The old and the new

I'm flying out to Athens this afternoon in a big orange and white bird, to attend the International Conference on Open and Distance Learning (ICODL) which is being hosted by the Hellenic Open University and the University of Cyprus. Keynote speakers include Michael Moore, Alan Tait and Paul Clark, all veterans of the Distance Education model of learning. It may turn out to be a clash of the old and the new.

The conference blurb states:
'Distance education is one of the most talked-about topics today in higher education and corporate training. This conference, which will provide the latest information on distance education programs, processes, packages, and protocols, is geared to both experienced professionals and interested newcomers to distance education and online learning who hail from a variety of work sectors, including higher education, continuing education, business, government, professional associations, and nonprofit organizations'.

Well, I'm not so sure that distance education is still a viable term, with so much blurring of the boundaries between home, work and school. Is there any 'distance' worth talking about any more? Technologies are becoming ever more personal, pervasive and ubiquitous, and a great deal more transparent, and I'm wondering how long we will continue to talk about a paradigm which may have seen its day. Never the less, I'm going with an open mind, to hear what people are saying, to see if there is anything new in 'distance education'. I'm also presenting my own paper on e-learning to support nomadic forms of learning where students enjoy the same quality of provision, screen topography and equivalency of support, wherever and whenever they are. Will report from the conference when I get the chance.