Futurevation

[Adrian Camm]

Morris Miselowski's keynote presentation - Futurevation: Looking to the future - was a fantastic start to the Innovative Learning Environments Design Conference that was held at the Docklands on Monday 19th October 2009.

You can watch the recording here

Morris' Prezi presentation and movies used throughout can be found here.

During this presentation there was some great conversations taking place in the back channel and one in particular caught my interest. It revolved around the idea of the increasing individualism that web tools are allowing (albeit in a networked landscape) and the consequences that this has for team work and collaboration. More specifically, do we need to redefine the terminology? What are the core differences between the two?

As we journey through the early stages of the 21st century, which do you think is more important? Team work or collaboration?

Is it possible, that in the not too distant future, collaboration will be valued - not teamwork?

[Gary Schultz]

Not sure if I can really define the differences between the two Adrian? Seem the same to me? Can you collaborate yet not be involved in working as a team? Does collaborate mean you just put in your bits and pieces and some one takes it or leaves it?

[Adrian Camm]

I think there is a subtle difference. (maybe there isn't)

When business/institutions employ staff they want to know if that person has the ability to:
-Deal with people by having good interpersonal skills.
-Always look out for the best interest of the team.
-Have a strong personal conviction for the team.
-Give moral support to fellow team members.
etc. etc.

With the increasing individualism that web technologies are allowing, are these characteristics still as important? In the not too distant future perhaps most work can be done by a collection of individuals who surmount the barriers of distance and time and are brought together for some specified purpose. If this is the case, then do we need to be as worried about things like team dynamics? Obviously the ability to communicate effectively will be paramount - but Im not sure about the rest.... What is it about working in centralized teams that is important?