We had an exceptionally productive meeting this Sunday that felt as though it moved us forwards in significant ways. After that meeting and a few days of work, we have a new name for the project, a domain name and functional site, naming conventions for data management, social media accounts (though nothing on them), community programs and a network of potential contributors who have agreed to take part, thorough legal language for our consent form, and a roadmap for the coming weeks. I have felt a little disoriented to this point, uncertain of what scale and time frames would ultimately be feasible and how. I now have a much more confident read on what is possible, as well as the path required to get there. The details of data management and work flow also came into clearer resolution and are, not surprisingly, much more time intensive than they might first appear.  The time intensive nature of managing submissions in a coherent work flow is one defining question for future scalability.

One thing I keep realizing is this: our group is a really wonderful example of the simple but profound possibilities that come with collaboration – a word frequently thrown around in K-12 and probably most educational circles but I wonder how often it is actually experienced in inspiring ways. Sometimes, two or more people simply working on the same thing “counts” as collaboration. But in its truest form, it is a space of possibility in which the final product is truly greater than what any single person could ever have accomplished. This feels obvious at some level, but I think our group embodies this in real ways and the results each week continue to surprise and inspire me.

A final note: our team graciously welcomed three students to our team meeting and made them feel heard, respected, and valued.  Beyond my personal gratitude for the students expressing that it was a positive experience, as a parallel for what our project attempts to do, I think it is mission-consistent, important, and hopefully a sign that we are on the right track.