[xmca] More thoughts on ISCAR 2005

From: Michael JOHNSON (johnsonmr1@Cardiff.ac.uk)
Date: Sat Oct 01 2005 - 02:48:29 PDT


As a mere monoglot consumer at ISCAR (sold it to the boss as CPD) I have a couple of comments to offer for what they're worth:
- The social programme was made free which was _fantastic_ and ensured the huge attendances they deserved. Even for someone without a memory each bit was unforgettable. Even the coffee breaks were lavish affairs.
- I thought the tourist part of Seville was fairly self-contained. It wasn't hard to find a tapas café where there was no English on the menu or amongst the staff. I had some really funny tangles with the lingo but that's for another time/place.
- just delighted with the way Seth went about his business. What a debt ISCAR owes him!
- even knowing why, a bit flummoxed about the Region that the UK is part of (but I'm getting used to that)
- I went out to try and understand CHAT to the extent that I could decide whether to apply it or not. Actually I don't think I have a choice. It is unthinkable to try and explain anything without reference to culture and history etc... (but I still have some way to go to unpick those three dots!). Perhaps that statement diagnoses me as a carrier of the infection rather than a contagion just yet! I am very grateful to everyone who so willingly pardoned my ignorance and took the time to chat stuff over. So I have a better feel for CHAT now but there is no getting away from the need for some serious reading around.
- I try to make the most of things* and so when no-one but the chair or the first speaker turned up to a session there was _plenty_ of time for extended presentation and debate ;-) Of course the congress needs to allow for more multilingual sessions - I attended a mainly Spanish one and it went very well. There were bigger problems with English ones where amplification was in order.
- There is, I am learning, more to CHAT than a triangle(s) and I felt a little disappointed that so much time was given to making Yrjo's model try and fit outside of DWR, and when it didn't fit (surprise!) some splendid lengths were made to expose its shortcomings. There were more modest suggestions at appropriate refinements to that model but in other cases I would have preferred more digging around in the tradition for other treasures. There were also some for whom a bit of theory was made to go a very long way and I was left pondering whether they were supporting activity theory or visa versa.
- Vital bits of the congress will come back to me in the months/years ahead. I've probably already said too much too soon...

Best wishes,

m

--
Mike Johnson
Lecturer Information Management and Teaching
School of Nursing and Midwifery Studies
Wales College of Medicine, Biology, Life and Health Sciences
Cardiff University
2:16 Ty Dewi Sant
Heath Park
Cardiff
CF14 4XN

Tel. 029 20743208 Mobile: 07950 030106

'The range of capacities that technologies have are constituted finally when they are mobilised in use'

Jones, C. (2002) Is there a policy for networked learning? In Networked Learning 2002 Eds S. Banks, Goodyear, P, Hodgson, V and McConnell, M. Sheffield: Lancaster University and Sheffield University 175-182. Available online at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/nlc2002/proceedings/symp/08.htm#08a

_______________________________________________ xmca mailing list xmca@weber.ucsd.edu http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Nov 01 2005 - 01:00:20 PST