tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13999570086991809682024-02-02T10:16:53.596+01:00Bits & Pieces etcRicardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-14938852734281525872013-01-17T19:30:00.000+01:002013-01-17T19:43:13.850+01:00Personal Learning Environments and Innovative LeadershipBack in November 2012 I was contacted by Yusra Visser, who is one of the guest editors for a special issue of<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> the Quarterly Review of Distance Education</span>, inviting me to contribute to it by participating in an interview about innovative leadership and PLEs. I was honored to be asked, and the idea seemed very attractive: to discuss the role of PLEs as tools for innovation in education; so of course I said yes. So about three weeks ago, I was interviewed by Bruce Campbell, who had the patience to listen to me for over an hour. It was actually a very interesting experience for me, as I reflected on some of the projects and initiatives I have been involved in, including the PLE Conference and my PhD dissertation.<br />
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Besides the paper, that is now on the final stages to be sent for publishing, there is an audio file with the whole interview. Yusra and Bruce asked me to post it somewhere so it could be accessed, so I proposed to write a short post and upload it here. I plan to revisit this post soon, and maybe produce shorter files, roughly following the questions I was asked during the interview. That way, if anyone wants to listen to that section, they don't have to download or listen to the whole file.<br />
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Anyway, here's the <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1i18md9i9jl4tyd/RicardoTorresKompenInterview_edit.mp3">interview</a>.<br />
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<audio controls="controls" src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1i18md9i9jl4tyd/RicardoTorresKompenInterview_edit.mp3"> <a href="http://www.google.com/">this should not be visible</a>
</audio><br />
<br />Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-84375308068658381152012-07-18T16:38:00.000+02:002012-07-20T12:27:54.593+02:00The PLE Conference 2012: one week laterI have yet to write a post on the conference itself; there's just too much to process, but in the meantime I wanted to aggregate some of the posts that have been inspired by it. I know I will be checking those in the future, so maybe someone will find it useful as well. For now, these are some of the links (will update as required), and a nice picture of Aveiro ;)<br />
<ul>
<li>José Mota's <a href="http://orfeu.org/2012/07/07/crowdsourcing-the-unkeynote-day-2-pleconf-aveiro/" target="_blank">post</a> on the 2nd day unkeynote and his answers to our questions</li>
<li>José Mota's <a href="http://orfeu.org/2012/07/16/pleconf-aveiro-2012-wrap-up/" target="_blank">wrap-up</a> on the conference</li>
<li>Grainne Conole's <a href="http://e4innovation.com/?p=590" target="_blank">post</a> on preparing the unkeynote and a summary of the content and discussion</li>
<li>Steve Wheeler's <a href="http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/reciprocity-learning.html" target="_blank">reflection</a> on the 2nd day unkeynote</li>
<li>Mark Smithers' <a href="http://www.masmithers.com/2012/07/16/reflections-on-the-ple-conference-2012/" target="_blank">reflection</a> on the conference</li>
<li>Frances Bell's <a href="http://francesbell.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/ple-conference-2012-unkeynote-1/" target="_blank">post</a></li>
<li>Malinka Ivanova's <a href="http://mivanova.blogspot.com.es/2012/07/recent-view-of-personal-learning.html" target="_blank">post</a></li>
<li>The Sapo Campus-based <a href="http://pleconf.campus.sapo.pt/" target="_blank">site</a> for the conference</li>
<li>The official <a href="http://www.pleconf.org/" target="_blank">site</a> for PLEConf (note that there are individual pages for most of the sessions, with additional references and resources - thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/lindacq" target="_blank">Linda</a> for the reminder!)</li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.scoop.it/t/keynote-speakers-at-the-ple-conference" target="_blank">ScoopIt! site</a> curated by <a href="https://twitter.com/gemturfer" target="_blank">Gemma</a> (thanks!) that collects blogposts by unkeynote speakers and PLEConf site</li>
<li>My <a href="http://bitsandpiecesandetc.blogspot.com.es/2012/07/crowdsourcing-unkeynote.html" target="_blank">own post</a> asking participants for their input and comments on the 4 questions we proposed and used as the starting point for our unkeynote</li>
