James, so that the authentic context of the artefact can be kept alongside the object itself for future generations to understand its intended use. This is one aspect of the principle of Mana Taonga being realised.

Careful consideration therefore needs to be given to the 'active life' or cultural role or purpose of any taonga Māori when teaching and learning with them.

Taonga embody mātauranga

The way taonga Māori embody mātauranga | Māori knowledge is also crucial to understand when learning about them.

Over the past two years Creative New Zealand has supported 35 initiatives led by Māori artists and practitioners to protect, cultivate and retain mātauranga Māori related to heritage. These projects include support for ngā toi | art of marae | Māori meeting houses, hapū | sub-tribes, iwi | tribes, whakapapa-based rōpū | genealogically-based groups and mātāwaka | kinship groups under the 'Toi Ake - Mātauranga Māori Te Awe Kōtuku' Fund.

As explained by Hāniko Te Kurapa from Creative New Zealand in this blog

Our partners such as Haumanu Collective have delivered a large programme of work to sustain knowledge of taonga pūoro composition, performance, the making of Māori musical instruments and their use in traditional healing'.

The importance of the relationship between taonga and mātauranga | Māori knowledge is at the heart of Nga Taonga Tuku Iho which is a recent series directed and produced by Kahu Kutia, and hosted by storyteller and taonga pūoro practitioner Khali Meari.

This series sheds light on continuing histories of Māori cultural artefacts. With the first episode, filmed at Te Papa, the series looks at some of the ways in which people might have become disconnected, and can reconnect with taonga in collections, and how contemporary Māori artists and crafts people can connect and learn from the mātauranga | Māori knowledge embedded in taonga. Kahu writes:

'For a long time, museums and archival institutions have been a place where our taonga have been locked away; disconnected from the places and people whose stories they tell. Often they are hidden away in private and public connections, slowly trying to find the right home again. And here we are, often desperate to have a relationship with these taonga, with our kōrero tuku iho. How can we gain access to our taonga, how can we breathe new life in these connections, and what do we dream of for the future of taonga care?'

Taonga are important embodiments of knowledge, and are a vital source of learning and inspiration for future generations. They provide a tangible connection with tipuna | ancestors. Learning about taonga contributes to our understanding of mātauranga Māori | Māori indigenous knowledge, and can give us insights into te ao Māori | the Māori world.

Tikanga

When teaching with taonga | Māori artefacts there are several Māori cultural concepts, customs and related protocols that we need to be mindful of.

Certain taonga may be tapu | sacred, prohibited or forbidden. As such contact with them may be restricted in order to keep people safe and depending on the artefact and its particular context they may not be appropriate for use in educational settings with tamariki | children.

Some taonga Māori require particular kawa | principals or tikanga | protocols to be followed. Certain people with the necessary knowledge, whakapapa | genealogy or mana | prestige will be able to attend to these protocols.

All taonga need to be cared for within the correct tikanga | cultural protocols that govern their existence as specified by the iwi | tribe they belong to. These protocols might include karakia | prayers.

Whakanoa

One example of a Māori tikanga | protocol which is sometimes provided space for within museums is the use of a whakanoa |tapu-removing water bowl. Whakanoa bowls are sometimes positioned near taonga Māori for people to use when they have been in close proximity to them. Such bowls, sometimes referred to as wairua bowls, allow people to cleanse themselves of the tapu | sacred restriction before re-entering the everyday world. A few drops of water splashed over the head enables people to become noa | free from tapu.

At Te Papa whakanoa bowls are positioned both within public gallery spaces for visitors and students to use, and also 'back of house' next to collection stores for staff and researchers who can access those areas to use. They way these water bowls are used is explained by Kate Camp head of communications at Te Papa, in an article for the NZ Herald:

'As we leave the storage area we wash our hands and sprinkle water over ourselves from a special basin set aside purely for that. The ritual, whakanoa, is a process you follow after entering a tapu, or sacred, space to make you are "unsacred" again, says head of communications Kate Camp. Water is provided outside exhibitions with stories and items associated with death, such as the Gallipoli exhibition'.

