The Handheld Learning Conference claims to be the world’s leading event about learning using mobile and inexpensive access technologies. Over 1,500 international delegates got together last year.
This year’s conference is themed around “Creativity, Innovation, Inclusion & Transformation” in part because 2009 is the European year of creativity and innovation (which was news to me). It runs from Monday 5th to Wednesday 7th October 2009.
Lead speakers include:
* Malcolm McLaren, Agent provocateur and artist
* James Paul Gee, Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies at Arizona State University
* Professor Elizabeth Hayes, Arizona State University
* Gordon Shukwit, Director of IT and Learning Technologies, Apple Inc
* John Davitt, International Learning Advocate, NewTools.org
* Tim Brighouse, Former Commissioner for London Schools
* Donald Clark, e-Learning Expert
* David Cavallo, Chief Learning Architect, MIT OLPC
* Tim Rylands, Teacher & Innovator
HHL promises to bring together experts from the education, technology and entertainment sectors.
Education, technology and entertainment? Hurray! This sounds like a magic mix. Kind of like a geek cocktail for me!
The conference is spread over three days, to demonstrate, debate and explore how mobile technologies such as phones, entertainment devices, GPS locators, and netbooks can enable “transformational improvements” in learning across schools, home, further education, training and business.
I’m not sure what ‘transformational improvements’ are – hope there’s not too much of this type of marketese at the actual conference – but I am interested in seeing how mobile technologies can help us all do things better.
Here in Northern Ireland we’re hoping to get as many companies and organisations as possible together to organise a subsidised Trade Mission to the conference – lots of folk are already signed up. So if you’re a ROI or NI learning company and you’re interested in attending the conference, let me know ASAP.
And if you fancy easing yourself into handheld learning with a sleek Apple device, get yourself signed up for the conference before July 31 – you’ll get a free iPod touch when you arrive at the conference. Nice.
My favourite talk was Erin McKean’s funny, geeky and intelligent plea for the lexicographical world to redefine itself.
Erin calls herself a dictionary evangelist. She focuses on the inadequacy of the paper dictionary as a reference form – it’s clumsy, it’s difficult to search, it’s constricted by its physical size – it cannot encompass every word, which is why lexicographers choose the bestest words for inclusion.
Erin then points out that we have the Internet. A publication medium without boundaries. Yet what do most dictionaries do? They replicate the print medium.
Erin observes that lexicography isn’t rocket science. But that the field of rocket science is now aided by hordes of passionate, well-informed amateurs, as are astronomy and ornithology and others. Yet lexicography continues its shut-off, closed in approach to collecting, defining and choosing those words that are ‘good’ enough or ‘important’ enough to get in the dictionary.
James Murray was the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, a post he took up in 1879. Murray’s quite the fossil. But Erin points out that if he were transported from the Victorian era to today, Murray would have no problem in getting a job. Lexicography has not evolved with the times.
So she makes a passionate plea for lexicography to open its doors to user participation, to open source, to not excluding words, to letting the passionate amateurs and word lovers and professional lexicographers to work together towards creating a big online dictionary.
What struck me when I watched this TED talk was that Erin states that computers haven’t revolutionised the dictionary – they’ve just basically strapped a modern combustion engine onto a very ancient bike. Sure it goes faster, but it’s not much better beyond that. Dictionaries need to change. They need to become more than print-based copies with easier, faster search fields.
But it’s not just lexicographers who are guilty of this sin. Any established learning or communication method does this. Check out TV or radio professionals who squash their broadcasting tradition into ‘digital media’. Much academic endeavour on the Internet has been stymied and slowed by centuries-old traditions being replicated online, instead of freestyling and making the most of new technologies. Sometimes things really do just seem to go back to a lecturer standing in an empty lecture theatre in Second Life, talking to themselves.
But this sounds like a rant now. I suggest you skip over to TED and watch Erin. Her talk is clever, funny, passionate and engaging. You’re probably not a lexicographer, but I’m pretty sure what she’s saying applies in many fields.
NOTE: My favourite Erin McKean quote ‘a little-known technological fact about the Internet is it’s actually made up for words and enthusiasm.’
I found Dean Shareski through Mr Tweet. I enjoyed Dean’s post on How the Book Destroyed Community on his blog ideasandthoughts.org. It’s an interesting read, and follows the learning circle from scholar teaching students, to students learning from books, right up to now, where learners can read ’socially’, using tools like Diigo to read a text and make note/mark text as they go for other readers. Check it out.
Muireann O’Keeffe let me know that DIT are running the 7th eLearning Summer School from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th June in DIT Aungier Street.
It’s for anyone interested in e-learning. It covers strategies which will help you and your staff to make the most of current thinking and technologies.
Plans for this year’s event are almost finalised and an outline programme for the week is now available.
The focus this year is “Get Flexible: Moving to an Online Environment” and it’s expected that participants will complete the week with the basic elements of an online module in place.
Book online or call 4027866 for further information. The Summer School costs 395 euros for non-DIT staff. Numbers are strictly limited to 25.
The BCS has filmed a series of videos on e-learning videos with the following panel:
- Clive Shepherd, Chair of the e-Learning Network
- Samantha Kinstrey, MD of 2e2 Training
- Laura Overton, MD of Towards Maturity
- Lars Hyland, Director of Learning Services at Brightwave
- Jooli Atkins of Matrix FortyTwo and Chair of the BCS Information and Technology Training Specialist Group.
The panel feedback on topics like saving money through e-learning, is classroom training finished?, which learning technologies can help and how to get the learning blend right.
As interesting as these videos might be, I’m not a fan of producing video debates and just sticking them up online. There’s no option to comment on these videos, no transcript for both accessibility and learning purposes, and as a learner, I was left with no sense of connection with the debate or the BCS. It’s very much a broadcast of e-learning opinions that doesn’t actually use any of the good advice given in the videos.
Have a peep at video 3 where Clive Shepherd very clearly states that he views Twitter as a communication tool, rather than a learning tool. It’s not to say that Twitter can’t help learning – but he’s quite right in saying there are tools better suited to it.
Other debates in this series are:
IT’s help in the Credit Crunch
Data Security and public confidence
IT policies and your green credentials
Solving the IT skills supply and demand cycle
