[Xmca-l] Re: "Scaling up" and "Big ideas"

[HENRY SHONERD]

Gregs,
I wonder if “viral development” is at all associated with the idea of “changing the narrative”. Something catches fire in the public imagination. On a smaller scale, I noticed as a high school student how language leaders among the students could start using a particular turn of phrase and it would take hold in the whole school. Viral.This federated idea might be resonance between a germ cell at different scales, sort of fractal.
Henry
 
> On Mar 18, 2015, at 3:34 PM, Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Greg,
> I like this idea of "federated development" but am also fond of "viral
> development". The latter has the advantage of feeling more "organic"
> ("federation" has connotations of "bureaucracy" to me - e.g. Star Wars),
> but on the other hand, "viral" is not exactly a catchy (!) concept in
> positive terms (e.g., computer viruses, cold viruses...).
> -greg
> 
> On Wed, Mar 18, 2015 at 3:18 PM, Greg Mcverry <jgregmcverry@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
>> This is common in the US as well. Especially in border states with Mexico.
>> Recently  a wave of unaccompanied minors (5 and 6 years old) trying to
>> immigrate without parents by traveling 1,000 of miles.
>> 
>> There is some recent research in the literacy community around
>> transnational literacies but in terms of activism you have DREAM advocates
>> and not enough....
>> 
>> The same event sparked a wave of xenophobia that ended immigration reform
>> in US.
>> 
>> In terms of the original post fidelity and scale have always been the
>> impossible dream of outcome based research.
>> 
>> The same is true of education reform and development in general.
>> 
>> Instead of fidelity I think we should try for federated development. Have a
>> shared goal but allow for the plan to be forked and localized.
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor
> Department of Anthropology
> 880 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
> Brigham Young University
> Provo, UT 84602
> http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson