Depute Headteacher at Musselburgh Grammar School, East Lothian, Scotland. Find out what life is like at the end of the bottom corridor as I share my thoughts on School Leadership, SQH, Outdoor Education and New Technologies for Teaching and Learning.
I really
enjoyed my time working with Brighton and Hove
Geography Teachers on Tuesday. Hopefully if you have found it this far you have
worked out how to access this on-line handout?
You will be
able to come back to the on-line handout by clicking on the ‘Brighton and Hove’ Category Hyperlink in the life and right hand menu.
Click on a
topic below to view the on-line handout (or just scroll down this screen). It
might be worth noting that some of the You Tube and Google Videos may not show
up if you access this in school (remember that we found out that your firewall
was very tight!) and you also may not have access to all of the websites that I
was recommending.
ICT is fundamental to the development and teaching of
Geography. Just think about how GIS has taken off in the last few years and
imagine trying to work in GIS without ICT – it would be impossible!
It is however important to remember that ICT can be used in
a variety of ways. In the past lots important people have thought that ICT
would never take off and they were eventually proved to be wrong. Don’t let
your LEA, head teacher or head of department tell you the same thing. ICT is
here to stay and as 21st century teachers we need to concentrate on
how we can used ICT well to improve our teaching.
REMEMBER: Good ICT does not make a good teacher.
In terms of the subject content of Geography we are at a bit
of a crossroads and as 21st Century teachers we need to start asking
ourselves questions. For example, is it really important these days to be
teaching children the following topics:
How to use a sunshine recorder
Where exactly are the Primary, Secondary and Long waves on a
seismograph?
What happened to the Steal industry in Japan?
You must remember every OS map symbol
The problem with Geography is that it can take you in some
many directions. It links perfectly with many other areas of the curriculum
including literacy, numeracy, MfL, RMPS, Science etc… In fact its is, arguably, one of
the only subjects that provides so many cross-curricular links This huge
strength, seen by so many Geography teachers, can be seen as a fault by many
school managers. Surely, if Geography is covered by all of these other subjects
then you might as well remove it from the curriculum all together? This would
provide extra time in an already crowded secondary curriculum for curriculum
flexibility and project work.
As Geography teachers we need to continue to fight our
corner. Geography is the ‘glue’ that
binds the curriculum together. It makes other subjects more relevant by
providing ‘real life’ examples and proving students with that fundamental
concept of ‘place’ and ‘space’. Technology can help us achieve
our aims more quickly by providing a unique window on the world through the use
of high tech multi-media.
As 21st century teachers the other problem that
we face is dealing with 21st century children. No matter what anyone
tells you children are not the same anymore. One of the reasons for this is the
access to knowledge and content that the Internet provides. But access to
unlimited knowledge and on-line content without emotional literacy can quickly
lead to social immaturity and a break down in classroom management, which may
lead to poor behaviour.
It is important to remember that most 21st
Century children already exist in an on-line world. As teachers we need to
start seeing this as just another social space regardless if it is on-line or
off line. How many practicing teachers have tried to understand this on-line
world? If your reading this do you have a bebo
account, myspace page, could I find
you on facebook or meet you in second life?
Successful teaching is basically about common sense, liking
children and having a vision of the future. What will your classroom be like in
2020?
The
Internet has become one of the ‘basic tools of the trade’ and its content is
growing at a rapid speed. It is vital that we are able to search and teach our
pupils to search the internet in the most efficient way possible.
It is
important to remember that Google is not the only search engine – although, in
my opinion, it is still the best. You should however consider using other
search engines, where appropriate. These should include:
Searchmash – Google traditional search +
blog, wikipedia, news, image and video search in the right side bar (this is my
current search engine of choice).
Quintura – I visual search, ideal for
student project work.
Geography
is all about images and using images are the best way to put a sense of place
in the classroom. When looking for images, don’t forget to use the Google advanced
image search and alternative photo sharing sites such as flickr.
Below is a
screencast that I produced on using and finding images in the classroom:
For every
thing that you need to know about PowerPoint and other presentation tools
(including Captivate) visit SWict.com.
Death by PowerPoint is not an
uncommon phrase in schools and conferences these days. PowerPoint is a powerful
presentation tool but you need to be careful how you use it as a teaching
resource.
