Well, at last we have found the time to make the switch for the MBT-F manual so that it has finally adopted the much improved new (v.3) AMBIT manual "theme".
Thank you to Jon Lister and Joshua Bradley from JandJ for their expertise in helping us do this.
A theme in TiddlySpace-speak is just a set of instructions that tell the browser (that you are using to "read" the site) how to behave - effectively it sets the look of the thing, and the interface. In terms of the theory at the basis of AMBIT and MBT-F, "mentalization", the design of the theme is where the authors must attempt to mentalize their readership - have their minds, their intentions and predicaments, in mind so that something contingent can be offered.
Why Wikis?
We are trying to balance palliation of the nostalgia for the simplicity, predictability and aesthetics of a book (titles, chapter headings, pages on a wooden desk, more?!) with the many other layers of possibility that the wiki-based format adds:
* gathered multimedia content
* non-linearity of content that can be re-organised in an infinity of ways
* inter-connectivity that encourages meaningful linking of content
* searchability
* cross-comparisons between geographically dispersed practitioners.
The more things improve in the manual (incrementally, incredibly slowly, but I think perceptibly) the more I am interested in the way this feeds into, even directly influences, the way that AMBIT is maturing as a model, and has been spreading in terms of uptake by teams. Manualizing and mentalizing are not so far apart.
We are now heavily booked for trainings right out into summer 2013, with a good mix of statutory and voluntary sector teams. We have a significant trial funded and in the planning stage in Cambridgeshire, which will be carried out over the next 3 years.
