Convopointer

Convopointer was in the house this evening for the HIVE (Harvard graduate school of education Innovation and Ventures in Education) initial pitch night! Zack shared a quick summary of Convopointer and had great conversations with several people afterwards.

Zack standing under the (glare-y) Convopointer whiteboard sign, at HIVE night!

This event provided a great opportunity to dig into some of the educational benefits of Convopointer in all contexts. In addition to the educational benefit to EVERYONE of being able to have a streamlined way to connect to additional perspectives on any topic you encounter, several people pointed out how useful Convopointer could be in a classroom context: helping students (elementary through graduate school) find and then evaluate multiple “sides” to a story. Additionally, assigning students to CREATE their own Convopointers is a great way to push students to engage multiple viewpoints on a single topic, and then be able to assess the quality of the connections they have made!

Particular shout-outs to David A., Mark N., Daniel D., Andrew C., and Stuart J. who shared some great ideas!

It is great to see the Convopointer community growing!

In watching the State of the Union this evening, we at Convopointer are looking forward to next year, when Convopointer will be in use during the speech!

While I like to think I do know a thing or two about many of the issues mentioned tonight, it is always the case that a major speech will touch on topics I’m only tangentially familiar with–maybe my only understanding of the issue comes from the speech itself. To create an informed viewpoint on any subject, I need to see the best thinking by everyone on that subject.

Next year, I’m excited to read the Convopointers that people place directly on the text of the State of the Union. I’m excited to read the Convopointers that people place directly on the text of the Republican rebuttal.

As both President Obama and Senator Joni Ernst pointed out this evening, engaging with multiple viewpoints is critical to the future of a healthy democracy. [Though, since Convopointer isn’t ready yet, I don’t have any easy way to tell if anyone might have good reasons to disagree with that!]

Have you ever had a moment when you read or heard a new insight on a familiar topic and thought “Oh!” as a new layer of understanding solidified in your mind?

We think those moments should happen more often, and that they shouldn’t just happen by accident by being in the right place at the right time. Our guess is that, for whatever topic you happen to be thinking about, there are lots of those “Oh!” moments out there waiting that you just don’t have access to. Maybe such a moment organizes your thoughts in a brand new, useful way; maybe that moment gives you an entirely new perspective you hadn’t previously considered; maybe that moment helps you realize you were thinking about something incorrectly!

Convopointer is a tool to hand you those moments. All the time.