Around the Globe 1

by Steve Wheeler

This regular column will offer reviews of world wide distance learning developments.  There will be reports of international conferences and workshops, news of innovations in technology, and reviews of events, people and institutions connected with distance learning practice and theory.   The world is a big place, and the success of this column will depend upon your input, wherever you are reading this journal.  Your news, conference reports and reviews of international events will be considered for inclusion in future issues of this journal.  Please e-mail your contributions to: swheeler@plymouth.ac.uk .  The first report is from a conference held in Finland in June 1999.

Communications and Education in a Networked Society – IFIP Open Conference, Hammeenlinna, Finland, June 1999

The idyllic lakeside resort of Hotel Aulanko, Hameenlinna was the location for the 1999 International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) open conference on information and communication technologies in Education.  Attendance was good with almost 300 delegates from over 30 countries participating throughout the week long event.  

Approximately 100 kilometres north of Helsinki, Hameenlinna is surrounded by placid lakes and verdant wooded hillsides, and due to its northerly latitude it can boast almost continual daylight in mid-June.  Those attending the conference were treated to a packed social programme that included excursions in the form of visits to cultural centres, concerts, picnics, wine tasting, boat trips, midnight swimming and of course the ubiquitous sauna.  Hameenlinna is also the birthplace of the celebrated classical composer Sibelius, and a centre for popular arts and crafts, so those participating in the conference had the opportunity to immerse themselves fully in the Nordic culture.

Delegates also enjoyed a feast of diverse papers, seminars and workshops over the week, with subjects ranging from psychological issues, virtual reality, quality issues in education, technological innovation and the culture of pedagogy. Although the majority of delegates worked within further and higher education, there were also strong contingents representing both the corporate training and compulsory education sectors. 

The organisers certainly achieved what they set out to do – to arrange an unforgettable experience that was valuable to many for a number of reasons.  Friendships were formed and collaborations arranged, new ideas shared and developed, and many of us were inspired, engendering a whole new impetus and enthusiasm for us to take back to our places of work.  

Papers of note in the psychological section included a review of work undertaken to compare the effectiveness of remote learning systems by Yacoov Katz of Bar-Ilan University, Israel.  Caroline Dowling from the Australian Catholic University talked about how knowledge can be constructed through social interactions within computer mediated environments, and Juhani Touvinen, a research fellow at Monash University, Australia, presented a new research framework to measure cognitive load of multi-media materials.  John Pearson, also of Monash University, presented fascinating insights into lurking, anonymity and participation in on-line learning.  

There was also much to debate about the role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in teacher training.  Papers given by Giampaolo Chiappini (Italy), Deryn Watson & Barry Blakely (University College, London, UK), and Mario Maia & Cecelia Monteiro (Portugal) variously examined the ways in which ICT is enhancing course provision.  A live video link from Exeter University, in the UK enabled Professor Nikki Davies of the T3 project to join in with the discussions on teacher preparation. 

Sindre Rosvik (Norway) chaired one panel session worthy of mention.  The session, entitled ‘Visions of the Future – Teaching: what are the challenges?’ featured Larry Miller (Canada), Petra Fisser (Holland) and Andrea Ko (Hungary). Several pertinent questions were posed about change agency and motivation.  Lively debate ensued from the floor of the conference, as delegates explored the problems of their own institutions and the potential solutions to resistance to change within organisations.

The opening keynote address was given by Alex Semenov of the Institute of New Technologies, Moscow, Russian Federation.  In his talk, entitled ‘Technology and School Transformation’ Professor Semenov covered an eclectic tour de force of learning technology and its impact on the learning and teaching environment.  Referring to the work of Seymour Papert on the programming language LOGO, Professor Semenov gave insight into the ways in which Russian schools and colleges are utilising problem solving approaches and technology to enhance the learning experience.  He challenged those present to enable their students to construct knowledge in a truly student centred manner, and showed that the new technologies can help in this process.

The keynote speech on learning spaces presented by Margaret Riel of Irvine University, USA was remarkable for two reasons.  Firstly, she presented the entire address by videoconference via satellite from her classroom – an apposite media given the nature of her talk.  Secondly, she excited and enthralled her audience with news of several new technological innovations.  These included digital paper – a method by which data can be presented in the form of a book with pages.  The spine of the book contains memory sufficient to store up to 100 standard sized textbooks, and these can be uploaded from a digital source and called up as required by touch menu.  It was reported that one of the developers, Xerox Corporation, has performed 10,000 regenerations of a single page with negligible degradation of quality.

Dr Riel also outlined the notion of ‘World Boards’ – an Internet based application being developed by Indiana University and others.  The application incorporates the knowledge base of the entire world, called up by three co-ordinates, latitude, longitude and altitude.  Using these co-ordinates, using a handheld eyepiece, anyone could access any information about anywhere on Earth, at any time.   Mobile, wearable computers are on the horizon, and using these technological miracles, concluded Dr Riel, teachers in the next decade will witness anytime, anyplace learning becoming a reality.

The closing keynote address was given by Erno Lehtinen, from the University of Turku, Finland.  Dr Lehtinen presented a comprehensive analysis of the many challenges facing educators in the next decade.  He posed delegates the key question;  is what we are doing in the ‘classroom’ theory or technology driven?  Traditional education, said Dr Lehtinen, deals with well defined pieces of knowledge, is transmitted through established methodologies, and fulfils external standards and societal needs through the cultivation of individual minds.  Learning, however, must effect a change in participation in community, through authentic and anchored learning.  Dr Lehtinen concluded by arguing that education should now be charged with building societies that value collaborative learning, shared space and progressive inquiry.  It is only this way that society will cope with the many demands and crises we will meet.

For this reporter, the choice of Finland for this important event was perfect.  The genuine hospitality of the Finns, together with the beautiful surrounding countryside and fascinating culture and history helped to make the event memorable.  Finland is arguably the most connected society on the planet – one of the delegates witnessed a young boy playing on a skateboard whilst using a mobile phone.  Technologically advanced, and yet replete with history and rich culture, Finland will be unforgettable.  The crowning glory of the event, however, was the spectacle of the midnight sun – providing illumination at a time when we would expect only darkness – and with it an implicit hope for the future of distance learning.

In the next issue of the Quarterly Review of Distance Education, I shall be reporting on my attendance at two further international conferences.  The first is MEMO 99, held in October in Minnesota, USA, and the second will be On-Line Educa, held in Berlin, Germany in November, 1999.