Whakapapa

Whakapapa | is a set of genealogical connections that confer rights to iwi | tribes to determine how their taonga are cared for within the principle of Mana Taonga.

Taonga Māori have a whakapapa | a set of genealogical connections with the people who created them, named them, and used/owned them. This concept relates to but is distinctly different from the idea of 'object biography' mentioned earlier in this course. When teaching with taonga it is important to understand as much as possible about any whakapapa | genealogical connections or relationships with taonga.

Depending on what has happened to a taonga, its full whakapapa | genealogical connections may or may not be known. For example in cases where items have been stolen, lost, confiscated, forcibly removed, etc. Taking a whakapapa approach to understanding history is the focus of this article about Dame Anne Salmond who describes whakapapa as 'the relationship lattice that lies beneath'

Whakapapa is very important in understanding a taonga's significance and meaning.

Mana

The concept of mana is deeply connected with taonga Māori. The concept of mana can be translated as prestige, authority, power or control. As Migoto Eria from Te Papa explains in this blog the concept of mana is very important in relation to Māori artefacts. For her the concept of mana has wide reaching implications, and it encompasses many aspects related to taonga including:

The importance of taonga

The tapu | sacred nature of taonga

The resonance of taonga

The spirituality of taonga

The profound nature of taonga

The influence of taonga

As such when learning about taonga Māori, the mana associated with each artefact needs to be recognised and understood.

Mauri

Artefacts embody mauri. Mauri | can be understood as an energy or life force. As explained in this article about wellbeing from He Paiaka Tōtara;

Mauri refers to the life force or the essence of life that binds together the body and spirit of a being or a thing. Mauri flows through all things, land, trees, birds, rivers, mountains, space and time, through to people - individually and collectively. Mauri is present in the relationships between living and natural things.

Therefore when learning about Māori artefacts, their mauri, energy or life force needs to be acknowledged and respected.

Protection of taonga

In Aotearoa New Zealand under the Protect Objects Act 1975, the Crown is responsible for the care and custody of newly-found taonga tūturu. Taonga tūturu are protected objects that whakapapa to Te Ao Māori and embody mana, tapu, and mauri. Taonga tūturu can take many forms, from 800-year-old waka to early twentieth-century weaving.

Manatū Taonga the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, on behalf of the Crown, engages with iwi and hapū, to create advice for long term ownership and custody to be recommended to the Māori Land Court. In the interim, Manatū Taonga also provides expertise and financial support to place iwi and hapū in control of how their taonga are looked after.

Understanding that all taonga are protected under this legislation is important to recognising their national cultural importance. This short video about the recent He Hononga Tangata, He Hononga Tīpuna: Awakairangi Waka Relocation, shows some protocols being enacted to ensure the protection and care of a recently re-discovered ancient taonga, the hull of a waka | canoe in Te Awakairangi, Lower Hutt near Wellington.

Pūrākau

Pūrākau stories, ancient myths and legends are an important vehicle for transferring mātauranga between people and between generations. Pūrākau are a central foundation of learning within te ao Māori | the Māori world.

Taonga Māori relate to pūrākau in different ways. Pūrākau may be depicted within a taonga such as whakairo | carvings, tukutuku | lattice work panels or kowhaiwhai | painted scroll patterns.

Alternatively taonga might feature as significant objects within pūrākau, such as kete | woven baskets, matau | fish hooks, or korowai | cloaks.

Sharing pūrākau depicted within taonga or those that are related to taonga can help to bring them to life for ākonga | students. Pūrākau can enable ākonga to make connections with Māori artefacts and understand some of the various contexts, people, places and concepts that they relate to.

Pātai

Some pātai | questions that might be useful to consider when teaching and learning with taonga Māori are:

What mātauranga | Māori knowledge can the taonga help us to understand?

What do we know or what can we find out about whakapapa | genealogical connections in relation to the artefact? Which tāngata | people, whānau | families, hapū | sub-tribes and iwi | tribes are connected with this taonga Māori?

