Junto

1. Rules of Engagement

2. Comparative Existing Tools (reputation, video, mindmapping)

Potential Issues

• Need a way to tune out unwanted stalkers, though. (CoCreatr)

----> Best way to tune out stalkers would make it invitation only and have it validate with twitter user IDs. Easy peasy  (Gabriel Shalom)

• I hope the solution won’t rely on video, though, because it makes scanning content and interlinking ideas so darn hard.  (Henry Copeland)

----> Tags applied to the individual juntos would let you ’scan’ the content. Links CAN in fact be applied to video (someone would need to edit in references in post-production for “complete” juntos). Video is the most attention-holding format, as people drift away from long-form reading. (Erica)

----> I hope it DOES rely on video, so that video will evolve and become the multidimensional proto-holographic medium it can be, with all the attendant metadata it is presently missing. YouTube’s beta automatic transcription service is a step in the right direction; Adobe’s (and many other independent university’s) research into seam-carving will also help.

See also: http://quantumcinema.blogspot.com/2009/09/rubric-for-open-source-cinema-beta.html (Gabriel Shalom)

•  I foresee some problems that might arise as the number of Juntos increases, but maybe it would be simple to fix that by retrieving search results by a number of “listeners” order. (Nuno Raphael Revao)
• I also am a bit sceptic about the two-people-dialogue model although I understand that it is so for a more easy to follow dialogue, I still think it is too limited this way even with the backchannel output. (Nuno Raphael Revao)

Potential Uses

• I would think if this works it might provide another model for education in some of our High Schools in the States. (Michael Josefowicz)
• Also, villages in poor regions of the world are moving to attract work-study projects via the net — such as transcribing short audio/video clips, tagging Tweets, or creating Mindmaps and other visuals on topics that relate to their education. (Openworld)
• Once established, the Junto format could be adopted as a standard by BloggingHeads and any number of issue-oriented think tanks and organizations. (Openworld)

   

Other Feedback

• Essentially a digital version of a marketplace. Or a party. .. And the public marketplace imposes discipline and enables participation. skype conference call in parallel with a google wave gets close (CoCreatr)
•  I foresee some problems that might arise as the number of Juntos increases, but maybe it would be simple to fix that by retrieving search results by a number of “listeners” order. (Nuno Raphael Revao)
• I also am a bit sceptic about the two-people-dialogue model although I understand that it is so for a more easy to follow dialogue, I still think it is too limited this way even with the backchannel output. (Nuno Raphael Revao)

Other Suggested Features

• Mindmapping Capability: Here’s an example of a Mindmap created from Tweets generated in a recent TEDxAmsterdam event – http://www.mindmeister.com/35428817 Perhaps mindmaps also can be built from EBD Junto conversations? That way, anyone who misses the live conversations could later explore the issues. (Openworld)

               --->Simultaneous mapping alongside the exchange in addition to twitter backchannel would be brilliant; could appeal to an entire other group of spectators; those who like mapping connections and visualizing relationships (like our friend @notthisbody ) Would be amazing to incorporate something more sophisticated (like Compendium) to allow multidimensional concept mapping. See:http://compendium.open.ac.uk/institute/ (Gabriel Shalom)

               ---> Concept and dialogue mapping can offer a concise and efficient way to view the “plateaus” of Juntos, as well as mapping across Junto sessions, without huge time involvement on the part of those who’d like to access the information within. You can also start to map the progress of the Junto and interrelations between the different sessions. (NotThisBody)

               ---> You may also want to create a mindmap for each of your blogs that can be built upon and used for future reference. The information you are presenting needs to be captured in real time and stored for reference. I’d like to see a software that is capable of doing that, capturing blogs and comments with links into a mindmap. (Spiro Spiliadis)

• Volunteers and work-study teams (mentioned in an earlier comment) could also build Debategraph.org sites for extending issues discussion and consensus building after the Junto events. (Openworld)
• I think the critical thing to strive towards (long term, say in 2-3 years) is multiple simultaneous nodal connections with realtime timecoded searchable transcriptions. This way you could search Google and return live video conversation search results, much in the same way that presently you can return tweets in search results. This is ambitious but not impossible or unlikely given Google’s present research into speech-to-text technology. 
• If there is any way to increase the number of nodes in the proposed dialogue model, it may help. (correlationist)

Video Software

• I love this idea. Looking around, BigBlueButton looks like an open-source video conferencing solution that meets the needs. 1VideoConference, another open-source solution might work as well, though at a glance it appears not as fitting. (Cole Tucker)
•  tinychat (Dean Pomerleau)
• video tweets: 12 seconds TV
• interview side-by side: wetoku 

   

Transcription, Curation, Immediation

Once the Junto agrees and announces a topic  (compare Open Space) , the goal is to connect the collaborators, to let them comfortably talk and chat within the given timeframe. Viewers or back channel are optional - collaborators decide whether they want to share live, or later; whether back channel is visible to themselves, to others or not at all. We respect informational self-determinism.

In an unrecorded prototype Junto session on 2010-03-25 using skype , two collaborators imagined a prototype process like this:

1. provide a safe space and time (virtually) 
2. connect up, check technology functions
3. record the session,  video, audio, chat or other screen
4. debate the topic until designated or open end time 
5. save the recordings
6. transcribe, with linked time code (e.g. TED Style)
7. refine transcript, tag
8. test, release
9. share 

In the early phases, leave the curation for later. As experience grows, backchannel contributors can begin transcription. With growing proficiency, aim to get closer to real-time transcription. When tools become available fora step, e.g. time-coded transcription, automate that, validate by experienced collaborators, then get that part of the process out of the way.

Keep aiming to remove time from the overall transcription and curation process. Get ever closer to real-time until people feel comfortable to call it immediation (Gabriel Shalom offered this word).

Four or five persons appear to be a good intital team for remote Junto. Two in spirited discourse, the others act as willing and able "secretaries" on backchannnel.  Between sessions, agree how to rotate roles so everyone gains experience.

Transcription, Curation Tool Candidates

• Google Wave
• Atlassian Confluence  wiki

Wikis in Plain English