Remember to involve pupils in the
design and aesthetics of slides. What might look great to you might look awful to a 14 year
old. After you have shown a presentation to a class gather some feedback on it
(see idea 15 or idea 2). Ask pupils what they though of the presentation, not
the topic. Was there to much text, what did they think of the pictures, what
were the animations like etc...
In the past I have given students
PowerPoint presentations to take home and edit for me.
Use flash animation in your
presentation.
As long as your computer is connected to the internet you can get flash to play
directly from a web site to your PowerPoint presentation. Click
here for tutorial telling you how you can do this. Now all you have to do
if find some animations on the web, below is a summary of some good places to
start looking.
The Guardian’s Education website offers a whole
range of excellent ‘Interactive
Guides’ which include flash animation http://www.guardian.co.uk/interactive
The BBC News also offers some good flash resources.
For S1, S2 and beyond try Brainpop. You can get
a free 14 day trial for this excellent resource.
You can search on for Shockwave
Flash Files on the web by putting the subject you are looking for into the
search box followed by a space then filetype:swf. For example try typing
Hurricane Katrina filetype:swf into Google.
There are also a number of
commercial resources available which include flash files. Check out Boardworks and order a
free sample CD.
Include catch up slides (if getting
students to copy things down from the board):
And think about using PowerPoint for
differentiation:
Link difficult words and terminology
to sites like wikitionary.
This can also provide useful tangents and discussion points.
To find out
how to download YouTube and Google Video have
a look at this article. I am currently recommending Ares Tube (formally Itube)
to do this.
Digital video is one of the most
powerful tools we have as classroom teachers to increase motivation and it is
also a powerful learning tool. Digital video cameras are now not very expensive
you can buy a good one for under £200. But you can also make digital video by
collecting footage from mobile phones, digital camera or even web cams. You can
buy a web cam for about £10 and this can be used for smaller projects. Have a
look at Noal’s trail idea over on the digital geography blog.
You can edit digital video on your
computer in different ways. Have a look at Jump Cut, it’s a fairly new web site which allows you to
share and edit videos for free on-line. By using jump cut it is possible for
you to up-loads some footage at school and then each student edits it
themselves at home. It’s a resource that has great potential.
I’ve not included all of the video
that I showed at the conference due to permissions.
Use digital video as a motivation
tool. I showed
an example of how you can film students presenting the weather in front of a
whiteboard. A map of the UK
was drawn on the board. Students map weather symbols, write a script and then
present the weather. They stick the symbols on as they go along.
Use Digital video to re-enforce
practice. I
showed an example of a video was produced by some students to re-enforce their
learning about cloud types. You can download a copy of this video here.
Use digital video to promote cross
curricular links: Modern Languages. I showed an example of a weather forecast that had been
produced in German. The software used to produce the maps and symbols was from Kudlian Soft.
This is another example of how other departments should be consulted when
developing courses. You can download a copy of this video here.
Use digital video to promote cross
curricular links: Media Studies. I showed an example of a weather forecast that had been
produced using a chroma key. The weather map was superimposed nest to the
pupil. Again this was produced using Weather and Geography package from Kudlian Soft.
Its only £20, but incredibly powerful.
Other points. If you want to find out more about
digital video have a look at the Digital Imagery section of the Learning and Teaching
Scotland ICT in Education Website.
Web 2.0 is a fairly new term that
describes some of the recent changes to the World Wide Web. Traditionally the
web was a place where people could get information it was ‘read only’. However
in the last 5 years the web has developed. Now as well as being able to read
information it is also possible to write to the web. Its two way, read and
write. Wikipedia has a good article on web 2.0 and you can find that here. I would also
recommend the ‘Coming of Age’
a free on-line book which talks about the new World Wide Web. Some people
including Will Richardson prefer the
name the read / write web.
Some of the Web 2.0 tools that we
have available to us as teachers are Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts.
1) A blog is an on-line journal at can allow
people to comment. They can be personal or public.
2) A podcast is an on-line
radio programme that anyone can download. You can subscribe to podcasts through
sites like itunes, which mean that new episodes instantly get delivered to you
when they are produced. Ewan Macintosh
once described this to me as the difference between going to collect your paper
and having it delivered to your house.
3) A wiki is a web page that anyone can edit
and up-date. Wikipedia
is the classic example of this.
Here's a nice little video to introduce web 2.0
Use Wiki’s for collaborative work.
