Colin Warren: the blog

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?