<li><a href="http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/6391/comments#contribute" target="_blank">Discussion</a> posted on <a href="http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/6391" target="_blank">Cloudworks</a>, with several contributions</li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2297AC5CDBFE8A57&feature=view_all" target="_blank">YouTube playlist</a> with videos contributed by colleagues/researchers/friends (thanks again to everyone!)</li>
<li>Find the conversation on Twitter around the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23PLEconf?q=%23PLEconf" target="_blank">#PLEConf</a></li>
<li>Pictures on Flickr that were tagged with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=pleconf" target="_blank">#PLEConf</a></li>
<li>Linda Castañeda's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindacastaneda/sets/72157630542688784/" target="_blank">pictures</a></li>
</ul>
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More to come, most likely!</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7544081132/" title="Cais dos Botirões, Aveiro"><img alt="Cais dos Botirões, Aveiro by torresk" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7544081132_2bd26ff95d.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7544081132/">Cais dos Botirões, Aveiro</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-92124086229847511542012-07-05T17:01:00.003+02:002012-07-20T12:29:59.494+02:00Crowdsourcing the (un)keynote"The Fellowship of the PLE"...this is what <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/lindacq" target="_blank">Linda</a> calls the bunch of us; I'm not sure whether she came up with the idea or is someone else's, but I'm guessing it was hers, so she takes credit for it. First time I heard her using it was last year, while we were planning our session for <a href="http://ties2012.eu/es/" target="_blank">TIES2012</a>; there, we ran a symposium on PLEs, together with <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/jordi_a" target="_blank">Jordi Adell</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/ocasquero" target="_blank">Oskar Casquero</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/ictlogist" target="_blank">Ismael Peña López</a>.<br />
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It came to mind because next week we will be meeting in <a href="http://pleconf.org/registration-and-fees/aveiro/" target="_blank">Aveiro</a> (and <a href="http://pleconf.org/registration-and-fees/melbourne/" target="_blank">Melbourne</a>, although not both, sadly), for the third edition of The PLE Conference (<a href="http://www.pleconf.org/">http://www.pleconf.org/</a> and <a href="http://pleconf.campus.sapo.pt/">http://pleconf.campus.sapo.pt/</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/PLEConf" target="_blank">@PLEConf</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23PLEconf" target="_blank">#PLEConf</a> on Twitter). There's a lot of innovation this year: the two venues, the badges and the 2nd day keynotes; an exercise in crowdsourcing, the two keynote speakers for the second day of the conference were chosen by the "Fellowship"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUrEDDPVSBUkT2x8okmL6igXZ1_bLVAh9FiJ0iYDg2ZYar_4-vu01v67j62RMFkgdnV98THcj1W9AdtmAF77XMXl7Yu29IglD1X8CwHXgQkFQBh_zD7Qc07mEvaQETpbpnl6ggAT5j7E/s1600/IMG_3541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUrEDDPVSBUkT2x8okmL6igXZ1_bLVAh9FiJ0iYDg2ZYar_4-vu01v67j62RMFkgdnV98THcj1W9AdtmAF77XMXl7Yu29IglD1X8CwHXgQkFQBh_zD7Qc07mEvaQETpbpnl6ggAT5j7E/s320/IMG_3541.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Honestly, it was a shock to learn that I was one of the keynote speakers for this year's conference, together with <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gconole" target="_blank">Grainne Conole</a>: a double honor, to be chosen by my peers and to be sharing the stage with Grainne! I hope we'll do it justice. We have been busy thinking and planning, but the conference is getting closer and closer and I have to confess I'm getting quite anxious about the whole thing.<br />
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No spoilers here, but we have been thinking about three main topics: the 'VLE vs PLE' debate, 'going back to basics' and the evolution of PLEs. So now we are crowdsourcing the keynote itself, calling for participation and ideas. A couple of days ago I 'ran' into <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/courosa" target="_blank">Alec Couros</a> on Twitter, doing the same thing for his keynote in Melbourne;
together with <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/GrahamAttwell" target="_blank">Graham Attwell</a>, they followed that approach (with huge success) to prepare their keynote at <a href="http://pleconference.citilab.eu/" target="_blank">The PLE Conference 2010</a> in Barcelona (for which I was local organiser, and which was then called PLE_BCN).
