Some relatively random thoughts on what we've been doing and thinking....
We have spent the last 3 days driving and walking around beautiful Washington state. Conversations have flowed around numerous topics – fall out from the Open Ed conference in Vancouver, and sundry issues as they occur. There has been no agenda, and no grand manifestos. It would appear that none of us has a burning desire to achieve any major goal other than to engage in professional conversations across our fields of expertise and interest.
Leigh has written on OER as the new colonialism (http://leighblackall.blogspot.com/2009/08/looking-into-sky-open-ed-oh...) – how the well-intentioned use of Creative Commons licensing may inadvertently be forcing content creators in the developing world to pay heed to copyright in a way they never did before. My own reservation about what I saw at the Open Ed conference (an otherwise excellent 3 days of consistent high level discourse about learning and methodology) was the fact that it was dominated by well-meaning white folks from the developed world espousing a philosophy that at least in part is supposed to benefit those less able to produce quality content. So why was this conference held in North America? Why wasn't it held in somewhere like Mexico that may have enabled participants from central and South America? Or Nigeria? Or Laos?
I did learn that 'openness' is not just about creating content that is freely available to all, but also an attitude that acknowledges that all nations have educators with talent and enthusiasm that we can exploit together on a level playing field in the sense that we all have something to learn from each other, and further, that it's about an approach that acknowledges the role of the learner in crafting educational offerings, and other multiple resources that may make up an individual's PLE.
We have already explored what a future FLNW event may look like – modelled on a broad unconference approach that would include streams outside of education such as the arts, tourism, and trades. Central to this would be the inclusion of multiple streams running concurrently in different spaces, and examples of how a new model of teaching may look. It was very noticeable once again that the Open Ed conference consisted mainly of stand and deliver presenations – as excellent as they were – but it's time to model what is so often suggested, but rarely seen in practice at conferences.
In our travelling group we have touched on what the world would look like if all schools were closed, the propensity of some to create technical changes because they can (eg single sign-on, learning object repositories) and whether we need them, and the recurring problem of bringing in others less disposed to engage in teaching with technology. We have the gold, we all appreciate the wonders of what the technolgy can bring, but still armies of educators in all sectors resist our advances. “Don't worry about people stealing a new idea.. If it's original you will have to ram it down their throats.” (http://img.ffffound.com/static-data/assets/6/b42b207e1650338824063f69...) So why is this? After 10 plus years of this technology being available we are still pushing the proverbial uphill. Clearly not everyone is going to adopt this technology in any way that instances significant change. Why not? Is it a teacher's personal values? Is it not as fundamentally good as we converts believe? Is the 'gold' too far away in 'them thar hills.'
We are questioning our assumptions (Nancy is great with clarifying questions and reality checks), pushing each others' boundaries and being honest with each other. Lots more I coud add.....but more to come next time.....
Thanks for this post, Michael. I need these "bookmarks" of the conversations because my memory is more and more like a sieve.
I was conversing w/ Derek on the beach yesterday about this next FLNW y'all envisioned on the way down the mountain. I am sure I did not get the details right, but Leigh said something that stuck. "It would take a year to plan and we'd raise XX dollars."
I kept thinking something about this catches in my net. Why on earth should fabulous conversations around diverse issues and topics over 5 days take a year of planning? For a 100 people? That seems like a lot of resources and complexity. Why not set the conditions in place (location, support for travel and inviting the diverse people you need to weave across silos) and then let people figure out their conversations in situ. Really OPEN the SPACE. If someone wants to lead a food stream, they do. If someone wants to visit teachers, they set that up.
I kept running into my own self contradictions when I think about this thing we call a meeting, or a conference. It confounds me. When we talk about openness and the internet as the platform, why do we continue to actually close in our own events? Is there a reason ? (And there might very well be a good one, but the contradiction intrigues me.)
I so appreciate the boldness of this type of future of learning
discussion. I am so aligned with Leighs' colonialism thoughts. I
wonder how different OpenEd would be if it had to take place in a
location where bandwidth, ESL and access were a big issue. And the
networked nature was limited to older style cell phones due to it
being the only reasonable wireless available. I wonder if all the rich
media and internet access would seem rather ridiculous (or even
impossible) if OpenEd took place in Laos, Ghana, Equator or Samoa...
