Reflections while away and returning - use of technology and readings on embodiment

Back into the swing of things after almost three weeks away. Will be resettling back into work routine as from today but have jotted some observations and reflections while away. These now summarised.

I stayed in youth hostels for 10 nights, a week in Adelaide and 3 nights in Brisbane. As usual, the hostels were busy with school groups, travellers and visitors. I did my usual observation of the types of technology being used. Almost every person at the hostel, apart from the younger school children, had a laptop or tablet with most also using a mobile phone. The main difference was the prevalence of video messaging, using Skype or Facetime. The reading and TV rooms were usually occupied with people talking to their laptops and there would be several people in the common room doing the same. Ease of access and use has made video communication mainstream for travellers.

While away, I worked through two edited books by Ericsson. The first was the 2006 edited book on expertise and the second, the 2009 one on developing professional expertise. Summaries are forthcoming on this blog. Both provide up to date information that is relevant and applicable to practice in trades based teaching and learning.

In Brisbane, I was joined by my elderly parents and my grown up children. I usually travel using public transport and enjoy getting to know a place through walking. However, with more people, I had to resort to hiring a car, equipped with a GPS to navigate the one way system and highway/toll ways. I have a good sense of direction and found the GPS to be frustrating as it would invariably send instructions to go around in the wrong direction before finding it's way back on track via the one way streets. After a couple of days, I was back to studying the map to work out a route and then using the GPS as a reference of where I was, rather than letting the GPS lead me to the destination. I suppose its a case of using the parts of technology that fit into my way of doing things, or perhaps I am getting too old to change!! Perhaps my sense of direction is so much embodied into my being that receiving information that does not correlate with my inner compass, creates too much input to cope with. Something to think through over the next couple of weeks as I continue readings in the area of embodied cognition.