So, if you are interested (Yes, you are. And no, these are not the droids you're looking for), drop us a line, create a short video, or comment on this post and help us with these:
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<br />
<ol>
<li>What is your personal digital learning environment and how do you use it?</li>
<li>What are the main obstacles for building and maintaining a Personal Digital Learning Environment?</li>
<li>How has your use of technologies changed in the last five years? </li>
<li>What are your views on the PLE vs VLE debate? is the VLE really dead?</li>
</ol>
<div>
It would be great to have your input about these topics! So, who's first???</div>
<br />Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-11169824719335145812012-07-04T17:59:00.000+02:002012-07-04T17:59:23.596+02:00I'm back...Well, it's been a little over a month since I last posted. The usual excuses apply, but this has really been a hectic month: end of semester and Masters programmes, what looks like the last session for our project (at least under that name), <a href="http://www.pleconf.org/">The PLE Conference</a> next week and, well, life. I even stopped posting 1picxday photos for something like 5 days, which had not happened before.<br />
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July promises to be a quieter month, so I can try and relax a bit, catch up with stuff and continue writing my PhD dissertation. I have been learning how to say 'no' and I plan on not being available for anything between July 16th and 28th, at least. Let's see how that goes!<br />
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Just a short update for now; will start my <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23PLEConf">PLEConf</a>-themed post now, and hopefully get it published tomorrow!Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-12070900560106463272012-05-28T20:00:00.001+02:002012-05-28T20:00:40.490+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 26th: Swiss chard rainbow<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7274228286/" title="Swiss chard rainbow"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7274228286_66caabe9a3.jpg" alt="Swiss chard rainbow by torresk" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7274228286/">Swiss chard rainbow</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>When we bought the seeds we were indeed promised a marvelous display of colored stalks. But this is way more impressive than I expected. There were white, red, yellow and even some orange ones. Hope they are as tasty as they look; they will be sautéed in a few minutes!</p>Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-24138904446777726462012-05-25T19:09:00.001+02:002012-05-25T19:09:12.601+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 25th: Towel Day<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7266614312/" title="Towel Day"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7224/7266614312_38c1b1ee67.jpg" alt="Towel Day by torresk" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7266614312/">Towel Day</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>This one requires a bit of an explanation, if you're not a Hitchhiker's fan. A Towel is, according to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or HHGG, the most useful thing interstellar travelers can carry with them. HHGG is perhaps the best-known book by Douglas Adams, and there have been radio series, a TV series and a movie based on it. One of my favorite books by DNA is Last Chance to See, about endangered species. A must-read!<br /><br />The date was picked by fans two weeks after Douglas Adams died, May 11th 2001, and has been observed ever since. I became a fan a few years before he passed away; it's too bad we won't get any more genius works by him. Even The Salmon of Doubt, posthumously published, is brilliant, although it's unfinished and doesn't make a great deal of sense.<br /><br />I'm not saying that the rest does, either. But it is absolute genius!</p>Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-74711349125332815192012-05-25T11:33:00.001+02:002012-05-25T18:55:48.883+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 24th: Easter Cactus<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7264190840/" title="Easter Cactus"><img alt="Easter Cactus by torresk" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7232/7264190840_f9a9851e33.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7264190840/">Easter Cactus</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
There is a lot of confusion surrounding Easter and Christmas cacti, apparently. If I understand correctly, Christmas cacti are <i>Schlumbergera </i>while Easter cacti are <i>Hatiora</i>. Mr. Subjunctive has a <a href="http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com.es/2010/08/tease-schlumbergera-truncata-cvv.html" target="_blank">great profile on Schlumbergeras</a>.<br />