How can we describe the mana | prestige, authority, power or control associated with the taonga Māori? How is the mana related to particular people and specific events?

How might we feel, understand and connect with its Mauri | energy or life force?

What Pūrākau stories, ancient myths and legends are associated with the taonga Māori?

What tikanga | protocols are associated with it?

In the next step, we hear from Kaiako Kaupapa Māori Natasha Hanara at Te Papa about what we can learn from taonga.
Extend your learning! To learn more about topics mentioned in this article, explore the links below:

Te Māori exhibition

Taonga Tuturu Ministry of Culture and Heritage

He Hononga Tangata, He Hononga Tīpuna: Awakairangi Waka Relocation

Protect Objects Act 1975

Blog by Migoto Eria from Te Papa about mana taonga

Article about a whakapapa approach to history featuring Dame Anne Salmond

New Zealand Herald article explaining whakanoa bowls

Article about Nga Taonga Tuku Iho

Episode of Nga Taonga Tuku Iho filmed at Te Papa

Webinar by Director of Audience and Insight at Te Papa, Puawai Cairns

Creative New Zealand

Toi Ake - Mātauranga Māori Te Awe Kōtuku Fund

Haumanu Collective
A challenge to museums - keeping our taonga warm

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How can we think about taonga Māori in relation to object based learning is questioned in this article by course educator Helen Lloyd

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Any product change, project plan, change management initiative requires assessment of and approach to working with stakeholders, a term we use to describe anyone who can impact a decision. Stakeholders often slow or block change; in other cases, they bust obstacles and accelerate progress. To increase your likelihood of success, check out this activity from visual thinker Yuri Mailshenko and identify your stakeholders to understand how they feel about your work.

Object of Play
The object of this game is to create an organizational map of your stakeholders. In some cases this may look like your org chart. In other cases situation and context will dictate a unique shape - likely familiar but undocumented. In addition to mapping stakeholders' organizational relationships, you'll also analyze their contextual disposition regarding your initiative.

Number of Players
5 - 15

Invite players from across your project's organizational spectrum to ensure thorough stakeholder mapping. Colleagues with experience from similar projects or relationships with suspected stakeholders may provide valuable information. Invite them, too!

Duration of Play
30-60 minutes

Material Required
Organizational Design Analysis works best on a whiteboard. Substitute a flip chart (or two) if necessary. To run a good session, you will need:

Dry-erase markers, we recommend using at least three colors (black, green, red)

Dry-erase marker eraser (or paper towels)

Sticky notes

Camera to capture the results

How to Play
Step 1: Map organizational structure

1. Invite your players to a five minute stakeholder brainstorm, ask: Who are our project stakeholders? Ask them to consider teams and individuals both inside and outside your org or company. Have players write one stakeholder per sticky note.

2. Once the brainstorm ends, have each player present their stakeholders by placing their sticky notes on a wall and provide to the group a brief description of their thinking.

3. With all the sticky notes on the wall, ask the group to organize them into a rough org chart. This needs only to be an imprecise draft.

4. With the sticky note draft org chart as your guide, create a cleaner version of the org using a whiteboard and dry-erase markers. Ask for a scribe to map the organisation top to bottom. When the scope is quite big (for example, you are mapping a large enterprise), map the parts of the org structure that are less relevant to the analysis with less detail, and vice versa.

5. To help with navigation, label all stakeholders.

6. Denote future parts of the organizations (ones that are missing at the moment but are important to be considered for potential impact).

7. Draw a border around the areas that are affected by the change/initiative or are in the focus of the analysis.

8. Your whiteboard map could now look something like these:

Drawing considerations:

Avoid using prepared artifacts like your company's official org chart. Create on-the-go with full engagement of the group.

Draw people. Draw a person as a circle and the upside down letter 'U'. A group of people could be just three persons put close to each other; avoid drawing departments and teams as boxes.

