Between Thursday and Saturday last week I was in beautiful Barcelona at the 16th International Conference on Learning where I presented a paper on patchwork media. The conference was an eclectic mix of practitioners bound together by themes in teaching and learning. The topics under consideration ranged from origami for maths education to e-learning in HE. There are pros and cons of course to such a wide ranging coverage mix. Sometimes though inspiration in practice can come from the most unlikely sessions, perhaps sometimes we try to hard to listen to a narrow band of peers afterall, learning is learning wherever it is found.
My own session was entitled Patchwork media: Advancing the patchwork text. Essentially the session focused upon how technology can enhance the patchwork text approach. Three main ways were considered: through resource creation, through online community and through media rich assessment products. The research was undertaken with Kev Thompson & Tim Williams. The presentation is here: Patchwork in BARCELONA.
A particularly interesting session was on the promotion of professional learning in to undergraduate courses at Griffin University, Australia. Essentially, within undergraduate courses learners are being professionally sensitized,; they are developing a sense of professionalism and professional identity and they are being encouraged to understand the industry that they will work in through direct contact sessions. The role of industry in this development was high, though not in placement the industry is adding authenticity to the campus. A super model which fuses knowledge types in ways envisaged by Barnett (1999). [The presentation, was by Craig Cameron and Brett Freudenberg]. Presently I am involved in developing a professional development module for post graduate learners from various professions. I wonder <note to self> how for small groups of learners or cohorts from varied professional backgrounds, how online open resources can most effectively help inject professional sensitization and awareness.
Lydia Arnold 