The Learning Revolution - Deep Dive at Black Mountain

BECAUSE OF CHANGES AT BLACK MOUNTAIN SOLE WE ARE HAVING TO CANCEL THIS EVENT. SO SORRY! STAY TUNED FOR SOME FORM OF RESCHEDULING!


We do hope you will consider joining us in Black Mountain, North Carolina, for the first-ever Learning Revolution Deep Dive.

To Register and Pay:
Register for the Deep Dive and pay at Eventbrite
. See detailed information below. Any questions can be directed to admin@web20labs.com. Please also join the Deep Dive Black Mountain group HERE so that others who are going to attend can connect with you and we can send you important notices.

Pre-conference:
Room check-ins for the pre-conference, and the first night of the film festival (see below), will be the afternoon of May 9th. Saturday and Sunday, May 10 - 11, there will be a variety of community or local activities to pursue, including hiking, site-seeing, or just relaxing. The discussion and planning group for those days is HERE.

Deep Dive:
The focused event will take place from Monday morning, May 12th through noon on Wednesday, May 14th (those not participating in the pre-conference days can check in Sunday afternoon, May 11th). We will follow the "Open Space Technology" or barcamp/unconference style. This involves the establishing of discussion topics (all focused on learning) at the start, and then scheduling those in during the event with longer blocks of time for deep conversation. Like the virtual/online conference which precedes this event, our intent is to bring together those from varied learning settings into a larger context for discussion; unlike the virtual/online conference, this is not a venue for presentations but for discussions.

Possible Topics:
The following topic strands from the Learning Revolution online conference may provide some ideas for conversations.
  • Learning Theory
    Topic ideas: constructivism, connectivism, agency, peer learning, self-directed learning, experiential learning, social learning, etc.
  • Learning Practice
    Topic ideas: agile learning, apprenticeship learning, service learning, community / place-based learning, project-based learning, challenge learning, blended learning, special ed, etc.
  • Learning Science
    Topic ideas: cognitive research, behaviorism, play, nutrition, exercise, etc.
  • Learning Spaces
    Topic ideas: learning environments, outdoor learning, learning commons, makerspaces, libraries, museums, democratic schools, free schools, homeschooling, unschooling, etc.
  • Technology & Learning
    Topic ideas: personal learning networks, personal learning environments, micro-learning communities, social media, gaming, electronic portfolios, personal web presence, etc.

Film Festival:
The Education Film Festival associated with Deep Dive Black Mountain will be held each evening May 9 - 13  in the historic theater or, if weather permits, outside. The focus of this inaugural event will be several films on alternative or non-traditional education. The film directors are being invited to attend the event or to come in live through video-conferencing to discuss the film and take questions as well. More information (and the list of invited films) is HERE.

Child Care:
Child care and youth activities are available independently and at a small fee from the Agile Learning team at The Mosaic School on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (details HERE).

Location:
Deep Dive Black Mountain is being held at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly, nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, on 1200 acres of woodland beautified by mountain streams, wildflowers, ridges, valleys and spectacular views. At one time home to the experimental Black Mountain College, this year it has housed the higher-education experiment called Black Mountain SOLE (self-organized learning environment). The physical address is 84 Blue Ridge Assembly Rd, Black Mountain, NC 28711 (Google map link).

Payment and Registration:
We are using Eventbrite for registration and payment. They tack on a small processing and service on top of the costs listed below. To register, click HERE.

Registration Fees:
We are running the conference at cost to make it as likely as possible that those who want to can attend; but if you still need scholarship consideration you can contact admin@web20lab.com.
  • Students & children - free
  • Adults - $75

Room Costs:
Attendees are not required to stay at the facility, but event location is slightly remote and these rooms much cheaper than other local alternatives. Costs are not per person, but per room.
  • Hotel-style rooms: $70/night, accommodates two people. Private bath, two beds (1 single, 1 double), no in-room TV and very simple
  • Family rooms: email admin@web20labs.com for details.

We are not going to have any formal process for arranging room sharing, but you are welcome to do so through the discussion forum in the group for attendees.


Food Costs
:
The meal service provided by Blue Ridge Assembly is good, plentiful, regular cuisine, and while there are vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free components to the meals, the facility does not offer specialty food options (but the residential hall does have a full commercial kitchen available for participant use).

  • Pre-conference: Sat. Breakfast-Sun Lunch = $60.00 per adult or $30 per child (12 or under)
  • Deep Dive: Sun. Supper - Wed. Breakfast = $100 per adult or $57.00 per child (12 or under)

Cancellation Policy

All event costs will be refundable minus a 6.5% processing fee until May 3rd. After May 3rd we cannot guarantee a refund of your payment.

 


More images from Black Mountain can be found HERE.