Wikis are great for getting students to publish quickly to the web. I use wikispaces but there are other
alternatives. The good thing about wikispaces is that it is that the free
service is advert free for education. You also get a free wikispace if you
create an edublog.
I have used wikis as an
alternative for students submitting a written weather diary. They could also be
used for collaborative group work. The Dunbar Geography
Wiki Space is a good example of when I have posted some instructions
for students on a weather project. Wiki’s can also be used for collaborative
projects for pupils and teachers. Have a look at our Extreme Learning Wiki and
please feel free to contribute to the discussion.
The important thing to remember
about Wiki’s is that you can always go pack to a previous version of a page.
This means that you can’t actually delete anything and if you do delete
something by accident it’s easy to go back to it.
Don’t forget that you can get your
students to write Wikipedia
articles. I have a number of former pupils that have contributed to
the largest encyclopedia in the world.
Use a blog to set up your own departmental web site. If you want to set up a quick web site I would recommend using edublogs. It’s important to remember that
a blog which doesn’t allow comment is just a web site. With edublogs which is
based on wordpress you can decide
if you want people to be able to leave comment or not for everything you post.
It’s a really powerful free tool which is available to educators thanks to the
work of James Farmer.
On the edublogs site there are a number of good
on-line tutorials including:
Get students to set up their own learning logs (blogs). Students can also set up their own learning logs. You can use Learnerblogs for this which is the sister
site of edublogs. Again I have
used blogs to get students to record weather reports. Currently I am working on
learning blogs with my S1 social education class. In these blogs they reflect
on three questions:
What they did at school this week?
What they have learnt
at school this week? and
What they will do now?
I think this sort of experience
would also be useful in Geography and perhaps a lot better homework experience
than some of the exercises that we currently set in S1 and S2. I don’t agree
with setting homework for homework’s sake.
Keep your own blog. The process of
keeping a blog is incredibly reflective. I have learnt more about Geography and
education in the last 18 months of blogging and reading blogs than I did in the
previous four years. It becomes an incredible learning journey and allows
you to collaborate with educators from around the world.
My previous blog
about my role as head of Geography at Dunbar Grammar School can be
found here.
If you’re a geography teacher and
you keep your own blog or you decide to start one – why not leave a comment
below!
Create your own on-line radio station.
Experiment with making podcasts. If you use a Mac you can use garageband which is part
of ILife. It has a built in podcast function. Alternatively audacity is a great free alternative and
is available for the Mac and PC as a free down load from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ There is
also now a portable
version of Audacity available, which means you can run it staright off a
pen drive and you don’t have to get it installed on your computer by the
Council.
I have used podcasts before to
make weather forecasts. Students used to come to my room at break time and
produce programmes like
this in the 20 minutes. They collected the data from the schools
automated weather station.
You can find out how to make
podcasts by looking a PC Pod
a blog that was set up as part of a new technologies course that I helped facilitate
for Learning and Teaching Scotland. Also check out this video which was also
made on the course it shows how to make podcast with garageband.
One Geography specific podcast
project is called GEOCASTS. The GEOCAST
project was funded by Microsoft
Partners in Learning and is an on-going project to create revision
material for Geography. There are a number of current episodes that can be
downloaded from the web site www.exc-el.org.uk/geocasts.
Over the next six months more episodes will become available. You can also
subscribe to GEOCASTS
through itunes.
Just type in ‘Geocasts’ to the itune search facility. (New Geocast site on the way soon).
Students can download these
revision episodes to their computers, ipods, Mp3 players and mobile phones. If
they have a video ipod or choose to watch the episodes on their computer there
is also to visual content.
Computer Games.Consider
using games like Sim City during the
settlement unit. You can download the original version for free from http://simcit.ea.com. I have set this in the
past as optional settlement homework. I start to build a new city at the same time as the rest of the
class and we have a competition over 3 or four weeks to see who can build the
best city. I believe that students will learn more about city planning,
logistics and infrastructure by playing this than they ever will about me
rambling on about Burgess’s Concentric Ring Model! The good news is the Sim City is just about
to come out for the DS!
The other games that I sometimes
ask students to play for homework are on the OS Map Zone web site. I
know that they have played them because I ask them to take a screen shot of
their best score and to email it to me or to print it out. This way I can set
up a leader board in my classroom.
There are also a number of other
good geography games that can be played in class or for a homework exercise.
These include:
Before thinking about any curriculum change or re-write it is important
to remember that just about every economically developed country in the world
is currently experiencing a curriculum reform. One of the reasons for this is
that the world is a rapidly changing place.
