Flipping Meetings!!

Long time, no see.

I have been reading a few discussions in LinkedIn and I bumped into one about Flipping The Meeting Place ... as opposed to the Classroom.

One or two of us agreed that meetings weren't always productive; one suggested we adopt a Japanese approach and 'stand up' during meetings, etc.

This was my small contribution.  In particular, watch the TED video at the end.  There's a lot to be learned here.

You're (we're) right. Despite how we are trying to change how learning environments look, behave, interact, etc too many of us still insist on 'traditional meetings' (and yes, I too don't alway get to a meeting and know what the agenda is. I've even been to meetings where the agenda was published but, despite over an hour of discussion, not one item of the agenda was discussed! Anyway...)

In my last two schools, I was/am the leader of some form of 'IT Group' (call it what you like: steering committee, tech team, whatever). In both groups, I introduced a cloud space (Google Sites, in fact, in both cases). Although the structure of each is different, the principle remains the same: We can meet anytime, anywhere ... asynchronously! Equally, importantly, the discussion points we make, the edits, the content all become 'the minutes', without anyone having to go back and type them up.

My point is: even with this online tool/service, there is an expectation that we should meet regularly, face-to-face. Yes, we are sociable beasts and this is great; but how many meetings have you been to where they start at X o'clock and finish 90 minutes later? How can all these meetings last exactly 90 minutes? Every week!? (Although that also begs another educational argument: How can/Why should all students be simultaneously hungry at noon, or all have 'fun' for 30 minutes at the same time during recess/break-time).

I digress. I do intend to get the group together, but not necessarily every month. And maybe I'll try the Japanese approach discussed :)

Finally, has anyone seen this TED Talk video? It's 15 minutes longhttp://www.ted.com/talks/jason_fried_why_work_doesn_t_happen_at_work.html

Be good.  Be great.