Many organizations are matrices of different kinds. Introducing an extra dimension might create visual clutter. Try to avoid that by either using a different style of a line (dotted or dashed lines) or a different color for a weaker organizational component.

Step 2: Add insight

1. Begin a group discussion with the goal of mapping stakeholder disposition and level of support regarding your initiative.

2. Discuss each stakeholder one-by-one, try to uncover:

1. Disposition towards the initiative: are they for, neutral or against? To what degree? Why?

2. Level of impact: how much influence will this stakeholder have? High, medium or low?

3. Relationship strength between stakeholders: who do they influence? who influences them? To what degree?

4. Participation energy level: high, medium or low?

5. If you are having difficulty dispositioning a particular stakeholder, move to the next one. Additional conversation may help you get unstuck and you can circle back to the troublemaker.

3. As you near consensus, draw your findings using tokens or icons. Discover what works best for you, some examples:

1. A green smiley face for a supportive stakeholder

2. A battery with one out of three bars charged for a low-energy stakeholder

3. A cloud overhead signals a confused stakeholder

Strategy
Org charts are quite unambiguous and offer little room for opinion. This exercise's value comes from mapping less obvious things like stakeholder influence, disposition and decision making power in relation to the initiative. Defined structures are rarely challenged but a necessary foundation. What is interesting is something that lies beyond the official org chart - people's attitude to the topic of discussion, their real power and influence. Players will share their opinions openly - and surprisingly!-in a safe, structured and collaborative setting.

Complementary Games
You understand who your stakeholders are and the org design dynamics facing your project, now what?

Who do - identify what you need from each of your stakeholders

Empathy Map - get inside their heads to understand their pains and gains

Understanding Chain - create the story your stakeholders need to hear to contribute to your success!

Source
Activity developed by Yuri Malishenko - visual thinker, agile coach, product owner

Activity titled by Stefan Wolpers - agile coach and ScrumMaster.

Object of play
Sometimes it can be difficult to keep a meeting on track when people have a hard time staying focused at the right level. People can find themselves "down in the weeds" or operational details when the meeting is supposed to be strategic, or, conversely, they can find themselves being too abstract and strategic when operational detail is exactly what's needed. You can use Altitude to agree on expectations and keep people focused at the right level to serve the goals of the meeting.

Number of players
Any number of people can play this game.

Duration: 5 minutes.

How to play
1. Create a chart like the one shown below.

2. Give everyone a sheet of paper. Ask, "Who knows how to make a paper airplane? and ask for a show of hands. If there are people who don't know how, either show them or ask someone at their table to do so. Now ask everyone to make a paper airplane. If time permits, you might offer them a chance to test their planes to make sure they fly.

3. Reveal the altitude chart, and ask the group to define what they mean by the satellite level, or the airplane level, and the ground level. For example, if people say that the satellite level is too high but the ground level is too detailed, ask them for examples of the kinds of things that they would consider at the right altitude. Then ask them for examples of things that would be too low or too high.

4. When you have reached some consensus on the right altitude level, put a mark on the page to represent the "right" altitude.

5. Now tell people that whenever they notice the conversation going too high (abstract, vague, strategic) or too low (down in the weeds, tactical, operational) they can float their airplane and that will be a signal to the group.

Strategy
Meetings often go off track when someone pulls conversations into the wrong "altitude." When this happens people often tune out, or even leave. In most meetings there is no simple, easy feedback mechanism people can use to keep the meeting on track. Giving people such a feedback mechanism (and making it fun) makes it easier for people to weigh in, keeping the meeting on track.
The Altitude game was created by Dave Gray

Object of play
The Hero's Journey Agenda is a unique and different way to lay out the agenda for a meeting or workshop that creates a sense of adventure and builds anticipation for the meeting.

Number of players
One, usually the facilitator, created live in front of a group.

Duration: 10-15 minutes.

How to play
I am going to give you a script here, based on the video above. But this exercise works best if you make it your own, using a story you love and that you feel your audience will be familiar with, like a favorite fairy tale or movie.