Recently I have been scratching me head a lot about the whole
copyright issue. Is it a concept that is really a distraction with
little value in the context of learning?
<big smile) Wondering if this group should be renamed to Future of
Learning in the Angle-Saxon Network (FLASN)?
Thanks for your eyes...
Peter
On Aug 19, 9:18 am, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Do you accept it to be in Brazil next year or are you going to go on having
> futures of learning only in Anglo-Saxon countries?
> Warm regards,
> Bee
Peter!! :)
It was nice to meet you last week, and many thanks for the hospitality.
I presume you mean the OpenEd conference? How different would it be? A
good question. Probably more butchers papers and coloured markers maybe?
But: "alignment with Leigh's colonialism thoughts" Isn't there a risk in
going to these places you mention?
Wherever we end up, there needs to be a lot of listening.
> I so appreciate the boldness of this type of future of learning
> discussion. I am so aligned with Leighs' colonialism thoughts. I
> wonder how different OpenEd would be if it had to take place in a
> location where bandwidth, ESL and access were a big issue. And the
> networked nature was limited to older style cell phones due to it
> being the only reasonable wireless available. I wonder if all the rich
> media and internet access would seem rather ridiculous (or even
> impossible) if OpenEd took place in Laos, Ghana, Equator or Samoa...
> Recently I have been scratching me head a lot about the whole
> copyright issue. Is it a concept that is really a distraction with
> little value in the context of learning?
> <big smile) Wondering if this group should be renamed to Future of
> Learning in the Angle-Saxon Network (FLASN)?
> Thanks for your eyes...
> Peter
> On Aug 19, 9:18 am, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Do you accept it to be in Brazil next year or are you going to go on
> having
> > futures of learning only in Anglo-Saxon countries?
> > Warm regards,
> > Bee
Let me give you an idea of what is happening formally so you might want to tie both as you are traveling such distance.
End of June there is usually the FISL (Free Software) get together in the South of Brazil, which might be interesting for some of you to visit (however, this is still being discussed as they plan to do it in an open area, which might be too cold at that time of the year). Mid- July there will be the Braztesol conference for those interested in being part of my EduTech SIG presenters.
If you demonstrate interest now, I can start planning and checking what can be done and where and if any sponsorships are available. For me, the best month would be July, which is when I have my winter holidays. I also have about 14 days around Easter and another 14 days somewhere in October but the dates have not been defined yet.
Tell me what interests you, what you would like to do/see and kind of people you'd like to meet . Warm regards, Bee
On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 2:07 AM, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Let me give you an idea of what is happening formally so you might
> want to tie both as you are traveling such distance.
> End of June there is usually the FISL (Free Software) get together in
> the South of Brazil, which might be interesting for some of you to
> visit (however, this is still being discussed as they plan to do it in
> an open area, which might be too cold at that time of the year). Mid-
> July there will be the Braztesol conference for those interested in
> being part of my EduTech SIG presenters.
> If you demonstrate interest now, I can start planning and checking
> what can be done and where and if any sponsorships are available.
> For me, the best month would be July, which is when I have my winter
> holidays. I also have about 14 days around Easter and another 14 days
> somewhere in October but the dates have not been defined yet.
> Tell me what interests you, what you would like to do/see and kind of
> people you'd like to meet .
> Warm regards,
> Bee
On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 9:41 AM, Brent <pumiceh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> from my understanding of it in Maori cosmology men are perceived of as
> walking into the future with their backs turned:
> On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 2:07 AM, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Let me give you an idea of what is happening formally so you might
>> want to tie both as you are traveling such distance.
>> End of June there is usually the FISL (Free Software) get together in
>> the South of Brazil, which might be interesting for some of you to
>> visit (however, this is still being discussed as they plan to do it in
>> an open area, which might be too cold at that time of the year). Mid-
>> July there will be the Braztesol conference for those interested in
>> being part of my EduTech SIG presenters.
