[ Text Version of "Learning/Education and Information" ]

Learning/Education and Information

Not only research but also learning/education and information are affected by CERTEC's theory and method formation. In relative terms we are concentrating a lot more on education and information than is usually the case in a university department. In order for it to be possible to develop Rehabilitation Engineering as a research field, a high education and information profile is needed. CERTEC also has a special objective: to provide disabled people not only with handicap aids but also with knowledge. Of course, this it not to be taken literally: it is not possible to “give away knowledge". But it is possible to be consciously striving to make it easier to acquire knowledge, and we are doing just that by focusing on giving learning for and about people with disabilities an honest chance. The core of our efforts with respect to “Learning and Education" has been presented earlier (see “learn.net - en introduktion" [6] and “Att vara universitetslärare" [7]).

All previous changes in everyday education have had one thing in common - they have influenced some particular aspect, perhaps a certain perspective or a minor part of a course or a lecture or a book. Similar to the way one move in a chess game will usually (at least temporarily) affect only the immediate vicinity of the chess piece. We are now experiencing something which looks more like the Othello game: adding one single piece may have global consequences. “The only piece" is the Internet. The use of the Internet can actually, although it sounds odd, from certain points of view provide greater proximity than an ordinary lecture. (see [6]).

And suddenly it is possible, for example, to let the students be the ones who are asking the questions. Whether disabled or not. Finally students are able to get to the very source. It is not only “dare to know", catchwords of the Age of Enlightenment, which are echoing. The “to the source" (ad fontes!) of the Renaissance has suddenly become reality.

One reason why learning is one of our priorities, that is, why we are focusing on the process of how information can turn into knowledge and on how education can contribute to this process, is that if people with disabilities themselves acquire knowledge about rehabilitation engineering they can in themselves unite their insights both into the effects of the disability and into how the technology can be made to meet their needs, wishes and dreams. Thereby, the iterative process, as described in the above section on research, can sometimes take place inside the individual person, which certainly reduces the risk of mistakes being made. Peter Anderberg [2] is an excellent example of such a person and of the importance of such a person.

However, the majority of our students are not disabled. For these students as well, our focus is on learning. Generally speaking, one sees things in a completely different light when the focus is on the student's learning process rather than education. There are similar currents in other universities (for instance, at the University of Gothenburg, Department of Education, Professor Ference Marton and at the Luleå Institute of Technology, Professor Henning Johansson). The university's famous bridge between research and education could be sturdier and stronger if it was built between research and learning instead. The latter processes are the ones that are most closely related. Research generates knowledge which is new to the researcher and to humanity, while learning generates knowledge which is new only to the student. However, on an individual level, both research and learning are about human learning and therefore there are many similarities between them [7].

When focusing on learning, CERTEC also wanted to look for support in research, but unfortunately there is not very much there. Educational research has been focusing on education, teaching, syllabuses, curriculums, organization, etc. For instance, the process of learning has been the subject of fewer than 5% of all doctoral theses in education in Sweden during the 20^th century.

There is insufficient knowledge about the mentalizing process itself, that is, about what happens when a person learns something (c.f. the discussion in Fria Freja part 2, [8]).

Furthermore, there is not much of a dialogue about learning within the field of Education. When CERTEC began to see that an Internet breakthrough on a large scale was imminent, we ourselves began an open and tentative Internet dialogue on October 31, 1995 (with Peter and myself as opening speakers, see http://www.arkiv.certec.lth.se/learning/files/myller.html). The dialogue has already been utilized in, for example, learn.net [6]. Readers may wish to review the introductory lecture on rehabilitation technology which is part of learn.net, with respect to both contents and method. The lecture is a complementary way to learn more about CERTEC's activities.

CERTEC is keeping a high profile with regard to information. There is an endless need for information; we are able to meet only a fraction of public interest. This is both encouraging and frustrating. Approximately three full time positions (20% of our time) are devoted to information in the broadest sense. In addition to providing information about our own activities (on the Internet and at “CERTEC Information Days" twice a year), we are engaged in something which perhaps could be called information brokering, that is, while maintaining a certain level of quality control, we try to guide people to the information they are looking for. On or off the Internet. Information brokering will gain in importance as the noise level rises on the Internet. There is a need for somebody who by their name will guarantee quality and a certain degree of accuracy in the information being brokered. Soon the intelligent Internet search agents will spread, but these, too, will need to be controlled, evaluated and continuously maintained. There is an immediacy and a dynamic to the Internet which can not only make information (and perhaps even knowledge in the form of the expert system) available in a global network, but also treat it as the perishable that it is. It can even be provided with an “expiry date".

A cross-fertilization takes place between research, education and information which enables the whole to become more than its parts. When CERTEC puts a lot of effort into writing books and reports, and into a strong presence on the Internet, it is mainly because that which is documented acquires a form which bridges time and space. However, documentation also has another benefit. If one is giving a lecture or a seminar, if one is looking for a sincere dialogue or wants to contribute to long-term learning, it is an invaluable advantage to be able to refer to web links, books and reports. This is the only way for the student to get an honest opportunity for meaningful learning, and the only way for him/her to give something back, immediately or later, when pursuing a career. All learning is an individual process and requires individual time, the possibility of pursuing individual interests, etc. This is possible only to a very minor degree in education which is led directly by the teacher. For this reason, documented materials are of indispensable value.

Part of the result of an Internet search on Peter Anderberg, CERTEC (Jan 16, 1997)

CERTEC's Internet home page Jan 16, 1997 (http://www.arkiv.certec.lth.se)

Introduction

References