THE FUTURE OF LEARNING IN A NETWORKED WORLD
Observations on being part of this travelling unconference:
(podcast of this content HERE)

TRADITIONAL OR 'NORMAL' CONFERENCE
OPEN (SPACE) OR UNCONFERENCE
short periods when you're responsible for presenting on deck all the time 'instructing' , answering questions, and engaging in discussion
participants most of the time in a passive role taking information in very little learning time in the sense of hearing/learning/listening on a specific topic in a discrete block (for presenters and participants)
learning is very end-point or object oriented learning more fluid, more related to process and connections between ideas > emergent themes
presenters drive the agenda, set the topic, and prepare for it others have substantial say in setting the agenda
presenters don't have to listen to others; participants don't expect to have input you have to listen to others! Participants come expecting to have a say and contribute to the construction of a dynamically evolving agenda
participants have little time for asking questions participants have ample time for asking questions
maybe suits more passive learner types suits more proactive , more confident, spontaneous thinkers
presenter in control; you establish your space, set it up so it suits you, and run the show presenter may have to go to others' locations and adjust on the spot ie no comfort zone; need to be flexible (with a vengeance!)
presenter does most, if not all, the talking presenter shares the stage; it's about collaborative construction of knowledge, not presenting
presenter prepares everything beforehand no pre-preparation possible as you don't know what topics will evolve
suits more teacher-centred methodology totally learner-centred; may not suit field-dependent types
single topic multiple concurrent topics
conference proceedings collated into a single volume by conference organisers output from multiple sources; data is dispersed via many channels (blogs, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarking; photo/movie sharing); collation of resources the responsibility of individuals