Mob Rule Learning: Camps, Unconferences, and Trashing the Talking Head (review)

Consultant and freelance writer Michelle Boule traces the history of unconferences and camps in Mob Rule Learning, a book that synthesizes the available literature and resources on how to engage your organizations, campuses, and classrooms to harness the power of a non-traditional knowledge exchange: the mob.

Boule describes herself on her blog (http://wanderingeyre.com) as a Geek Librarian. A former Library Journal Mover and Shaker and definite tech savvy professional, her writing is informative but not overly "techie." Boule provides help to novices with quick definitions of unknown vocabulary or phrases and even includes an ending Tools and Glossary section that defines the terms that constantly pepper everyday work conversations.

Mob Rule Learning is divided into two parts; the first is a look at how the traditional conference experience could be greatly enhanced through the mob or unconference movement and the second half focuses on how those same elements could augment learning in classrooms. The "mob" that Boule constantly refers to in her writing is not the crowd that passively engages in continuing education pursuits but, instead, individuals who "want to share and create the knowledge that they hold within." (p. 4) Boule ends her book with a manifesto reaffirming that while traditional structures might be hard to break through, engaging in the mob and the power that will come from the collective will far outweigh the trepidation and backlash of the few. In short, it is Boule's call to un-conference.

While Boule does state that traditional conferences (and classrooms) should remain, she points out they "have become more about the organization putting on the conference than the people attending the conference." (p. 7) In today's rapid information exchange environment where users are now experienced content creators, people should express and engage in their learning process. Talking heads should not assume they understand the audiences and their level of knowledge. Instead, there should exist an exchange between speaker and crowd, so that everyone contributes and can, together, promote information from input to output.

Boule's book offers a handy checklist of how to plan and execute a successful unconference or camp, delves into case studies of mob-type classroom settings, and discusses the benefits and pitfalls of breaking from the norm of traditional structure. Mob Rule Learning can be applied to any setting: non-profit, corporate, and educational. Even though Boule's message container is a traditional and limited means of exchange— the printed book—she opens by encouraging her readers to check her blog for additional, newer resources and, of course, to engage.

Boule's theme of the mob, or shared learning, rather than the lone talking head is what will take not only conference attendees, but classroom students from input to output in their information pursuits. The book's detailed advice and steps will pacify even those most resistant to change and is recommended for professionals who want to actively pursue transformation within their own conference and organizational structures, especially those with hesitant members.