I have pondered how to start this post and the best way to share the power of group-based, challenged-based, collaborative learning that has many facets including co-created outcomes. That’s a big sentence…. and the reality is most conferences and events do NOT value collaborative learning enough to provide the time, space, support and enthusiasm to ensure it has a chance of working, or of making a tangible impact on participant construction of knowledge.

The Digital Bridges workshop was in discussion for many months before we all arrived in Nice this year. I had reached out to colleagues at the Universite Cote D’Azur with an idea…..an idea that would be a shift from much of the usual ‘sit and get’ format. Even sessions labelled as ‘workshops’ at events such as this are often still a lot of ‘front of room’ talking with some collaborative work (20 minutes if we are lucky). My proposal was based on many years of running ‘Flat Classroom’ global projects and conferences, and more recently a shorter workshop design of the same style in Oslo for ICDE called ‘Embracing the Human-AI-World’.

In the interest of openness and collegiality I am sharing the workshop design, elements, process and outcomes on the day. When participants (about 150 in groups of about 6) are fully engaged across 5+ hours on a hot day in Nice something remarkable is happening. Especially when they turn to me in the middle of the event and say things like ‘this is so interactive!’, and ‘we are so engaged with the task – its exciting’. Remember, these are adults – it is often difficult to raise excitement at a conference – interest in the topic, yes, but excitement about collaboration with people you do not really know? That’s where the magic of this approach truly works – I have seen it before and hopefully will see it again!

Design and Process of Digital Bridges

This workshop follows the thinking routine ‘What?’, ‘So What?’, ‘Now What?’.

Together, we can build the digital bridges that will transform global education

All groups completed the following process:

• ‘What?’ – Identify challenges and write a vision statement
• Analyze implications, develop solutions and prepare a ‘Moonshot’ pitch
• Deliver a compelling 3 min. pitch to at least 3 other groups and receive feedback
• Refine and commit to a final pitch delivered to the whole room (about 8-12 groups depending on the room)
• Vote individually for the best group
• Groups were spread across 3 rooms therefore those 3 best ideas then presented again at the final plenary session.

The following introductory text was shared with participants to set the scene.

Rationale

In an era where technology is rapidly reshaping education, the need for global collaboration and innovative approaches to teaching and learning has never been more crucial. The digital transformation of higher education presents both challenges and unprecedented opportunities to reimagine how we connect, teach, and learn across borders.

Description

This intensive one-day workshop brings together educators, administrators, and digital innovators from around the world to explore and co-create solutions for the future of global education. Through hands-on activities, expert-led sessions, and collaborative design thinking exercises, participants will work together to bridge digital divides, enhance teaching capabilities, and strengthen international academic partnerships.

Call to Action

Join us in shaping the future of global education! Experienced digital educators and those starting their educational technology journey are participating – all perspectives are valuable.

Being a part of this workshop offers a unique opportunity for you to:

• Connect with fellow innovators from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds
• Develop practical strategies for implementing digital tools in your teaching
• Contribute to building sustainable international educational partnerships
• Learn from real-world success stories and lessons learned

The Importance of Scaffolding!

In any learning situation outcomes are enhanced through best approaches to scaffold understanding of and how to work through the process. This is what we did:

• Participants were put into groups based on the ‘city’ found on their name tag, e.g. Melbourne
• Each group had a Google doc to record ideas and share with everyone in the group and, as needed, more widely
• All information including individual group Google docs was available on a Padlet called ‘Digital Bridges Collaborative Space‘. Participants/groups uploaded final artefacts to the Padlet
• Each group belonged to one of three sub-themes which provided inspiration for their ideas:
  • A. “Inclusive Digital Pedagogies”
  • B. “Connected Learning Communities”
  • C. “Future-Ready Education Design”
• Three AI agents were provided to support the ideation, research, development of moonshot pitch and vision statement…. and for a bit of fun! (let’s be honest here).
  • The first agent, ‘Bridgit’, was designed specifically with ALL workshop information. Questions like ‘What should we be working on after the lunch break?’ or ‘What is a vision statement?’ to ‘Write 3 example vision statements based on this idea….’
  • Then Explainer Ellie provided another interactive perspective on topics they might be exploring
  • Finally, Contrary Connie helped with deeper exploration and crafting of ideas into final presentations

The group Google doc template, below, shares our expectations of each group to not only follow the process but to record their ideas, decisions, actions and final outcomes.

The AI Agents were well used, even though a free ChatGPT account was needed to login. As expected many participants ran out of data volume, given the free account, and Agent sharing ability (I am working on this!), and they then used the normal ChatGPT or another tool, or not.

The Outcomes – Ideas and Fun

It is always interesting to see this type of workshop proceed and come to a conclusion. There are groups that perhaps do not function as well as they could – and of course with 35 different countries represented at this event there were some communication challenges to deal with. There are other groups who work slowly and then have to speed up significantly at the end to finish. There are others who work collaboratively and consistently to achieve a high standard.

The Ideation or ‘What?’ stage.

Every group created an initial pitch – some had included images for enhanced communication, some even videos.

Two group members were nominated to ‘pitch’; while the remainder of each group stayed at the table to hear and feedback on the other pitches.

This part of the process is always chaotic and noisy, but it is highly engaging as a communication task and as a way to consolidate ideas. If you cannot clearly pitch what the problem and therefore your elected solution then it’s back to the drawing board!

The ‘So What?’ stage – Part A – Moonshot Pitch

The next two parts of the process, the ‘So What?’ Part A and ‘Now What?’ often become merged and blurred depending on energy levels and time constraints – and in our case we had a very hot day that permeated the building! Regardless, all groups after editing their ideas and pitches presented to the whole room that they were based in.

Group Istanbul

Group Madrid

Group Montreal

Group New York

Group London

The ‘Now What?’ stage – Pitching final ideas to a wider audience as a whole group with digital media. (Groups from the ‘Connected Learning Communities’ room only).

Group Los Angeles

Group New Delhi

Group Marakesh

Group Melbourne

Group Dakar – AI Hologram Teacher Assistant

Theme A: Inclusive Pedagogies

Group Los Angeles – LoLa Low Latency Audio and Virtual Collaboration Tools

Theme B: Connected Learning Communities

Group Paris – Track Academia

Theme C: Future-Ready Education Design