University Innovation Fellows - User contributions [en]

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2020-05-15T01:27:19Z

Leticia: /* The Rules of Interaction and Movement */

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting to everyone). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

===What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

===The Structure of an Unconference===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

See here photos of the UIF unconferences from March 2017 and 2018:

I. A Fellow pitching a topic during kick-off.

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017- marketplace.jpg|center]]

II. The Unconference Agenda (aka The Wall) 

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg|center|Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg]]

III. A group during the conversations phase.

[[File:Unconference March 2018 - group.jpg|center]]

===The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating in a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email or social media on your phone as the speaker/panel presents. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite, using the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (you can encourage participants to take a photo of the agenda with their cell phone) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listening to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, cross-pollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that got the conversation started can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

===The Role of the Facilitator(s)===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demonstrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda (aka "The Wall"). '''Provide large post-it notes (or sheets of paper), and markers; and invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel/whiteboard). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board (*). The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (**)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) We have also used an editable Prezi to build the Wall, projecting it for the group. You can make a copy of our template here: http://prezi.com/fa_x1pha9-q-/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

(**) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might know about it.

===Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology
*https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 ](note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:57:09Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

See here photos of the UIF unconferences from March 2017 and 2018:

I. A Fellow pitching a topic during kick-off.

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017- marketplace.jpg|center]]

II. The Unconference Agenda (aka The Wall) 

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg|center|Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg]]

III. A group during the conversations phase.

[[File:Unconference March 2018 - group.jpg|center]]

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda (aka "The Wall"). '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board (*). The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (**)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) We have also used an editable Prezi to build the Wall, projecting it for the group. You can make a copy of our template here: http://prezi.com/fa_x1pha9-q-/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

(**) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 ](note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:49:52Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

See here photos of the UIF unconferences from March 2017 and 2018:

I. A Fellow pitching a topic during kick-off.

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017- marketplace.jpg|center]]

II. The Unconference Agenda (aka The Wall) 

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg|center|Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg]]

III. A group during the conversations phase.

[[File:Unconference March 2018 - group.jpg|center]]

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 ](note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:47:21Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017- marketplace.jpg]]

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg|center]]

[[File:Unconference March 2018 - group.jpg]]

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 ](note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:46:48Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017- marketplace.jpg]]

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg|center]]

[[File:Unconference March 2018 - group.jpg]]

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 ](note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:44:31Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

[[File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg]]

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 ](note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

File:Unconference March 2018 - group.jpg

2019-01-25T22:42:49Z

Leticia: Leticia uploaded a new version of "File:Unconference March 2018 - group.jpg"

File:Unconference March 2018 - group.jpg

2019-01-25T22:42:47Z

Leticia:

File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017 - wall.jpg

2019-01-25T22:42:00Z

Leticia:

File:Unconference at MSFT March 2017- marketplace.jpg

2019-01-25T22:40:56Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:39:38Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 ](note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:35:53Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 ](note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:35:20Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology
*https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg</li>
<li>https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 (note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:33:25Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology [1]]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/ [2]]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg [3]]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4 [4]] (note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:24:55Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources ===

1. On the origins of the Unconference:

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology]
*[https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/true-inventor-unconference-tim-o-reilly/]

2. Videos that may give you a sense of how an unconference runs:
<ul style="margin-left: 40px;">
<li>[https://youtu.be/8HM5Q3ZkKSg]</li>
<li>[https://youtu.be/iUEt0xOysr4] (note: this is a good overview of an unconference, but some of the spaces used for the conversations foster more of the traditional presenter/audience dynamic, so make sure to be mindful to avoid that and ensure that everyone feels they are equal participants.)</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:13:42Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The Structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The Rules of Interaction and Movement ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The Role of the Facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== Resources  ===

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:12:49Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The rules of Interaction ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. 

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups/threads, while others might grow in numbers.  

=== The role of the facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== A typical sequence for an unconference ===

=== Resources  ===

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:11:31Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The rules of Interaction ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. Also, they are not presenters in the traditional conference style, nor the owners of the conversation; merely the conveners.

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups, while others might grow in participants.  

=== The role of the facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees, '''make them feel at home and explain the high level idea of the unconference (you may refer to the text in the intro here to do so, and contrast a traditional conference and an unconference;)
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''After explaining the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) (*)
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

(*) IMPORTANT: those who propose a topic are not the presenters, nor the owners of the conversation, just the conveners. As such, a person can propose a topic in which they have no expertise, but are interested in interacting with others who might have it.

