Learning in conference 4.-5.7.2006

Technically it's easy, in a few places already. You have your flaptop or mobile phone and you have access to internet. Fine. You start your process after a moment of inspiration. Everything goes all right, technically and psychologically. But socially you may arrange harmful situation for example when sitting with your friends in a local pub and starting your learning process there.

The problem is that others are not used to your ubiquitous learning. They feel they've been left out. When working, you should be at your work place. When learning, you should be at school. You just can't forget the others without consequences.

So, you should pay attention to cultural differences and social context when considering the possibilities and challenges of learning. Even the best available connections, technics, learning material or web architecture can't help if there's no space for learning, culturally or socially.

Step by step -ideology has been important when attempting make the life long learning principles true. The focus has been in skills. More holistic perspective is ecological. A learner - or a potential learner - is not individual atoms neither just part of the learning group but also part of her/his family, neighbourhood, village, net of friends or colleagues. After opening the computer and starting a web course this learner is perhaps alone but before she/he has got to that step she/he has taken many social or cultural steps, which can be much harder than the course itself. Sometimes they can be easy and natural steps, too, one part of the unavoidable personal growth.

One funny type of creating literature in a informal way is combining magnetic word or letter bits on a freezer door. You can create easily and fast when having breakfast! Often those works of art vanish during the same day but you can always take a photo and, if you like, put it to your blog.

Sorry to say but these poems are just in Finnish. If you do not understand Finnish you can taste the sound of the words and the rhytm of the sentences.

I'm still at home in Kauhajoki. Virtually I am right now communicating with other members of Espoo conference. Perhaps also with other curious persons who picked up this page.

Summer has evolved - now it's a bit rainy - and I'm looking forward to see what kind of new discussions and ideas I'll experience during the conference. I still remember many nice conversations and interesting speeches in 2005 Brussels eLearning conference.

During the process of writing this blog I also think which of the themes in the conference would be my theme right now. I can't split myself to different sessisons in conference even when I would like to. Will it be A, B, C, D or even E, I don't know yet. But I'll find it out!