Blog entries from Cynthia Jimes

An Aha Moment

Cynthia Jimes — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:24:39 +0100

I like talking to people here at the Fest because they're so open. Maybe it's because they see my Ask me about ISKME button, but they often give me their opinions about the Fest before I get a chance to ask. And what they say always makes me think. I heard that the Action Collabs seemed scattered and nebulous at moments, but that this is a good thing. Like any good innovation and design process, there are moments when the conversations can seem ambiguous. But overall, it seems that chaos and ...

Improving Access to Knowledge

Cynthia Jimes — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:41:26 +0100

It's the end of day two of the Big Ideas Fest, and I’ve been inspired more times than I can count. I'm struck by how the participants are driving the conversation, working on designing and prototyping new solutions to education challenges in their Action Collab sessions. I’m also still thinking about last night’s keynote speech by Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive. In addition to archiving the entire Internet, he’s also working towards archiving the L...

Concrete to Abstract and Back Again

Cynthia Jimes — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:58:38 +0100

As a researcher, when I hit a wall in my thinking, I step outside of my cube and grab a colleague. We sit at the flip chart and draw and wrestle with a problem. Sometimes I look out the window or take a walk to catch a glimpse of the ocean (I am lucky enough to work in Half Moon Bay). Doing this always gives me fresh eyes. It helps me make new connections, and I go back to my desk a little wiser and more creative about the wall I am trying to move past.

I'm seeing this process embo...

What Are Big Ideas Anyway? | Big Ideas Fest

Cynthia Jimes — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:23:20 +0100

Big Ideas aren’t just about heady, abstract ideas. Some of our recent conversations with teachers who plan to attend the Fest provide a glimpse into their school site challenges and what they hope to take away from the Fest. For example, two of these teachers explained that their school is struggling to support the learning needs of its English learner population. They plan to use the Big Ideas Fest to develop a prototype plan for improving outcomes for English Learners, specifically focused ...