Education Innovation

Thin Walled Church

Thin Walls..

In the Thin Walled church- Learning takes place in multiple locations, venues, and times- Real Space and Digital Space- on-demand and “just-in-time.”

A Thin Walled church designs with Mobile, Global, and Local in mind at all times. 

A Thin Walled church increases choice of- time, location, delivery, and content.

Thinning the walls is developing an Internet campus and going to the Cloud. Thin Walled churches enable services MON-SUN, anytime, and delivered anywhere.

Thin Walled churches make it easy to share knowledge, wisdom, and insight among teams inside AND among other churches, fields, and professions outside.

A Thin Walled church gets new ideas from internal and external sources. These ideas are free to be explored and lead to organic innovation due to a loose organizational structure—thin walls between teams, departments, staff, and leaders. 

Thin Walled churches leverages networks—especially learning networks.

They know learning networks increase opportunities for collaborative learning—learning things only collaboration through Thin Walls can bring. Networks increase range of learning projects for Thin Walled churches to participate in. 

Thin Walled churches value social learning values and reciprocity. Thin Walled churches share through the network. The network remembers if you helped someone learn. The thin walls in networks know...If you didn't they remember that too.  

Thin Walled church values low bureaucracy and high empowerment. Thin Walled churches remove barriers for learners to network, pursue ideas, extend knowledge, and create new possibilities. 

In a Thin Walled church teaching is not locked to pulpit. Teaching is done peer-to-peer, in groups, and through Personal Learning Networks.  All teach and all learn. 

A Thin Walled church creates systems and programs to push those inside out into community and pull those out in the community inside. 

Thin Walled church- church develops networked communities inside and outside. In Touch-space and Cyberspace.  

Thin Walled church is participatory, networked, connected, transparent, internally and external focused. 

As more churches go online, embrace social media, open up, and participate in networks- the church walls will continue to "thin.”

 

We Are the Network

“We have greatly overestimated value of access to info and greatly underestimated value of access to each other." - Clay Shirky

Remember- WE ARE the Network.

“Listen to this wise advice; follow it closely, for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others.” Pr. 22:17 (LB)

Thoughts On A Learning Network

Thoughts on a Learning Network...

In a Learning Network, if you want to get more knowledge then you need to give away more knowledge, share more learning, and help others increase their learning.

In a Learning Network—each person is a node in a massive network of networks.

In the Learning Network-social ties, learning events, learning media, etc. are now organized around the individual (not the group or community).

We have less real face-to-face time with others, but more contract throughout the day via technology and networks. We are now just a likely to learn from someone we see face-to-face during our day, as we are to learn from someone we never see who is in our network.

In the Learning Network- we have moved from place-to-place contact to person-to-person contact through our technology and networks.

The place of connectivity and learning no longer is a physical place. Learning Networks allow for learning outside of the limitations of time and space.

We are members of networks with many loose connections. View connections in terms of reciprocity- we must manage these connections to maximize learning opportunities.

Reciprocity into our networks is not only key...but it leaves a digital trace. People will know if we have helped others learn.

Learning Networks provide for "just-in-time" learning, serendipitous learning. It allows you to leverage your learning with others…but you have to share.