![]() I suggest taking 2-3 minutes and set up a sandbox to practice. We often call this a “sandbox.” If folks get frustrated or don’t understand the technology, they’re more likely to leave the online event. Give people a space to play and learn new tools. (Tip: if using MURAL, make sure that the titles aren’t covered up by other objects being moved around)Īt a giant conference, assume that some percent of people will be new to breakouts and also to new collaboration tools. The tech host needs to copy that information very quickly into the Zoom breakout rooms. In the Marketplace, make sure that the tech host can clearly see the short title of the session.We encourage clarification out loud for any topics that need elaboration, and allow folks who felt more comfortable pitching their topic out loud to do so. With 250-300 people, encourage a short written description of the topic in MURAL. It would be better to be able to speak to the topics out loud, though. With this many people, we didn’t have time to pitch topics out loud as well as in writing. Usually an Open Space has 1-minute pitches.Never underestimate what a user experience might be! None of that was part of the plan, and a friend spent 20 minutes deleting blank post its. Even though almost everything on the MURAL template was locked down, people created dozens of blank post-it notes, miscellaneous unicorn photos popped up, and people annotated the canvas using doodles.Folks who were new to MURAL asked if MURAL was how we’d get into the Open Space breakout and tried to click on parts of the MURAL to see if they could get into the breakout group.What I noticed about co-creating the agenda using MURAL: You need a place where people can pitch a topic, identify who’s going to host it, and participants to sign up to join in. This is a good time to check out the resources on how to run Open Space, if you’re new to the instructions for this part. Online, you can use Zoom plus a collaboration writing tool (Google slides, MURAL, etc). In face to face, we use big pieces of paper taped to a board, and it’s called the Marketplace. Open Space is about co-creating an agenda. But MURAL has a bigger workspace, and looks visually more interesting.Ĭo-Creating the Agenda: “the Marketplace” Google slides or a google doc is lower-tech and a bit easier because people are more familiar with those tools. Then, we asked people to move over to the collaboration tool for writing. I shared a small powerpoint to share some resources about what the process was going to be. We began in Zoom for the instructions and the opening circle. You’ll use Zoom for discussions, and you’ll need an online tool for getting organized, co-creating the agenda, and and note-taking. Have a group facilitator (or two), have a tech host who is moderate-to-experienced using Zoom including breakout rooms, and it’s a good idea to have an additional person monitoring the chat in some way. (Talk to us if you’re looking for some extra Zoom Tech Hosting.) And if you’re curious about how it works online, Amanda Fenton has written an excellent how-to guide for OST using Zoom. Her document is a step-by-step guide to Zoom and OST.įirst, you absolutely need to have at least two people to run an effective Open Space online. Great resources exist on what is Open Space Technology, including this collection by Chris Corrigan.Start here if you’re new. And even though we’re having an online conference – the conference committee wanted to bring that emergent energy to our online event. We like to ask: “What’s the conversation you need to have, now?”Ĭonferences are often about these in between spaces, these important conversations that happen in the hallways, or spontaneously – or what might develop because we take the time to eat french fries in the restaurant afterwards. Open Space is a highly participatory facilitation process – usually for face to face meetings, but it’s definitely possible online – that allows everyone to decide, then participate in the sessions that interest them. ![]() We all deserve to have conversations that matter. We all need tools for meetings that centre inclusion and belonging. Here are some reflections on this facilitation process and what I’ll do differently next time. It worked online and it’s totally worth it. That’s self-evident when we’re face to face, but in Zoom it takes a hack, and extra steps. And one of the important features of Open Space is the ability to move as you wish between conversations. Open Space allows the group – of any size- to create the agenda together, quickly. Recently, I ran my first online Open Space Technology using Zoom for 250+ people. September 2020 update: Zoom is going to enable participants to self-select breakout rooms if everyone has the most recent Zoom!
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