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I'm pretty sure this is an Easter cactus; the timing is right, and the shape of the flowers matches what I have read. These have radial symmetry, as opposed to Christmas cacti, which show bilateral symmetry.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the flowers are gorgeous. You can see the similarity with "traditional" cacti; I posted a picture of <i><a href="http://bitsandpiecesandetc.blogspot.com.es/2012/05/1-pic-day-2012-may-18th-pink-crown.html" target="_blank">Mammillaria</a> </i>a few days ago, and the flowers look almost the same, except for the size.Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-59479096369309779322012-05-25T11:18:00.001+02:002012-05-25T11:18:43.398+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 23rd: Sprouts!<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7258016732/" title="Sprouts!"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7243/7258016732_a883464652.jpg" alt="Sprouts! by torresk" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7258016732/">Sprouts!</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>These are healthy AND look really nice! I like the color (and taste) combination ;)<br /><br />Green ones are mustard, purple ones are cabbage. Have been sprouting these at home for a few years now, and we recently started saving the water from the daily rinses and also from the final rinse, just before eating them. Not rinsing properly and often can lead to bacteria growth and all sorts of unpleasant situations.<br /><br />The problem is that this is a lot of water; saving it and using it to water the plants is working great. The plants love it, and we do our bit for the environment. Win-win!<br /><br />Next batch will probably be watercress and mungo beans. Looking forward to it!</p>Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-82744112182314081442012-05-23T10:26:00.001+02:002012-05-23T10:26:38.441+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 22nd: Vintage-y<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7250533472/" title="Vintage-y"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7250533472_539e59094c.jpg" alt="Vintage-y by torresk" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7250533472/">Vintage-y</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>I went for an old look with this one. I pass by this building at least a couple of days a week, on my way to/from classes. It had never occurred to me to find out what is in there.<br /><br />Yesterday I took this picture, and after posting, decided to look it up. It turns out it is now a Clinic (Clínica Creu Blanca), but couldn't find further information about its history. <br /><br />But still, it is a nice building!</p>Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-72731060987099569502012-05-23T10:23:00.001+02:002012-05-23T10:23:37.727+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 21st: Clouds over Barcelona<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7244567312/" title="Clouds over Barcelona"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8012/7244567312_bf17217ac1.jpg" alt="Clouds over Barcelona by torresk" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7244567312/">Clouds over Barcelona</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>Lately, the posts have become all about flowers and skies. But seriously, isn't this amazing?<br /><br />It's the season, so I guess I'll roll with it. Maybe tomorrow we will have something different? ;)</p>Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-38679950851124036582012-05-23T10:21:00.001+02:002012-05-23T10:21:42.797+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 20th: "Cappuccino"<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7236491022/" title="Cappuccino"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7071/7236491022_26b38bbd3a.jpg" alt="Cappuccino by torresk" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7236491022/">Cappuccino</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>As in flowers, not coffee. More specifically, Petunias.<br /><br />I had vowed not to buy any more Petunias, as they are taking over the balconies, but I saw these and couldn't resist. I mean, WHAT color is THIS?<br /><br />Apparently, it's Cappuccino. <br /><br />I couldn't describe this color to my mother; the best I could do was compare it to a car we used to own (yes, I know). Weird color for both a car and a flower, but it worked/works somehow. What do you think?</p>Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-90935229552701833802012-05-23T10:18:00.001+02:002012-05-23T10:18:27.927+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 19th: Gazania<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7230019734/" title="Gazania"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7230019734_e13d9c208c.jpg" alt="Gazania by torresk" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7230019734/">Gazania</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>These were inherited from a friend that recently moved to Germany. For a long time I thought I disliked Gazanias. Yellow flowers, black rings, greyish leaves left me cold. Until I saw this one, that is.</p>Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-22742375615052816382012-05-18T22:34:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:38:41.950+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 18th: Pink Crown<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7223315890/" title="Pink Crown"><img alt="Pink Crown by torresk" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7094/7223315890_4d464c287f.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7223315890/">Pink Crown</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
I discovered this one yesterday. Was facing the street, so I hadn't noticed the flowers. This cactus has never failed to bloom every spring for the last 5 years or so. According to Google Images, this is a <i>Mammillaria zeilmanniana</i>, but it has so many synonyms that maybe I didn't choose the most common one. Everything fits the description and pictures, so let's say it is.<br />
