First
International conference on ICT for Education in Sardinia
Prima
conferenza internazionale sulle ICT al servizio dell'apprendimento
in Sardegna
The
() takes place on 12 September 2008 at the Auditorium,Sardegna
Ricerche, Building 2, Loc. Piscina Manna, 09010 Pula (Cagliari)
Italy.
The Learning Development Institute
will participate through its President, Jan Visser, alongside
the following other invited speakers:
Erik Duval, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Claude Moulin, Université de Technologie de
Compiègne, France
Ileana De La Teja, Centre de Recherche LICEF, Université
du Québec à Montréal, Canada, and International
Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction
Philip Barker, Teesside University, UK
Giulio Concas, DIEE Università di Cagliari,
Italy
Lourdes Guàrdia, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain
Albert Sangrà Morer, Univ. Oberta de Catalunya, Spain
Jan Visser's paper will be on
Students and teachers navigating a learning landscape in
constant flux. The abstract for the paper reads
as follows:
This presentation reports on
a two-year collaboratively creative effort, conducted from late
2005 till the end of 2007 among a group of 18 researchers, lifelong
learners, educators and thinkers to explore how learning is becoming
different from what it used to be; how it changes the roles taken
on by learners (and consequently changes the teachers' roles
as well); and how it leads to new expectations. The most unsurprising
conclusion of this quest is that whatever can be said now about
such new roles and expectations will likely have to be fundamentally
reviewed before long as the mechanisms through which we gain
access to learning opportunities evolve with the rapidly evolving
technological landscape. In other words, the learning landscape
is in flux and will remain so. We better be prepared.
I will argue that the best way to deal with the new reality is
by being proactive rather than reactive or retroactive. To be
proactive we must constantly critically reassess what we mean
by such simple phrases as 'I learn' or 'she learns.' Not only
does the meaning of such phrases change; they may take on multiple
meanings simultaneously. I will thus furthermore argue that we
must look at learning from a broader perspective than is ordinarily
done (much more than just what we do in school or its electronic
equivalent); emphasize learning along the lifespan; explore both
formal and informal settings for learning; speak to the role
played in connection with the above issues by technology in ways
that are driven by design as well as by spontaneous decisions
on the part of different actors in the learning environment;
and highlight the importance of community, collaboration and
creativity. My talk will be referenced to explorations regarding
the Meaning of Learning (MOL) undertaken by the Learning Development
Institute <http://www.learndev.org> as well as to a book
that should be rolling off the press in early 2008 on 'Learners
in a Changing Learning Landscape: Reflections from a Dialogue
on New Roles and Expectations' (published by Springer). As I
have worked for decades on education development across the world,
I am likely also to explore the meaning of all of the above in
a global setting. After all, thanks to technology learners and
educators can now look upon themselves as actors in a global
environment.
In addition to presenting a
paper, Jan Visser will also conduct a round table exploratory
discussion on Creative collaboration and the use of technology.
