Colin Warren: the blog

After finishing The West Wing last week, I’ve also finished something else…

Tonight I finished a three and a half year commitment and service in a volunteer capacity. I’m glad I’ve been able to make a contribution and make a small difference to the community I’m part of. Kind words were said (and appreciated) and I hope that work can continue in the vein that it has been commenced.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, but then that can be expected in a community consisting of individuals. I’ve learnt a lot about leadership, communication and common vision & goals. So, while some frustrating times, it’s generally been fulfilling work and there is some sadness in walking away. but, it’s got to be done, others will fill the breach and the work will go on. I’m looking forward to a more hands-off role mentoring other to step up. As Benjamin Zander suggests – “What contribution can you make?“

Thank you for the opportunity to make mine…

I have just returned from a trip to Queensland where I attended the Learning Technology Conference 2009 in Mooloolaba (you can read more about that here), I met up with old friends whom I hadn’t seen for 30 years, and caught up with some of my family in Brisbane. The weather was warm and not too muggy and I even enjoyed a swim in the ocean (where the water’s much warmer than what we have in Victoria).

The conference enabled me to meet some old friends (from last year) and also connect with some other friends who I’ve met on line, but had not yet met face-to-face. I also met some new friends with whom I’ll keep in touch online. It’s great to talk & share with like minds about what we do professionally. So, my Personal Learning network (PLN) has been consolidated and extended.

As well as ‘networking’ at the conference I was also able to meet up with friends that I hadn’t seen for thirty years! Great to hear about each other’s lives, marriage, work, children, travels, etc. etc. The best thing was that it all felt easy and natural, no pretence and easy laughs. Wonderful. Also catching up with closer family and being comfortable at my home away from home. It’s always nice to touch base, and get a sense of how live is going for them. Lots of food, stories and laughs as well. We are social beings and those connections between family and friends are important – good to be able to share, encourage and support others who are meaningful to us.

It’s not always fun to be away from home and the family, but I felt very comfortable when visiting, as my hosts were generous and kind. It does make a difference when you can feel at home at someone else’s place.

The travel was fairly straight forward with web check-in making airport procedures quick and it easy trip back – it was very nice to get home.

Oh, and did I tell you how easy it is to eat too much?

This morning I’m attending a workshop on wikis and blogs which is part of the ‘emerging technologies’ conference that we’ve been at in Wollongong. Hopefully it will be good and I’ll learn something new about the technology and also about how you can teach /run a workshop (successfully or otherwise) to help others learn about them too.

This afternoon it will be ‘on the road again’ as we start our journey home. First stop the Illawara Fly tree top walk and then Barima (and a book barn) and hopefully all the way to Bright by this evening. Then the last leg home tomorrow with maybe a stop off in Melbourne.

Talk to you later…

I have taken the plunge and begun another blog called Learner Bytes! Not sure what I’ve got myself in for, but I’ve seen that others can manage to keep a couple of blogs going so I’m giving it a whirl.

The idea is that this blog remains a more personal one and the other becomes a professional blog. Not in the sense that I want to make money out of it, but more that I can write about my professional life. I wanted to keep the two separate and also be able to ‘build’ a presence online with regard to the things I do at work and what I’m interested in. I suppose I’m intending it to be come a kind of e-portfolio, demonstrating what I’ve done, what I’m involved in, what I’m thinking about, and making connections to other worthy people, ideas and technology.

Phew, it’s the end of a huge day. Glad I didn’t have to scratch myself…

I met some folk from South Africa earlier this week and got talking to them about cultures, customs and difference. Reminded me of the times (yes they has been more than one) when I’ve experienced culture shock. Can you be ‘shocked’ by as many cultures as there are, or does it depend on how different they are compared with your own, or something else? From my experience there are always be some sort of adjustments to make when you experience something foreign and different in a another place. The models that you’ve built your own existence on, can be dismantled very quickly. I suppose we’ll all deal with these ‘shocks’ in different ways and with different intensities.

These visitors from another place were quite taken with Australian society. Basic things we take for granted like being able to travel on public transport were a little foreign to them. I’m also sure that it will still be a while before their culture/s become integrated like ours. The mixing and overlap when cultures collide and/or intersect can mean significant adjustments for those involved. I reckon I’ve been fortunate to have grown up in a multi-cutural society and also to have travelled a little. I continue to be amazed at the different ways of doing things (eating, working, worshiping, creating etc.) that we can see on this planet.

So, I’d suggest you enjoy the space where you live and appreciate it’s idiosyncrasies, and when visiting other people and places be prepared for the/an other way of life/living and even if it takes you a moment try and come to see it as just another way… Being outside your comfort zone is when you are open to learning.

I’ve been listening to some podcasts (recorded conference presentations etc. – check out Stephen Downes, David Snowden and Teemu Arina) and have to agree with what seems to be a common theme of the recognition of the importance of the ‘process’ in teaching and learning. I’m probably catching up with things, and this may have been a theme for a while but it captured my interest (the last couple of years have been all about outcomes based education). It makes sense to me that the important part of learning is the process, not the outcome/product … and this is where (what’s commonly known as) social software comes in.

These collaborative/communications technologies can enable the support of, and focus on, the process of learning rather than the assessment criteria. But, I suppose it all depends on what people see as important and what the curriculum is. We’ve been playing with some of these (web 2.0) applications at work and I’m keen to examine the usefulness of these to support the development of teaching and learning in ways that can make the process more explicit. Most suitable for teacher education I reckon…