During this session we used an engine
room technique to generate ideas for a new key stage curriculum that you will
then go on to develop within your school and education authority.
However, before we start these are some ideas to get you thinking before
developing any schemes of work or curriculum content.
1. Remember to ask the students what they
are interested in learning about. 21st Century Geography is not just
about ‘your subject’ (the teacher) it’s about ‘our subject’
(the student, parents and teacher). One quick way of gauging student’s opinions
and views is to use a free on-line survey tool like survey monkey.
2. Structure your new curriculum around
the media. For example teach fairtrade in Fairtrade fortnight. Check out http://www.countmeincalendar.info/
for all the latest information.
3. Make topics interesting for Children
(they like crime, fashion, football, exploration and chewing gum!)
4. Encourage cross-curricular links.
Gather the data in Geography, graph the data in Math’s. Use a science lab to
teach about the weather. See this Google video for an extreme example.
5. Don’t be frightened to forget about
your scheme of work from time to time and teach something new, refreshing,
up-to-date and interesting.
6. Give lots of choices in assessment
methods.
7. Include local aspects
within a global context and don't forget the 'buckets and spades'.
Information is important to a 21st Century
Teacher and it is important that we no how to access and manage this
information well. On-line tools such as some of the ones mentioned below can help
us do this.
Social Bookmaking.De.icio.us is a way that you can store your bookmarks (favorites)
on-line. This gets round the problem of having one set of favorites at home and
one set at work. It also gets round the problem of all your favorites being
deleted every summer holiday when the school computers have a re-build or clean
up.
Blog and website aggregation.Lots of people think I spend half my life jumping from
web site to web site. I don’t but I do spend a
lot of time look at one web site, my bloglines
account. This is a free service that I tell it to look at other web
sites and it tells me when they get up-dated and then read the up-dates through
the bloglines page. Or if I want more information I visit the page itself.
Don’t forget that you
can also get students to set up their own aggregator to help them collect
information for projects and investigations.
Home Page Personalisation. There are a couple of nice services to help personalize your home page.
These include http://www.pageflakes.compageflakes
and iGoogle.
Both of these services include ways to aggregate blogs and link use social
bookmarks.
Finally, Become a lifelong Learner. It’s all very well collecting information. But it’s about reading it. If you make time to post on De.icio.us and to read your aggregator then
also try and make time to comment on other peoples blogs. You will soon become
addicted and move from blog to blog ‘grazing on information’. Will Richardson
in a recent paper describes this as ‘nomadic learning’. You will quickly start collaborating with other
professionals from around the world who are interested in geography, teaching
and learning and become part of a growing global community of educators.
It is of course impossible
to get a real idea of what our classrooms might look like in 30 years time and
what the content of Geography scheme of work might look like then. However, one
thing is for sure. There is likely to be a greater interconnectedness between
schools from around the world. There are likely to be one to one laptop
(handheld learning device) schemes in most schools or children are encouraged
to bring with them their own handheld learning device.
So, what might happen? First
of all have a look at what is going on in Islay High School in Scotland. They
are not just modernising ICT, they are modernising schooling.
Technology will play a big
part in future schools. What role do you think Microsoft Surface will play?
Here’s an example of what it
might do in Geography…
And what if then you can
create this on something as thin as a bit of paper?
I guess what I am saying is
that all this technology exists? Now it is just a question of when will it come
down in price (think about DVD players here) and when we will start to use it
in education?
Without a doubt virtual
worlds will start to play a more significant role in education. Many
universities are already offering virtual courses (see below) and schools are
also starting to get involved.
Here’s a brief outline of what I will be covering during my whistle-stop tour to Brighton and Hoveon Tuesday. The day will include presentations, hands on tutorials (in the computer lab), time for reflection and lots of group work and collaborative learning.
The programme is of course subject to change and the actual content will be directed by the needs of the participants. If you are coming along on Tuesday (and you have already discovered my web site) leave a comment if there’s anything else you want me to cover or if I need to put additional focus on particular topics.
Finally, don’t be put off by any ‘techie’ words in the programme outline. If you are enthusiastic, can turn on a computer, open a web browser (eg: internet explorer), send an email and write a word document then you are more than qualified to attend. If however, your not very enthusiastic – stay at home!