>> If you demonstrate interest now, I can start planning and checking
>> what can be done and where and if any sponsorships are available.
>> For me, the best month would be July, which is when I have my winter
>> holidays. I also have about 14 days around Easter and another 14 days
>> somewhere in October but the dates have not been defined yet.
>> Tell me what interests you, what you would like to do/see and kind of
>> people you'd like to meet .
>> Warm regards,
>> Bee
> Thanks for this post, Michael. I need these "bookmarks" of the conversations
> because my memory is more and more like a sieve.
> I was conversing w/ Derek on the beach yesterday about this next FLNW y'all
> envisioned on the way down the mountain. I am sure I did not get the details
> right, but Leigh said something that stuck. "It would take a year to plan
> and we'd raise XX dollars."
> I kept thinking something about this catches in my net. Why on earth should
> fabulous conversations around diverse issues and topics over 5 days take a
> year of planning? For a 100 people? That seems like a lot of resources and
> complexity. Why not set the conditions in place (location, support for
> travel and inviting the diverse people you need to weave across silos) and
> then let people figure out their conversations in situ. Really OPEN the
> SPACE. If someone wants to lead a food stream, they do. If someone wants to
> visit teachers, they set that up.
> I kept running into my own self contradictions when I think about this thing
> we call a meeting, or a conference. It confounds me. When we talk about
> openness and the internet as the platform, why do we continue to actually
> close in our own events? Is there a reason ? (And there might very well be a
> good one, but the contradiction intrigues me.)
> Do you accept it to be in Brazil next year or are you going to go on having
> futures of learning only in Anglo-Saxon countries?
> Warm regards,
> Bee
> I so appreciate the boldness of this type of future of learning
> discussion. I am so aligned with Leighs' colonialism thoughts. I
> wonder how different OpenEd would be if it had to take place in a
> location where bandwidth, ESL and access were a big issue. And the
> networked nature was limited to older style cell phones due to it
> being the only reasonable wireless available. I wonder if all the rich
> media and internet access would seem rather ridiculous (or even
> impossible) if OpenEd took place in Laos, Ghana, Equator or Samoa...
> Recently I have been scratching me head a lot about the whole
> copyright issue. Is it a concept that is really a distraction with
> little value in the context of learning?
> <big smile) Wondering if this group should be renamed to Future of
> Learning in the Angle-Saxon Network (FLASN)?
> Thanks for your eyes...
> Peter
> On Aug 19, 9:18 am, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Do you accept it to be in Brazil next year or are you going to go on having
> > futures of learning only in Anglo-Saxon countries?
> > Warm regards,
> > Bee
> Peter!! :)
> It was nice to meet you last week, and many thanks for the hospitality.
> I presume you mean the OpenEd conference? How different would it be? A
> good question. Probably more butchers papers and coloured markers maybe?
> But: "alignment with Leigh's colonialism thoughts" Isn't there a risk in
> going to these places you mention?
> Wherever we end up, there needs to be a lot of listening.
> And Barbera: who is the 'you' you are talking to?
> > I so appreciate the boldness of this type of future of learning
> > discussion. I am so aligned with Leighs' colonialism thoughts. I
> > wonder how different OpenEd would be if it had to take place in a
> > location where bandwidth, ESL and access were a big issue. And the
> > networked nature was limited to older style cell phones due to it
> > being the only reasonable wireless available. I wonder if all the rich
> > media and internet access would seem rather ridiculous (or even
> > impossible) if OpenEd took place in Laos, Ghana, Equator or Samoa...
> > Recently I have been scratching me head a lot about the whole
> > copyright issue. Is it a concept that is really a distraction with
> > little value in the context of learning?
> > <big smile) Wondering if this group should be renamed to Future of
> > Learning in the Angle-Saxon Network (FLASN)?
> > Thanks for your eyes...
> > Peter
> > On Aug 19, 9:18 am, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Do you accept it to be in Brazil next year or are you going to go on
> > having
> > > futures of learning only in Anglo-Saxon countries?
> > > Warm regards,
> > > Bee
> Let me give you an idea of what is happening formally so you might
> want to tie both as you are traveling such distance.