=== A typical sequence for an unconference ===

=== Resources  ===

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T22:07:49Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The rules of Interaction ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

Note that even the person who initially proposed the topic that convenened that conversation can two feet away. Also, they are not presenters in the traditional conference style, nor the owners of the conversation; merely the conveners.

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups, while others might grow in participants.  

=== The role of the facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees''' and make them feel at home;
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''For this part the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) 
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

=== A typical sequence for an unconference ===

=== Resources  ===

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T21:51:37Z

Leticia:

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and coffee breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting things to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you have to rush to the next session. 

In contrast, an UNconference makes those organic conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees --who come because they are interested in the proposed topic -- collectively create the event's agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value.

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally the venue has open space for people to gather at the beginning. You can use a space that has a number of breakout rooms so that each topic can be assigned to a room, or use a large open space with easels, whiteboards or paper on walls in place of rooms.
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the unconference agenda is collaboratively built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda. The conversations can take the form of sharing information, synthesizing information (ie, making new connections between data), brainstorming ideas, etc.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share highlights with the whole group.

=== The rules of Interaction ===

The whole point of the unconference is that you interact with the people and topics to whom/which you can add value and learn from. And this can change throughout the unconference, so a conversation you were initially drawn to may turn into one that no longer interest you. If you were participating of a traditional conference, you would be polite and stay --maybe zoning out or checking your email on your phone as the speaker/panel present. In an unconference, you would do exactly the opposite and use the '''''Rule of the Two Feet''''', which states that "if at any point you are no longer learning or adding value to a conversation, you take your two feet and go somewhere else." Importantly, you do NOT apologize to the group and come up with an excuse to leave. You just leave.

When you leave a conversation, you refer back to the agenda that was built during the kickoff (in these days everyone probably took a cell phone photo of it,) and go to a new location. As you move in search of a new conversation, you can operate in two ways: 

*as a '''butterfly''', walking about and unobtrusively listen to different conversations; or,
*as a '''bumblebee''', who jumps into a conversation right away and points at connections and data gathered in other conversations (in other words, crosspollinating conversations.)

As a result of this organic way of moving in and out of conversations, some of the groups might dwindle down to 2 people, dissipate completely, or break out into different groups, while others might grow in participants.  

=== The role of the facilitator(s) ===

The facilitator(s) main role is to:

#'''Welcome attendees''' and make them feel at home;
#'''explain the rules of interaction/movement '''for everyone to be on the same page. This is best done by doing a demo (from which you may need the assistance of a couple of volunteers). You can demostrate first how NOT to apply the Rule of The Two Feet (essentially interrupting the conversation and apologizing before leaving), and then how to do it (just leaving;)
#'''help create the agenda. '''For this part the facilitator(s) will provide large post-it notes (or letter sized paper), and markers; invite anyone who wants to propose a topic to headline it on a post-it, and form a line. Once everyone is ready, each person in line will read out their topic to the whole group, and hand the post it to the facilitator(s), who will assign it to a room (or easel). This will be done by placing the post-it on a pre-arranged grid on a wall or board. The facilitator(s) may combine topics that are similar (with the express agreement of the proponents). This also helps if there are more proposed topics than spaces (in any case it's always good to have a couple additional spaces or boards/easels at hand.) Once the agenda has been created, the facilitator will announce the beginning of the unconference (and they can participate in whichever conversation they are interested in.) 
#At the end of the unconference time (note that there could be one or several time blocks), the facilitator(s) will '''moderate the shareout''' from the groups that are still standing and want to share.

=== A typical sequence for an unconference ===

=== Resources  ===

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T21:40:24Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T21:25:26Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T21:13:54Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T21:13:13Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2019-01-25T21:12:01Z

Leticia:

Resource:Psychological safety

2018-04-06T17:29:14Z

Leticia:

= Effective Teams: Fostering Psychological Safety =

[[File:Team of Fellows at SVM 2018.jpg|frame|center|Team of Fellows at SVM 2018.jpg]]

Research done by Harvard Professor Amy Edmonson has identified ''psychological safety ''as a key contributor to effectiveness in teams (watch her share her research in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8 this TEDx talk]). Teams in which members can trust one another, and which allow for questioning, risk taking, and mistakes, perform better. Google has conducted their own research and found similar results (read more about Google's Project Aristotle, along with case studies and tools, [https://rework.withgoogle.com/subjects/teams/ here]). 

== Put it in practice ==

A fairly simple activity you can do when you form new teams (or with existing teams) is to give them a set of prompts that guides team members in sharing progressively more personal stories with the team. Doing so fosters a sense of psychological safety.

