A journey into Knowing

The Bazaar project team hosted a conference at the Utrecht University, in the Netherlands under the Motto: Show that you share!

If I were to rate the event, I would have to give it the highest score (5 Stars). It was indeed one of the best events I have attended in months…maybe years.
With a very loose agenda, the organizers were able to develop a really meaningful learning atmosphere with opportunities to network and engage in open discussions about several topics of interest related to learning.

I have learned that there are nice projects out there that are being developed and that I had no idea about. I also learned that:

open content is becoming more and more relevant and that is something we should not disregard, but start engaging more and more;

social software can be a means to a more meaningful learning, NOT teaching, approach;

dischooling is urgent; school just a way of exercising control;

teaching is irrelevant if it doesn’t enable active, personalized learning;

I learn more when I am having FUN,

and that I still have got loads to learn!

What further skills and/or development needs were revealed?:

several issues were raised in terms of the social software, tools and open content topic:

The need to educate and create awareness about the digital “self” - how students, and actually everyone that is developing their online identity, need to be guided and advised in the way they are establishing themselves in cyberspace;

The necessity to transform teaching practice and culture to enable the action of learning.

How will the learning event change the way I work?:

Lessons learned:

Sharing more and more often is necessary! And sharing is not only providing information, but reflecting together, being there for one another and give your best - the others will do the same;

Engage and interacting more often with other people is mandatory for the efficient development and maintenance of the community. One way of doing this is by leaving comments on each other blogs/productions, for instance, instead of just reading them and not making one’s presence known;

Encouraging an open content approach is important;

Guiding people on how to use and make the best of web 2.0 is relevant and decisive in the way web 2.0 will benefit the learning activity and the individual’s performance.

In other words….carry on doing what I have been preaching for ages!