> End of June there is usually the FISL (Free Software) get together in
> the South of Brazil, which might be interesting for some of you to
> visit (however, this is still being discussed as they plan to do it in
> an open area, which might be too cold at that time of the year). Mid-
> July there will be the Braztesol conference for those interested in
> being part of my EduTech SIG presenters.
> If you demonstrate interest now, I can start planning and checking
> what can be done and where and if any sponsorships are available.
> For me, the best month would be July, which is when I have my winter
> holidays. I also have about 14 days around Easter and another 14 days
> somewhere in October but the dates have not been defined yet.
> Tell me what interests you, what you would like to do/see and kind of
> people you'd like to meet .
> Warm regards,
> Bee
> "men are perceived of as walking into the future with their backs turned"
> That's because the real enemy of the future is the back stabber
> On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 9:41 AM, Brent <pumiceh...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > from my understanding of it in Maori cosmology men are perceived of as
> > walking into the future with their backs turned:
> > On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 2:07 AM, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Let me give you an idea of what is happening formally so you might
> >> want to tie both as you are traveling such distance.
> >> End of June there is usually the FISL (Free Software) get together in
> >> the South of Brazil, which might be interesting for some of you to
> >> visit (however, this is still being discussed as they plan to do it in
> >> an open area, which might be too cold at that time of the year). Mid-
> >> July there will be the Braztesol conference for those interested in
> >> being part of my EduTech SIG presenters.
> >> If you demonstrate interest now, I can start planning and checking
> >> what can be done and where and if any sponsorships are available.
> >> For me, the best month would be July, which is when I have my winter
> >> holidays. I also have about 14 days around Easter and another 14 days
> >> somewhere in October but the dates have not been defined yet.
> >> Tell me what interests you, what you would like to do/see and kind of
> >> people you'd like to meet .
> >> Warm regards,
> >> Bee
> On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 2:07 AM, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Let me give you an idea of what is happening formally so you might
> > want to tie both as you are traveling such distance.
> > End of June there is usually the FISL (Free Software) get together in
> > the South of Brazil, which might be interesting for some of you to
> > visit (however, this is still being discussed as they plan to do it in
> > an open area, which might be too cold at that time of the year). Mid-
> > July there will be the Braztesol conference for those interested in
> > being part of my EduTech SIG presenters.
> > If you demonstrate interest now, I can start planning and checking
> > what can be done and where and if any sponsorships are available.
> > For me, the best month would be July, which is when I have my winter
> > holidays. I also have about 14 days around Easter and another 14 days
> > somewhere in October but the dates have not been defined yet.
> > Tell me what interests you, what you would like to do/see and kind of
> > people you'd like to meet .
> > Warm regards,
> > Bee
I'm overdue for another trip to South America. It would be great to spend
some time there with good friends in Brazil and Argentina & etc.
I'm not sure exactly when my summer holidays will be but July is always off
for me with parts of June and August on either side. This summer I was in
the southern hemisphere freezing in the mountains of Lesotho so I should be
able to handle Brazil at that time of year.
BrazilTESOL would be in interesting target for you and me :-)
On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 2:07 PM, Barbara Dieu <beeonl...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Let me give you an idea of what is happening formally so you might
> want to tie both as you are traveling such distance.
> End of June there is usually the FISL (Free Software) get together in
> the South of Brazil, which might be interesting for some of you to
> visit (however, this is still being discussed as they plan to do it in
> an open area, which might be too cold at that time of the year). Mid-
> July there will be the Braztesol conference for those interested in
> being part of my EduTech SIG presenters.
> If you demonstrate interest now, I can start planning and checking
> what can be done and where and if any sponsorships are available.
> For me, the best month would be July, which is when I have my winter
> holidays. I also have about 14 days around Easter and another 14 days
> somewhere in October but the dates have not been defined yet.
> Tell me what interests you, what you would like to do/see and kind of
> people you'd like to meet .
> Warm regards,
> Bee
> BrazilTESOL would be in interesting target for you and me :-)
We could work on an pre-conference unconference whole day event and do some listening instead of speaking - would love Michael and others to be present as well. B.
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