1. Draw a large circle on a whiteboard or flip chart. Tell people,

"This circle represents all the things we're going to do today. We're starting out up here (point to the top of the circle), and we're going to take a hero's journey."

If you have geeks in the room, can actually talk about it in terms of Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings, or another story you expect the group to be familiar with.

You can also say,

"Any story, any epic adventure follows this basic format. This is something that a guy named Joseph Campbell came up with. He wrote a book called The Hero Of A Thousand Faces, which you can look up. Basically, the hero's journey works like this. You begin in ordinary life. This is where everyone is coming into a meeting. We're actually in our ordinary lives right now, and we're going to do some special work and we're going to be moving outside of ordinary life."

2. Draw a stick figure at the top of the circle. Now say,

"The hero's journey basically has two big components to it. There is the known world, which are the things that we kind of already know, the regular work and so forth. There's the unknown, which are the things that we hope we will discover and explore during the course of this meeting."

Draw a wavy line to represent the boundary between the known and unknown.

"This is called the threshold. It's the threshold between the known and the unknown.

3. Now say,

"Here we are on the hero's journey. The first thing in the hero's journey is the call to adventure. That is where we talk about things like: What are we going to do? What's the work that we're going to do? Why is it important? What brings us to this point?"

Write "The Call" at around 1 o'clock on the circle, and talk about the purpose of the meeting. You may want to ask people why they came and what their expectations are.

4. Now draw a couple of stick figures at around 2 o'clock, and say,

"You're going to find in the beginning of any story, you're going to find the helpers and the mentors. You've got, whether it's Dumbledore or Gandalf or Obi Wan, whoever that character is, the droids, the characters that are going to help you. These are the characters that are going to help you find your way."

Helpers can be things like teaching people how to use sticky notes in a certain way. There are a lot of Gamestorming tools in this category. We call them openers. So you can tell people "We're going to meet our helpers and mentors." Those helpers might be tools, or people, experts that we might bring in. It could be a keynote speaker.

5. Next you will talk about crossing the threshold between the known and the unknown.

"Now, where we cross the threshold, that's usually a good time for a coffee break. It's the end of the morning, coffee or tea, depending on what country you're in. Maybe both. We're going to have a break."

You can draw a coffee cup or a teacup here.

6. Now say,

"Next, we're going to start getting into the trials and tribulations. We call this problems and pitfalls. It's the part of the journey where you're exploring the problem space."

There may be all kinds of activities or things that you're going to do here. You might be brainstorming, you might be working stuff out, might be drawing a map of the system. There are a bunch of things that you can do to explore this problem space. In a story, you're going to find all kinds of challenges: you have to climb the mountain, you have to fight the trolls, all the things that have to happen to move the story forward.

Write the words "Problems and pitfalls," and draw some explosions here, or barbed wire, or something representing problems and pitfalls, at 4 and 5 o'clock on your circle.

7. Now write the word "Pit" and draw a pit at the bottom of the circle. The pit, in a day long meeting, might be lunchtime.

"Every story has its pit. The belly of the whale, the cave. I just call this the pit. We've hit the bottom. This can be a tough space to be, because we've just opened up all these problem spaces and issues and things that we have to deal with. It may feel like we're never going to get home. The pit is also the place here Bilbo Baggins finds the ring. It's the place where the deep reflection, the real powerful learning can also happen. Over lunch might be a good time to explore what is down here in the pit. What are we feeling like? What are the emotions?"

8. Now write "Powers" and draw some stars, or a superhero stick figure with a cape, something that represents powers, around 7 or 8 o'clock, and say,

"We come out of the pit after lunch and we're creating new powers. We're solving problems. We've learned how to use the force. We're now solving problems, we're creating solutions, we're working on things together. These kind of tools we might be using here would be customer experience map, service blueprint, we might be designing, we might be prototyping a product. This is where we're actually getting cool results out of the meeting, but we still have to take that back to work."

9. Now write "The return" at around 10 o'clock, and say,

"That's part of the hero's journey, too, the return to ordinary life. We have to go back and cross the threshold again. This time is all about those powers that you're bringing back. We want to come back to the workplace with gifts. Think, new ideas, new thoughts. We want to spend some time thinking about, "How do we take this back to work?"

This is the part of the meeting where you make some time for the group to think together about how they are going to bring the new ideas from the meeting back into the organization. What am I going to do in my next meeting? How am I going to explain this to my team? You might actually work on the PowerPoint together or work on some documents that are about sharing what you actually did during the meeting.

10. At this point you can close the exercise by asking people if they have any thoughts and additions before you proceed with the meeting.

Here is an example of a completed agenda:

Strategy
This is a very powerful way to set up an agenda for a relatively large scale session of work. Spend some time upfront on this. Draw it out and talk through it with key stakeholders, either before the meeting or at the beginning of the meeting. It is also a good litmus test to help you think through the goals of your meeting. If you can't answer questions like, "What's the call to adventure? What are the problems we want to explore? What are the things that we want to find? What are the things that we want to bring back to work?" and if you can't sort of think these through at the beginning of a meeting, then it's legitimate to ask yourself, should we really have this meeting?

The Hero's Journey Agenda seems to work really well, not only for designing the agenda but for making sure you have all the major bases covered and creating positive energy and enthusiasm for the whole endeavor.
The Hero's Journey Agenda was created by Dave Gray. It was inspired by The Hero's Journey, popularized by Joseph Campbell, and the Pie Chart Agenda, which comes from James Macanufo, co-author of Gamestorming.

by Dave Gray

Squiggle birds is a quick exercise that you can use to get people stretching their visual thinking muscles. It takes about five minutes and quickly, clearly demonstrates how little effort is really required to make meaningful, easy-to-read images. The main point of the demonstration is that our minds are already pattern-making machines, and very little drawing is actually required to convey an idea. The mind will fill in the rest.

I learned this exercise from my friend Chris Glynn, a fine teacher who teaches fine things.

Object of play
You can use the Draw Toast exercise to introduce people to the concepts of visual thinking, working memory, mental models and/or systems thinking. This also works as a nice warm-up exercise to get people engaged with each other and thinking visually. Plus, it's fun!

Number of players
Any number of people can play this game.

Duration: 10-15 minutes.

How to play
On paper or index cards, ask people to draw "How to make toast."

After a couple of minutes, ask people to share their diagrams with each other and discuss the similarities and differences. Ask people to share any observations or insights they have about the various drawings. You are likely to hear comments about the relative simplicity or complexity of the drawings, whether they have people in them, how technical they are, how similar or different they are, and so on.

Depending on why you are doing the exercise you may want to point out the following:

Note that althought the drawings are all different, they are all fundamentally correct. There are many ways to visualize information and they all enrich understanding rather than being "right" or "wrong."

Although the drawings are different in content, they tend to be similar in structure. That is, most drawings of mental models tend to contain three to seven elements, connected by lines or arrows.

Strategy
The main point of this exercise is to demonstrate the power of visual thinking to represent information.

Object of Play
This game has been designed to help set the right culture in a group of people and help build mutual trust. It will empower all participants to act upon the results of this game.

Number of Players: Up to 30

Duration of Play: +/-30min
How to Play

1. You write down the words "Meaningful" and "Pleasant" in the middle of a flip-chart or whiteboard.

2. You aks everybody in the group to shout out what they believe is necessary to make sure this meeting or workshop will be meaningful and pleasant.

3. As participants are providing thoughts and ideas, you record the information given in a mind-map structure.
Note: Preferably by using images instead of words.

4. Quickly pass by each of the ideas recorded and make sure everybody has the same understanding of the idea at hand. If necessary adjust the item to avoid misunderstanding. = Values within the group.

5. Now go back to the first item addressed and ask the participants how they believe would be a good way to make sure this idea is carried out during the meeting or workshop. Record the items attached to the given value addressed. = Actions.

6. End the game with pointing out that this code of conduct that the group just created needs to be upheld by everyone. Every participant has the responsibility to make sure everybody in the group respects this code. = working agreement.