Here are the instructions:

=== <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set up ===
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>Make teams of about 4-5 people (or whatever team size make sense for your planned activity, but keep in mind that larger teams may lead to decreased participation by some members, and are more difficult to manage)</li>
<li>Ask for one volunteer per team</li>
<li>Prompt: "I'll give you a series of incomplete sentences and each of you will complete them, sharing with your team, one at a time; when all have done so, the volunteer will raise and keep their hand up (and the team can continue sharing more)"</li>
<li>Once you see all (or most) hands up, move to the next prompt.</li>
</ol>



{An alternative way of facilitating this activity is to print cards with one numbered prompt per card, and hand the cards to one person on the team, instructing them to reveal one card at a time and take turns completing the sentence. Some teams will finish earlier than others. You can include a final card that says "Come up with your own prompt here", or finish the activity whne most teams have progressed past a certain point.}

Questions (*):
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>If I could only eat one food for a year it would be...</li>
<li>When I’m new to a group I tend to…</li>
<li>Something that you probably wouldn’t guess about me is...</li>
<li>The best advice I’ve ever received is…</li>
<li>That nagging voice inside my head causes me the most suffering by saying…</li>
<li>A recent situation when I felt I belonged was…</li>
<li>I'm happiest when…</li>
<li>Right now I’m feeling…</li>
<li>What I’m appreciating most about all of you right now is…</li>
</ol>

Suggested debrief of the activity:
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>How did it go? Any insights from the activity?</li>
<li>You can share the concept of psychological safety and mention the research behind it.</li>
<li>In teams: discuss situations where the 5 variables that correlate with team effectiveness come into play (in a positive or negative way) in teams you have been.</li>
<li>In teams: create your team norms (to remind yourselves as you work on the project).</li>
<li>Have each team share one of their norms.</li>
</ol>

(*) Other questions to substitute (Note that these are NOT in order - think about when in the sequence they would be most appropriate):
<ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>What one word describes how you’re feeling right now?</li>
<li>What is your personal motto?</li>
<li>What talent would you most like to possess?</li>
<li>What’s something you always travel with?</li>
<li>What’s something people would least expect about you?</li>
<li>What makes you feel like a hero?</li>
<li>What is your go-to comfort food?</li>
<li>What’s your least favorite word?</li>
<li>What person—living, dead, or fictional—would you want to bring to dinner?</li>
<li>What’s a piece of advice or feedback you’ve heard more than once?</li>
<li>What superstition do you take seriously?</li>
<li>What are you thankful for?</li>
<li>What’s your guiltiest TV pleasure?</li>
<li>What were you doing in high school?</li>
<li>What is your idea of bliss?</li>
<li>What quality do you most admire in a person?</li>
<li>What makes you feel guilty?</li>
<li>Who is your celebrity doppelganger?</li>
<li>What resolution are you trying to keep right now?</li>
<li>What is something you’ve borrowed but never returned?</li>
<li>What was your childhood obsession?</li>
</ul>

Resource:Psychological safety

2018-04-06T17:28:32Z

Leticia:

= Effective Teams: Fostering Psychological Safety =

[[File:Team of Fellows at SVM 2018.jpg|frame|center]]

Research done by Harvard Professor Amy Edmonson has identified ''psychological safety ''as a key contributor to effectiveness in teams (watch her share her research in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8 this TEDx talk]). Teams in which members can trust one another, and which allow for questioning, risk taking, and mistakes, perform better. Google has conducted their own research and found similar results (read more about Google's Project Aristotle, along with case studies and tools, [https://rework.withgoogle.com/subjects/teams/ here]). 

== Put it in practice ==

A fairly simple activity you can do when you form new teams (or with existing teams) is to give them a set of prompts that guides team members in sharing progressively more personal stories with the team. Doing so fosters a sense of psychological safety.

Here are the instructions:

=== <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set up ===
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>Make teams of about 4-5 people (or whatever team size make sense for your planned activity, but keep in mind that larger teams may lead to decreased participation by some members, and are more difficult to manage)</li>
<li>Ask for one volunteer per team</li>
<li>Prompt: "I'll give you a series of incomplete sentences and each of you will complete them, sharing with your team, one at a time; when all have done so, the volunteer will raise and keep their hand up (and the team can continue sharing more)"</li>
<li>Once you see all (or most) hands up, move to the next prompt.</li>
</ol>



