Insights from the Science and Public Leadership Fellows Program

At the PopTech Science and Public Leadership Fellows retreat at National Geographic headquarters earlier this month, the program’s faculty provided key insights to help equip the 2011 Fellows with enhanced leadership, collaboration and communication skills.

Member of this group are high-potential early- and mid-career scientists working in areas of critical importance to the nation and the planet. They represent a corps of highly visible and socially engaged scientific leaders who embody science as an essential way of thinking, discovering, understanding and deciding.

Jeff Nesbit, Dennis Dimick and Lisa Witter on storytelling

For a taste of their ideas, have a look at...

1. Graphic Record produced by Alphachimp: http://bit.ly/PopTechSciFellows11scribe
2. The Full Story on the PopTech blog: http://bit.ly/PopTechSciFellows11
3. Video of 2010 Science Fellows at: http://poptech.org/sciencefellows/

Registration for Becoming a Rockstar Scribe opens Aug. 1st

We have gotten so many great questions, sweet notes of support, tweets, and best of all... over 100 people are participating in our current class:

       Become a Rockstar Scribe at School or Work
      http://learntoscribe.com

At first, we thought that this would appeal mostly to passionate educators, students, and facilitators who don't necessarily think of themselves as artistic, but who want to incorporate visual learning into their work.

We have been honored (and bit intimidated) to see veteran graphic recorders and guru facilitators joining as well!

This is truly a global classroom: Students from the UK, Belgium, Singapore, Ecuador, Australia, New Zealand and all over North America have jumped on board. There have been some great questions and we will do my best to answer them all.

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QUESTION #1: WHAT TIME ARE CLASSES AND WILL I BE ABLE TO WORK THEM INTO MY HECTIC SCHEDULE?

The main question has involved the class format. So, to be clear, this is a self-paced set of video modules. Once you register, you receive one module every seven days.

The course is divided into six modules, one per week. But don’t worry!

There is no set schedule to view or complete any of the assignments. This is built for your personal development. Work at your own pace.  Each module builds upon the previous section and supported by videos, references, suggested reading, and PDF documents.

You can review videos and materials at anytime, day or night, on your laptop, iPhone, iPad or web-enabled device.

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QUESTION #2: HOW MANY SLOTS ARE AVAILABLE?

Our goal is to have the community be large enough to generate some real  energy and vibrancy, but manageable enough to actually get to know people and interact.

We currently have 99 people signed up on the waiting list, and fully expect to sell out once registration *officially* opens on Aug.1st. (For folks on the waiting list, we will open registration towards the end of July.)

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QUESTION #3: HOW MUCH DOES IT COST AND WHAT DO I GET?

First off, before Aug.1st, students will save $200 on the course. That is close to 40% off! Afterwards, the price will be $497.

Second, you will have access to awesome video tutorials packed with techniques, tips, tricks, and technology to kick-start your Rockstar Scribe status.

Third, those who have signed up are already sharing their hopes, dreams, and artwork in the Rockstar Trailer, a platform for uploading photos and  videos as we go through this creative journey together. So, this is truly interactive and, er, dare I say,... fun!

Finally, there are some pretty deep discounts available for groups of 5 or more, so bringing along friends and colleagues with pay off.

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QUESTION #4: WHERE DO I SIGN UP?

Funny you should ask...

       Become a Rockstar Scribe at School or Work
       http://learntoscribe.com

Hope to see you in our August class!

Videoblogging at the 15th Annual International Forum of Visual Practitioners

via flickr.com

LIVE from the Bay Area in California, and armed with a spanking new Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera, I have had a blast being both participant and videoblogger for this tribal gathering of scribes. 

Check out the results on http://www.graphicfacilitation.com!

Interested in learning more about IFVP... not to mention the 2011 conference in Hawaii(!)... then visit ifvp.org.

(Thanks CoBrandit, for tips on videoblogging conferences!) 

The Electric Scribe

The Electric Scribe from Alphachimp Studio Inc. on Vimeo.

Alphachimp Studio collaborated with a team of adventuresome creative partners to pull off live, electric scribing -- plus a trippy light show -- for 300 guests. This behind-the-scenes look at the show is set to wicked peppy music by Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six.

FULL DISCLOSURE: We can't take credit for any of the incredible staging or brilliant technology... just showed up with a trusty MacBookPro, a Wacom tablet and a belly full of butterflies!

Remote Graphic Capture for Vanderbilt Center for Teaching

Mind map created remotely from Dallas and projected live in Nashville during the workshop.

This workshop for university faculty and staff featured many tools for physical and virtual facilitators and educators, including remote graphic capture and presentation on group  facilitation and graphic recording by Alphachimp Studio Inc.

From the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching (CFT):

Our brains are wired to rapidly make sense of and remember visual input. Visualizations in the form of diagrams, charts, drawings, pictures, and a variety of other ways can help students understand complex information. A well-designed visual image can yield a much more powerful and memorable learning experience than a mere verbal or textual description.

On Wednesday, March 17th the CFT hosted  Show and Tell: Integrating Visual Thinking in Your Teaching in order to begin dialogue about how we might tap into our students’ ability to think visually when teaching.

To see the results and access the list of visual methods, tools, books and resources from the workshop, visit: http://bit.ly/viz-teach

Alphachimp @ Pop!Tech

Peter Durand from Alphachimp @ Pop!Tech from Poptech on Vimeo. Peter Durand from Alphachimp illustrates Stephen Badylak's lecture on regenerative medicine. From Pop!Tech Blogger Michelle Riggen-Ransom:

If you’re with us in Maine, you’ve probably noticed the colorful illustrations hanging on the walls of the third floor break room. If you’re not, you can take a look at them here.

These illustrations are the work of artist Peter Durand of Alphachimp Studio. Peter has set up an easel on the balcony of the Opera House, where he busily creates illustrations that capture the key elements of each presentation.

Peter let me peek over his shoulder while he illustrated a session. It happened to be Stephen Badylak’s talk on The Edge of Medicine. While images of exploded horse faces and dismembered fingers flashed on the screen, Peter managed to turn Badylak’s fascinating lecture on regenerative medicine into the illustration above. Watch a short video of his process here and see how language becomes visual art.