Taking Geography Forward
Provisional Programme
1. Introduction
where am I coming from?
where is geography going?
2. Getting the basics right
using the internet
using video
using images
using presentation tools
3. New tools for teachers
web 2.0
blogs
podcasts
wiki’s
mobile phones
games in education
5. Developing a new key stage 3 curriculum
where are we going and how are we going to get there?
On Tuesday I’m I working with a group of Geography teachers from Brighton and Hove to think about ‘Taking Geography Forward’. One of the things that we will be looking at is how schools in Brighton and Hove might look at implementing proposed new key stage three curriculum for Geography. One of the techniques we will used to tease this out is the Engine Room methodology.
In order to build upon the shared ownership derived from the interviewing of representatives of the organization targeted for the change process it is necessary to further involve them in the problem solving phase. The purpose of problem solving is to come up with small ACTIONS which can be taken discretely, immediately and which will collectively have a significant and measurable impact upon practice.
The key element of the problem solving phase is the use of ENGINE ROOMS. The engine room methodology for collective problem solving is derived from the SKUNKWORKS approach.
Skunkworks
A skunkworks is a group of people who, in order to achieve unusual results, work on a project in a way that is outside the usual rules. A skunkworks is often a small team that assumes or is given responsibility for developing something in a short time with minimal management constraints. Typically, a skunkworks has a small number of members in order to reduce communications overhead. A skunkworks is sometimes used to spearhead a product design that thereafter will be developed according to the usual process. A skunkworks project may be secret.
The name is taken from the moonshine factory in Al Capp's cartoon, "Lil' Abner."
Skunkworks were first used by Lockheed Martin to develop the Blackbird Jet. Obviously in such a context the notion of secrecy was paramount for commercial reasons. Within an educational context the need for secrecy is not a factor, nor is the need for it to be limited to a small number of people.
For this reason we have developed the Engine Room approach as an alternative which has all the benefits of a skunkworks, i.e.:
It can produce unusual results;
It operates outwith the normal rules or any organization;
It can come up within something in short time with minimal management constraints;
It can spearhead the change process;
Traditional support and management structures can build upon the solutions generated by the engine room process;
It can build change in a progressive and incremental manner depending on the order and frequency of the engine rooms;
Membership of engine rooms can vary depending upon the problem being tackled;
Engine rooms need not be geographically limited and can take place wherever interested people can come together;
Engine rooms escape for the tyranny of “diary matching” –it can go ahead with or without you;
It sees practitioners as having a key role in their own professional destiny.
THE APOLLO 13 PHENOMENON
There is a scene in the film Apollo 13 (see below) where the carbon dioxide filters are damaged and the crew will die of asphyxiation in a short time unless a replacement can be installed. There is no replacement on the craft and it appears they are destined to die.
The team at Houston adopt a skunkworks approach, in that a group of technicians, scientists, medicos and others gather in a room. The leader tips out a sack of all of the loose materials which the craft contains, such as spacesuits, radios, writing pads, duct tape, tubes, etc, etc. The task of the group is to take all of these disparate materials and create a carbon dioxide filter.
The task is highly focussed, time limited and restricted by the resources available (there is no way any additional materials can be used which are not already present on the craft.
The team succeed and the crew members are able to replicate the filter on the space craft using the same materials.
The lesson for us is that it is possible to create something new in a very short timescale by simply using the materials we already have around us in a different and creative manner, as opposed to always looking for ideas to take a long time to come to fruition and for additional resources to be present.
ENGINE ROOM METHODOLOGY
The engine room methodology combines the best of skunkworks protocols and the concept of the Apollo 13 phenomenon.
An Engine Room builds upon the creative solutions or opinions of the individual, combines, refines and ratifies these ideas or solutions in pairs, then fours, then eights and eventually sixteen’s
Engine rooms can be used to:
Solve problems;
generate action ideas;
select from a range of options;
Team building;
Planning;
Over-coming stalemate; and
Identifying problems.
The Ten features of the Engine Room Process
A successful engine room should adopt an ACTION FOCUS by harnessing the CREATIVITY of the individual and combining it with the strength of COOPERATIVE teams. It’s SOLUTION FOCUSSED approach adopts a REALISTIC yet POSITIVE perspective to problems within a fast moving and CHALLENGING context, where PACE and momentum are maintained within a carefully MANAGED yet FLEXIBLE situation.
