Resources
Media
CoLab media strives to showcase stories about communities, told by those who have few avenues beyond their immediate spheres in which to communicate their knowledge. Academics traditionally write long, technical documents, and community practitioners usually have neither the time nor the outlets to express their knowledge. CoLab seeks to make spaces for the Academy and Community to communicate and co-create knowledge.
You can follow CoLab media on CoLab Radio, by becoming a fan of our CoLab Facebook page, via our (sporadic) podcast on iTunes, and on MIT TechTV.
Email colabradio@mit.edu if you have any questions or would like to subscribe to email updates. We'd love to hear from you!
Basecamp as a DUSP Student Resource
CoLab has made software platform Basecamp available to support the internal management of student-led project development within DUSP. CoLab acts a s a host for this student-managed account and provides minimal supervision in regard to management protocols. For a complete list of DUSP Student Project managed using Basecamp please visit CoLab-DUSP Student Projects Basecamp at http://sites.google.com/site/duspbasecamp/.
Cases & Tools for Innovating
Lead: Sebastiao Ferreira
Case 1: Crisis Management in Nicaragua
Recently, I had to work in a case of crisis management with a Nicaraguan microfinance institution (Fondo de Desarrollo Local, FDL). It was a case where an excellent institution started to lose control of its portfolio because of a rupture in the payment chain in the local economies where their clients operate.
Case 2: Mapping Innovative Experiences
The method is for conducting a process of analytical reconstruction of innovative experiences that will help innovators understand their innovations and how they accomplish them, as well as social innovation promoters.
Case 3: Reflective Practice
A set of methods and tools for reflecting in and on practice
- Critical Moments Reflection Methodology (pdf)
- Critical Moments Reflection Methodology (Presentation) (pdf)
- Refleting In and On Action (pdf)
Reflective Practice
Reflective practice is an approach that enables practitioners, through greater awareness and reflection, to identify the knowledge that is embedded in the experience of their work, improve their actions in a timely way, and achieve greater flexibility and conceptual innovation.
Using reflective practice tools, practitioners can leverage their knowledge in practical situations and to combine action and learning more effectively.
For a mini-course on reflective practice, check out Reflective Practice: An Approach for Expanding Your Learning Frontiers. Taught in January 2007 by MIT Professor Ceasar McDowell and CoLab Visiting Scholar Sebastiao Mendonca Ferreira, it is free through MIT OpenCourseWare.