7. Optionally: You could ask people if they want to take ownership of one of the actions registered.
Note: Be aware that this may cause a typical human reaction from the others: "It is this persons problem to monitor, not mine anymore".

Strategy
Make sure everybody contributes to the making of the mind-map. If you believe the group is not strong or comfortable enough for this, you could substitute the shouting of ideas by letting everyone write down their ideas in silence combined with an affinity map to achieve similar results that can be recorded in the mind-map. It will take some time to create this shared code of conduct but it will help groups of people where there is little to no trust and openness to break through the initial barriers.

Source
This post was originally authored by Jonan Tré and the source is unknown.

Object of Play
Ideal activity for flex points in a gathering (the beginning, when coming back from lunch, at the end of the day). Give everyone at a gathering an opportunity to "get there" mentally by engaging with the purpose/subject. Give everyone a significant amount of "air time" so that everyone's voice is in the conversation (no matter how many participants, everyone 5-10 minutes). Energize participants and get oxygen to the brain by standing and moving physically).
Number of Players
Unlimited. This activity "scales" really well from a minimum of around 12 to thousands.
Duration of Play
20 minutes
How to Play
1. Invite everyone to leave their "stuff" and move to an open space in the room where everyone can stand and there's room to move around.

2. Pose a juicy question that is directly related to the purpose of the gathering.

3. Ask everyone to reflect on the question silently for a full minute

4. Explain the simple rules;

- When you hear the chimes, find a partner (someone you know less well than others is more interesting). If you're looking for a partner put your hand in the air so someone else who needs a partner can find you easily.

- Have a 5 minute conversation about the question.

- When the chimes ring again, find a new partner (remember the hand up trick) and have another conversation.

- When the chimes ring continuously, stop and find out what happens next.

5. Three 'rounds' of the process are usually good.

6. At this point, there are many possible variations for a next move. Two possibilities: (1) Invite everyone to sit back down and start the next part of the gathering. (2) Invite partners to hook up with one or two other pairs and sit down in a knee-to-knee circle and talk about what struck them about the conversations.
Strategy
Debrief this process in addition to harvesting the content from the discussions Invite participants to reflect on what it was like to have the conversation using this process. Things they might notice include: How starting a meeting standing up builds rather than drains energy, how having several iterations of the same conversation with different partners changes understanding, and how questions open up more space for creative thinking than presentations. The goal is to introduce participants to the pattern language of these generative processes.

Source: Shared by Lisa Kimball of Group Jazz.

by Dave Gray

At the recent Design Jam Oxford I was introduced to the Gamestorming book and have been pretty much obsessed with it ever since. Given the slightest opportunity I have been putting its ideas to use and one fantastic success was at a recent event in Nottingham in the UK.

We are a group of artists called Livescribes and we have only just launched ourselves into the world of Visual Thinking, Graphic Recording and Graphic Facilitation. When you begin a new venture - I quit my regular 9-5 web job to do this - you never quite know what might happen. The first event we were due to attend as Livescribes was called 'Show Off' at Antenna in Nottingham.

Antenna is a studio and office space for creatives based in and around Nottingham. We decided one thing we wanted to do to show the people there we do things differently was to instigate the 'Low Tech Social Network' straight out of the Gamestorming playbook (page 105). We would ask people to take a Post-It, draw themselves, write two things about themselves on it and 'upload' themselves to our piece of paper.

The event had businesses associated with Antenna as well as visitors all with stands showing their wares in a large, and very nice, bar area which forms the main networking spot within the building (it does coffee and beer). We unfurled a giant piece of paper and masking taped it to a large wall on a slightly raised area in the bar area. And after politely negotiating with some hairdressers to move their stand so we could be seen awaited the first arrivals.

As it was the hairdressers next to us became our first additions to the social network. We even drew a cartoon of them cutting hair. They went from a bit put out at moving to our new friends. Already the power of the social network was having an effect. We got everyone we could to 'upload' themselves and draw connections to other people. You can have a look at the final result on our site here (I have used the cloud zoom JQUERY plugin to create that effect incase you're interested).

We managed to collar nearly everyone who walked into the room over the course of the day. Not only is this an excellent ice breaker its a fantastic way to get talking to potential clients at an event like this. Once the penny dropped that we were not trying to get their credit card details for some 'New Facebook' people smiled, grabbed a sharpie and connected. And once the network had grown into a significantly large collective artwork it became one of the main draws of the event.

My favourite moment was when I accosted a thin slightly stressed individual who was inspecting the work. After giving him the spiel and placing a Post-It and pen in his hand he got to it. Although one odd thing that struck me was, as I was speaking, he looked over my shoulder and made that sort of 'no it's ok' hand gesture to someone. As the gentleman uploaded I noticed he wrote 'politician' on his Post-It, I looked around to see a coterie of sharp suited business delegates and political types holding clip boards and a few photographers all looking at us. It turned out I had button holed the head of Nottingham City Council. When he asked me how he should cut £20m from the city budget I immediately thought of the 'Anti Problem' Gamestorming session and was about to suggest we figured out how to spend £20m and then not do that - but he was whisked away by his army of followers before I could get him to a flip chart.

My tips are for this are: it's a highly effective ice breaker, a great way to get talking to people and it can run all day. Get a massive bit of paper to do it if you can, people like the tactile nature of it. And over the course of the day we only met one person who didn't want to do it, so we drew one for him. I wonder if you can guess who...

Object of Play
What's the difference between a business meeting and a conversation at a café? The World Café is a method for improving large-group discussion by borrowing concepts from the informal "café" conversations that we have all the time: round tables, cross pollinating ideas, and pursuing questions that matter.

As a conversational process, the World Café may take on many forms. Here is a "quick start" flow to consider, which focuses on the basics.
Number of Players
24-30 participants in groups of 4-5 at round tables
Duration of Play
1.5 hours
Setup
As the leader, you will need to find the "questions that matter" which will guide the rounds of discussion. A powerful question will be evocative and simple; it should be immediately tangible and relevant to a challenge the group faces. The group may focus on one question or move through a group of subsequent questions. For example, "How might we start having more real conversations with our customers?" may be enough to sustain three rounds of discussion.

Develop your questions that matter, and then focus on creating an inviting and hospitable environment for the event. This may not be an easy task in typical conference spaces. Some things to keep in mind include the fact that round tables are better for conversation than square tables, and each table should be equipped with drawing supplies such as markers, flip charts, and/or paper tablecloths.
How to Play
The event consists of three 20-minute rounds of group discussion at tables, followed by a group synthesis. After each round, one person stays behind to serve as a "host" of the next round, while the rest travel to other tables as "ambassadors." In this sense, participants have a chance to go "around the world" and bring their ideas with them from table to table.

During the rounds of discussion, encourage participants to link ideas from one round to the next.

Here are some things to consider:

Spend the first few minutes talking about the last conversation. The "host" can present ideas left at the table, and the "ambassadors" should talk about what they've brought from their respective places.

Leave evidence. Draw key ideas out on the table. For the next group to appreciate the previous conversation, they will need some artifacts to respond to and build on.

Connect diverse viewpoints and respect contributions. If needed, use a "talking stick" or button to manage each other's input.

Look for patterns. By the second and third rounds, themes and larger patterns will emerge in the discussion. Encourage participants to look for these and make them evident by drawing or writing them toward the middle of the tables.

After the last round, it's time for a town hall discussion to synthesize what the groups have discovered. Referring back to the questions that matter, ask what the answers were at the different tables, and how they are connected.
A community of practitioners maintains the evolving methodology, process, history, and design principles at www.theworldcafe.com.

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Games for opening Archives - Gamestorming

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Any product change, project plan, change management initiative requires assessment of and approach to working with stakeholders, a term we use to describe anyone who can impact a decision. Stakeholders often slow or block change; in other cases, they bust obstacles and accelerate progress.