Conversations
Local and global interactions and discussions that have meaning and relevance to individual learners and learning communities.
Goodbye Finland……Hello France
After 11 weeks in Finland (well in and out...but mostly in!) I am now in Nice, France for International Digital Week, at the Universite Cote D'Azur. This is a European-based event including...
Learning with AI – Augmenting collaboration
Today I presented this short collection of thoughts at an online conference. I consider myself a 'veteran' in the online and in-person presentation challenge, well I have been doing it a long...
Action Competence, GenAI and Planetary Well-Being – Debating online
Recently I collaborated with doctoral student, Orsi Tuba, at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland where I am based. Together we designed of an active online session with a view to collect...
Workshop in Norway: Embracing the Human-AI-World
As part of my trip to Oslo, Norway I was invited by the International Council for Online and Distance Education in collaboration with Fleksibel utdanning Norge to join a panel session of thought...
Oslo – I love you!
My side-trip to Oslo, Norway, despite some rainy weather has been wonderful. This city is compact, diverse, walkable, and has excellent facilities and attractions. The public transport includes...
CCE, OGCL, Lahti and all that Jazz!
On May 8-9 I attended a small but robust conference in another town in Finland called Lahti. I was surprised to find out that Lahti has a lower population, at about 120,000, compared to...
May Day weekend activities in Finland!
May day (May 1) is an active public celebration in Finland. The Finnish word is 'vappu' and is originally celebrated as labour day or international workers day, and also celebration of the...
The missing piece in education – Computation? Constructionism?
My recent post about attending the CMK event in Reggio Emilia focused on the RE approach. I want to now share the theme of 'computational thinking' and approaches to constructionism, as we heard,...
My first Finnish Luontopolku!
Despite the end of April looming, it continues to be cold here in Finland - but the snow and ice in Jyväskylä has essentially gone for now, so Spring and Summer are just around the corner I...
The Reggio Emilia Approach: Core Principles and Organization
Despite colleagues sharing some confusion with me as to why a higher education academic (now) would go to Reggio Emilia (RE) to learn about their approach to learning, off I went. Not only was...
Travels in Italy – Milan to Reggio Emilia
I am in Italy! First time in this country. Yes, I know I was just in Finland.....and I will be going back after Easter, but I have taken a sabbatical from my sabbatical (!) to attend the...
From Symphony to Snow
Did you know there are about 30 professional orchestra's in Finland? With a population of less than 6 million this is an amazing fact. I found this article 'Orchestras in Finnish Music Policy'...
From Pedagogy to Cosmogogy – HIEST Presentation, JYU Finland
This is my second week in Finland, based at the Finnish Institute for Education Research, University of Jyväskylä. I was invited to present my research at the April meeting of the Higher...
Exploring Jyväskylä – Saturday April 5
My first weekend in Jyväskylä! It is now Sunday and, no surprise, I will be working most of the day to get a head start on the week but let me tell you about my Saturday. It was cold!...
Jyväskylä – the ‘Athens’ of Finland
I am now in Jyväskylä, having arrived by train on Tuesday. Although I did not see snow and/or ice in Helsinki there is some around further north in fields and waterways. Finnish Institute for...