Tag Archives: organizing

11th Annual Democracy Matters Summit

This past weekend I was in Albany, NY attending my sixth Democracy Matters summit.  This year the summit brought together over 90 students from across the country to learn more about the role of money in politics, grassroots organizing, and to strategize about ways to engage other students and community member in the campaign to get big money out of politic and put people back in.  Continue reading to learn more…

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Global Innovations for Digital Organizing

For the past three weeks I was moderator and guest expert for the Tech Change online course, Global Innovations for Digital Organizing.  The course explores how technological innovation has resulted in the development of new channels of communication which are democratizing access to and production of media. The impact on social dynamics is evident from the Obama campaign’s youth mobilization efforts to the ongoing uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa. The three-week online professional development certificate course evaluates case studies where new technologies have been used for activism and what factors and contexts are most influential on outcomes. It also provides participants with strategies for maximizing the impact of new media and train them in the effective use of analysis and message management tools.  This was a fascinating experience that put me right in the middle of an innovative organization that is truly advancing both content related to technology and peacebuilding and the creative ways to engage people in learning experiences online.  Continue reading to learn more…

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Key Insights from George Lakey’s book, “Facilitating Group Learning”

I recently finished reading George Lakey’s new book, Facilitating Group Learning: Strategies for Success with Diverse Adult Learners.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it provides a clear description and examples of what experiential education, or what Lakey calls direct education, is and entails.  Having been an experiential educator for several years now, Lakey and his colleagues at Training for Change, have become a real source of learning for me and my work.  Below are several key insights from the book:

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