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Structured vs Unstructured
Up to Schedule and Events
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We have been looking at the feedback from the last few IDECs and
seeing the trend that people want more "free time" to self organize
workshops and create their own conference. We are weighing this
against the need to organize the conference and give presenters a
chance to prepare their material.
Our rough week looks like this. It's an attempt to balance structured and unstructured time.
Monday:
Registration and Welcome
Get to know each other activities
Coffee house and/or BBQ
Tuesday:
Begin Open space process
Have opening formal in the evening
Wednesday:
Open space
Evening Keynote
Thursday:
Open space
Evening Music or Dance event
Friday:
Open space
5:00pm onward would be our 'open to the public' time.
Evening panel on growing beyond your school, expanding your community outside it's original walls.
Saturday:
Speakers and Workshops, presentations for wider public.
Evening Keynote with big names.
Sunday:
Speakers and Workshops, presentations for wider public.
Evening Keynote with big names.
Monday:
Morning Closing
Hi David,
I haven't been to an IDEC since Sands School in 1997 (which I helped organise) but we ran that conference as an Open Space Event. It was a resounding success.
The Open Space format is a great tool can be used as much or as little as you'd like giving a great amount of flexibility. Using Open Space does not stop presenters from preparing. As long as they show up knowing what they want to offer they can offer it within the structure of Open Space. If it's a popular topic people will want it and attend.Alternatively, you can have slots/sessions within the Open Space framework that are not open and are scheduled prior to the Open Space creation session.
As long as you know, and are willing to accept that the Open Space creation session will be filled with chaos and look like it is not going to work it will be fine.
Hope to see you there!
Adam
Thanks Adam!
Windsor House has organized it's class schedule through open-space since I was a student there and I know just what you mean, about allow the chaos that looks like it won't turn into anything useful. Actually, that analogy seems to apply to almost any freee-school situation now that I think about it. 
We will likely do something close to what you are suggesting ,booking some time periods as
leaving the rest to the open-space process
Better Structured & Unstructured.
You have to have one to have the other.
The proposed 'structure' looks pretty good.
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