For today’s #throwbackthursday post, I’m going to go back a few years…

In 2012, I was chair of our Faculty of Education Retreat Committee. We decided to infuse more technology to support this event as usually big easels with poster-sized paper and coloured markers were an integral part of these events. Often, there were coloured dot stickers used as well. I thought about what happened to these large posters after each event? How were they used? What was written on such posters were also chosen by whomever facilitated the discussion as well. The use of technology can flatten these events and given everyone a “coloured marker” per se. The following photo captures a moment from the event:

flickr photo shared by valerieirvine under a Creative Commons ( BY-NC-SA ) license

Each table was provided with a laptop and iPads and Google logins for those who didn’t have one.

flickr photo shared by valerieirvine under a Creative Commons ( BY-NC-SA ) license

We created a Google doc agenda with links to various docs for sessions, with prompts for actions and opportunities for planning. A Google form was used to collect anonymous evaluation responses and I was relieved to report the results were very positive! In part, I think everyone felt they had a voice and felt like they could contribute in an active way.

I just learned that I will be on the committee for the next Faculty Retreat and look forward to exploring innovative designs for collaboration and community-building in the shaping of our future!