ENGINE ROOM RULES
(so you want to run an Engine Room)
Where the engine room approach is selected as the preferred methodology a general invitation should go out to all the members of community likely to be involved in the taking forwards the action derived from the exercise.
Participants should be well briefed prior to the engine room and given the key questions which are to be considered at the event. They should be asked not to discuss the questions with any colleagues prior to the engine room.
An engine room should not last any longer that 90 minutes - if it has to last longer than 90 minutes then the methodology either doesn't suit the problem or the questions lack sufficient focus
It should be made clear that the purpose of the meeting is to generate ideas which will generate action and that participants should be prepared to sign up to the ideas which are generated in the course of the engine room.
Depending on the purpose of the engine room the format of the questions used in the process will range to simple questions requiring original thought to the selection from a list predetermined alternatives.
An engine room will typically commence with an introduction from the Engine Room driver who will present the context and background to the event with a particular focus upon the intended outcome.
Regardless of the size of an engine room the layout should enable people to sit in chairs which can be moved easily around the room.
After the introduction the engine driver asks each person to consider the questions for 10 minutes (if the questions have been sent out prior to the event then it may be possible to skip this stage).
After that time people are asked to link up in pairs. It is important that the pairs have not previously discussed the questions and it is preferable if they are not close working associates.
Depending on the questions asked the pairs are requested to select the best solutions.
Selecting best solutions is dependent at this stage on negotiation "I'll accept your answer to that question, if you accept my answer for this question"); tossing a coin; or reasoned argument.
Where a person feels they have a good idea but it is not selected to go forwards they have the option to place the idea on a "Recycling Board".
The engine driver should have set out a timescale for this stage of the engine Room but should observe carefully to determine whether or not extra time is required. Remember that the outcome of the engine room should not be compromised by a slavish adherence to the rules.
Nevertheless, the engine driver should attempt to generate pace within the room by making constant mention of the time left. This places the participants under some pressure to agree a solution - and maintains the momentum of the event ( a key feature of a successful engine room).
From pairs we move to groups of four. Exactly the same process is gone through as for the pairs. On this occasion the final selection of ideas can go to a vote. Simple majority rules apply but lost ideas can be sent to the 'recycling board' (using post its).
Participants are asked to listen carefully to others; value other contributions; and try to convince by evidence, examples and reasoned argument. People should be comfortable to express how they feel about any issue being discussed.
The next stage is exactly the same as for four but in group of eight.
If the group is no larger than sixteen it is then possible to move to the CONVENTION stage.
All participants should stand up during the convention stage. This gives it an impetus and changes the dynamic of the event (something akin to the 'bearpit' of a stock exchange)
Just like a political party convention the representative of each group is asked to speak to the engine room about their selected ideas. In such a scenario the negotiation stage takes place in public between the two individuals. Each person carries the number of votes from their previous group.
Where there are more than 16 people present it is possible to move to the convention stage in multiples of sixteen with up to seven groups being represented on the stage.
Where there are more than this number it is possible to run parallel engine rooms and combine their findings.
Alternatively, different engine rooms can have different governing criteria.
Where a wide range of solutions are generated fomr different engine rooms it is possible to convene a further engine room where the task will be to simply select from the list presented.
Engine rooms should be allowed to "cool down" and no action should be taken for an agreed period of time after the conclusion of the event - typically 24 hours.
Recycled ideas should be referred to at the convention stage and preferably posted on a website, with the opportunity for additional suggestions to be posted to pick up latent ideas, again within an agreed timeframe.
Should you have sufficient people it may be possible to have an engine room to only take forwards recycled ideas.
If it is obvious that agreement has been reached at the end of the engine room people should be sought to take forward particular action ideas. It should work on the principle of "do it tonight!".
POSSIBLE WEAKNESSES OF THE ENGINE ROOM APPROACH
(be aware!)
The engine room approach is not a universal panacea to all problems
It could be possible for a person to dominate a group.
Will it be the "Law of the jungle?"
The exercise might favour particular types of mind, e.g. intuitive - the distribution of information prior to the event should tackle this problem.
Just how sustainable is the approach?
Where is the time for reflection?
Risk taking can be compromised by the voting process.
Do people feel ownership if their ideas are not taken forwards?
Is it open to manipulation - particularly by the engine room driver or organising group?
You will be
able to come back to the on-line handout by clicking on the ‘Brighton and Hove’ Category Hyperlink in the life and right hand menu. 
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