WHY?!

I am currently attending a large conference on education in Cambodia. In the span of my career I have attended several conferences, workshops, trainings, and professional development activities.

I am consistently amazed by the proportion of these activities that are not taught well. I work in a field that specializes in the presentation of information, and yet, the vast majority of experts in my field seem totally incapable of presenting information to their peers.

Would any of them, any of us, advise teachers to stand in front of a group and read slides? Or even simply to present without interruption for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time? How can we claim to be immersed in the science of information presentation, and then not use what we know when presenting information?

People should sweat bullets before they present before teachers. We should expect, demonstrate, and encourage the absolute highest level of information sharing in our conferences and professional development sessions.

Right?

Fast Forward

Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to start spreading the word. We should start filing for incorporation in the next few weeks and apply for 501(c)3 status directly after that.

www.osedi.org

The idea feels pretty intuitive for me. Rather than forming a for-profit consulting firm, I'm starting a nonprofit consulting firm and making the materials I produce open source so that anyone can use them. It probably won't make me rich, but I hope it will allow me to have greater impact on education in the developing word.

Starting Up

There have been some interesting developments of late. I decided late last year that if I applied myself properly, I can do what I do for PEPY for several NGO's at once. By becoming a more independent consultant, I could increase the impact my work will have on educational development.
So, I think that's just what I'll do. I'm going to start a nonprofit that provides consulting and educational materials to people working in the developing world. I've been talking to lawyers, getting incorporation documents, and really, actually, doing it. It's pretty exciting. I had to give up one name, Eduvelopment.org, because another company is asserting Trademark rights. I think it's possible I could win the battle, but probably not worth it so we'll just take a different tack.

Keep watching here for updates!