{An alternative way of facilitating this activity is to print cards with one numbered prompt per card, and hand the cards to one person on the team, instructing them to reveal one card at a time and take turns completing the sentence. Some teams will finish earlier than others. You can include a final card that says "Come up with your own prompt here", or finish the activity whne most teams have progressed past a certain point.}

Questions (*):
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>If I could only eat one food for a year it would be...</li>
<li>When I’m new to a group I tend to…</li>
<li>Something that you probably wouldn’t guess about me is...</li>
<li>The best advice I’ve ever received is…</li>
<li>That nagging voice inside my head causes me the most suffering by saying…</li>
<li>A recent situation when I felt I belonged was…</li>
<li>I'm happiest when…</li>
<li>Right now I’m feeling…</li>
<li>What I’m appreciating most about all of you right now is…</li>
</ol>

Suggested debrief of the activity:
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>How did it go? Any insights from the activity?</li>
<li>You can share the concept of psychological safety and mention the research behind it.</li>
<li>In teams: discuss situations where the 5 variables that correlate with team effectiveness come into play (in a positive or negative way) in teams you have been.</li>
<li>In teams: create your team norms (to remind yourselves as you work on the project).</li>
<li>Have each team share one of their norms.</li>
</ol>

(*) Other questions to substitute (Note that these are NOT in order - think about when in the sequence they would be most appropriate):
<ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>What one word describes how you’re feeling right now?</li>
<li>What is your personal motto?</li>
<li>What talent would you most like to possess?</li>
<li>What’s something you always travel with?</li>
<li>What’s something people would least expect about you?</li>
<li>What makes you feel like a hero?</li>
<li>What is your go-to comfort food?</li>
<li>What’s your least favorite word?</li>
<li>What person—living, dead, or fictional—would you want to bring to dinner?</li>
<li>What’s a piece of advice or feedback you’ve heard more than once?</li>
<li>What superstition do you take seriously?</li>
<li>What are you thankful for?</li>
<li>What’s your guiltiest TV pleasure?</li>
<li>What were you doing in high school?</li>
<li>What is your idea of bliss?</li>
<li>What quality do you most admire in a person?</li>
<li>What makes you feel guilty?</li>
<li>Who is your celebrity doppelganger?</li>
<li>What resolution are you trying to keep right now?</li>
<li>What is something you’ve borrowed but never returned?</li>
<li>What was your childhood obsession?</li>
</ul>

File:Team of Fellows at SVM 2018.jpg

2018-04-06T17:26:29Z

Leticia: A team of Fellows collaborates during an activity at the Silicon Valley Meetup at the d.school, in March 2018. Photo credit: Patrick Beaudouin.

A team of Fellows collaborates during an activity at the Silicon Valley Meetup at the d.school, in March 2018. Photo credit: Patrick Beaudouin.

Resource:Psychological safety

2018-04-06T17:24:25Z

Leticia: Created page with "= Effective Teams: Fostering Psychological Safety = Research done by Harvard Profess..."

= Effective Teams: Fostering Psychological Safety =

Research done by Harvard Professor Amy Edmonson has identified ''psychological safety ''as a key contributor to effectiveness in teams (watch her share her research in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8 this TEDx talk]). Teams in which members can trust one another, and which allow for questioning, risk taking, and mistakes, perform better. Google has conducted their own research and found similar results (read more about Google's Project Aristotle, along with case studies and tools, [https://rework.withgoogle.com/subjects/teams/ here]). 

== Put it in practice ==

A fairly simple activity you can do when you form new teams (or with existing teams) is to give them a set of prompts that guides team members in sharing progressively more personal stories with the team. Doing so fosters a sense of psychological safety.

Here are the instructions:

=== <span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Set up ===
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>
Make teams of about 4-5 people (or whatever team size make sense for your planned activity, but keep in mind that larger teams may lead to decreased participation by some members, and are more difficult to manage)
</li>
<li>
Ask for one volunteer per team
</li>
<li>
Prompt: "I'll give you a series of incomplete sentences and each of you will complete them, sharing with your team, one at a time; when all have done so, the volunteer will raise and keep their hand up (and the team can continue sharing more)" 
</li>
<li>
Once you see all (or most) hands up, move to the next prompt.
</li>
</ol>



{An alternative way of facilitating this activity is to print cards with one numbered prompt per card, and hand the cards to one person on the team, instructing them to reveal one card at a time and take turns completing the sentence. Some teams will finish earlier than others. You can include a final card that says "Come up with your own prompt here", or finish the activity whne most teams have progressed past a certain point.}

Questions (*):
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>
If I could only eat one food for a year it would be...
</li>
<li>
When I’m new to a group I tend to…
</li>
<li>
Something that you probably wouldn’t guess about me is...
</li>
<li>
The best advice I’ve ever received is…
</li>
<li>
That nagging voice inside my head causes me the most suffering by saying…
</li>
<li>
A recent situation when I felt I belonged was…
</li>
<li>
I'm happiest when…
</li>
<li>
Right now I’m feeling…
</li>
<li>
What I’m appreciating most about all of you right now is…
</li>
</ol>



Suggested debrief of the activity:
<ol style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>
How did it go? Any insights from the activity?
</li>
<li>
You can share the concept of psychological safety and mention the research behind it.
</li>
<li>
In teams: discuss situations where the 5 variables that correlate with team effectiveness come into play (in a positive or negative way) in teams you have been.
</li>
<li>
In teams: create your team norms (to remind yourselves as you work on the project).
</li>
<li>
Have each team share one of their norms.
</li>
</ol>

 

(*) Other questions to substitute (Note that these are NOT in order - think about when in the sequence they would be most appropriate):
<ul style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">
<li>
What one word describes how you’re feeling right now?
</li>
<li>
What is your personal motto?
</li>
<li>
What talent would you most like to possess?
</li>
<li>
What’s something you always travel with?
</li>
<li>
What’s something people would least expect about you?
</li>
<li>
What makes you feel like a hero?
</li>
<li>
What is your go-to comfort food?
</li>
<li>
What’s your least favorite word?
</li>
<li>
What person—living, dead, or fictional—would you want to bring to dinner?
</li>
<li>
What’s a piece of advice or feedback you’ve heard more than once?
</li>
<li>
What superstition do you take seriously?
</li>
<li>
What are you thankful for?
</li>
<li>
What’s your guiltiest TV pleasure?
</li>
<li>
What were you doing in high school?
</li>
<li>
What is your idea of bliss?
</li>
<li>
What quality do you most admire in a person?
</li>
<li>
What makes you feel guilty?
</li>
<li>
Who is your celebrity doppelganger?
</li>
<li>
What resolution are you trying to keep right now?
</li>
<li>
What is something you’ve borrowed but never returned?
</li>
<li>
What was your childhood obsession?
</li>
</ul>

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2018-03-12T03:25:51Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2018-03-12T03:24:01Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2018-03-12T03:22:09Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2018-03-12T03:20:27Z

Leticia:

File:Conference.jpeg

2018-03-12T03:19:36Z

Leticia: Photo of a conference by Cydcor via Flickr (Creative Commons license)

Photo of a conference by Cydcor via Flickr (Creative Commons license)

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2018-03-12T03:17:53Z

Leticia:

Resource:How to organize an unconference

2018-03-12T03:10:11Z

Leticia: Created page with "You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one..."

You probably have been to a traditional conference. There are panels, breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and breaks. In most cases, the panels and speaker sessions go in one direction. Whoever is on the stage speaks and the audience listens for most of the time. At the end of the session a few audience members --usually those who are more comfortable speaking up -- get to ask a question or two (which may or may not be relevant or interesting). While many speakers have interesting thing to say, often the most valuable connections are made during the breaks, when you bump into someone and start a conversation... but then you get the announcement that the next conference session is about to start. 

Simply put, an UNconference is an event that makes those organic break conversations the whole event. There are no speakers and no pre-set agenda. The attendees create their own agenda and move organically to find conversations where they can learn and add value. 

The Unconference is a tradition of UIF Meetups, and in this page you'll find instructions on how to organize your own.

=== What You Need ===

#'''A topic. '''This is what will attract the right participants to come. It can be anything. For instance, you can convene an unconference on "Creating a Sustainable Campus". You need to determine what is a topic that will be relevant to the people you want to engage.
#'''A space'''. Ideally a space that has open space for people to move around, and easels, whiteboards or paper on walls for participants to use
#'''Facilitator(s). '''Most of the unconference will be run by attendees, but the role of the facilitator(s) is key in explaining how the unconference works and crowdsourcing the agenda from participants (more on this below).

=== The structure of an Unconference ===

An unconference has three parts:

#'''Kick-off''': participants arrive to the space, the facilitator(s) explains the rules of interaction (more below), and the agenda is built.
#'''Conversations: '''this is the main part of the unconference, and participants gather according to their topics of interest from the proposed agenda.
#'''Wrap-up: '''participants representing the different conversations share a few highlights with the whole group.

=== The rules of Interaction ===

=== The role of the facilitator(s) ===

=== A typical sequence ===

=== Resources ===

 