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I just noticed that this one already has a fruit, bottom/center of the picture, just above the Asparagus that is growing there. It looks like it's trying to take over the balcony, this one. I removed at least 7 yesterday alone. It's not that we don't like it, but one is more than enough. They tend to "eat" the soil and at least on one occasion one of them has broken the pot. So they have to be kept under control!Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-69519387232681004462012-05-18T14:37:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:39:00.854+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 17th: In the sun<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7217709600/" title="In the sun"><img alt="In the sun by torresk" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7217709600_74f41a70cf.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7217709600/">In the sun</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
Sofía again. I went to the kitchen to make some tea, and saw her soaking up the sun. In the afternoon, is the only spot where you get direct sun, which she needs to recharge her feline batteries. I think.<br /><br />Her expression is priceless!Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-64430216604600192872012-05-18T14:15:00.001+02:002012-05-18T15:55:15.981+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 16th: Pink Quill<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7211689428/" title="Pink Quill"><img alt="Pink Quill by torresk" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7211689428_c9ba98d386.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7211689428/">Pink Quill</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
This is technically known as a <i>Tillandsia cyanea</i>. But Pink Quill is a fancier name, apparently.<br /><br />We got this one as a gift for a friend we hadn't seen for at least a year and a half, which is a shame, as we live in the same city. But you know how it is.<br /><br />The plant flowered the next day; I wasn't expecting it, and for a few seconds couldn't figure out what was that thing on the plant. Further inspection revealed a nice purple flower (which here shows as blue-ish, for some reason. I guess CCD sensitivity to blue or something techy). <br /><br />Today I discovered a second flower; supposedly they last a long time, and we should expect more where these came from. Apparently, bromeliads die after blooming, after having produced pups to perpetuate the species, but I have found several sources that say otherwise. In particular, <a href="http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com.es/2009/10/pretty-picture-tillandsia-cyanea.html" target="_blank">Mr. Subjunctive</a> says that this is not always the case, and I trust what he says. (He writes an amazingly entertaining blog, where I have learned lots about houseplants). So I will keep you posted on any further developments.Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-52403226465736079072012-05-18T14:08:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:39:22.240+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 15th: Arctic White<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7205672456/" title="Arctic White"><img alt="Arctic White by torresk" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5072/7205672456_527a687f9f.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7205672456/">Arctic White</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
This is supposedly an Arctic White Hippeastrum. At least that's what the label said. I bought it because it was a new color for me, and so far we have three: red, red+white and salmon. So white was novel if maybe a bit boring.<br />
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Boy, were we in for a surprise.<br />
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The label showed the usual (for me) six-petal flower, so that was what I was expecting. Not THIS show. I didn't think that white-on-white was going to work, but this must be my favourite flower-themed picture so far (and you know there are a lot of those!).<br />
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Sadly, it seems the season is over; I haven't been able to find other colors, but if things work as planned, these bulbs should put on quite a show again next year!Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-27428439340069005572012-05-18T14:04:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:39:33.240+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 14th: Allium<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7198856756/" title="Allium"><img alt="Allium by torresk" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7211/7198856756_7fcb99a17c.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7198856756/">Allium</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
A bit behind with the "daily" posts. Won't even try to make good excuses: work, work and more work. Anyway. I don't know what variety this is, but it is an Allium; so basically an ornamental onion :P<br /><br />I love the geometry here; the flowers are perfect six-point stars, so the whole thing screams of hexagons. I suspect that a fuller flower (we weren't that lucky, or maybe this is the best this variety does) would resemble a geodesic dome.<br /><br />I know; I'm a geek.Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-13367652891599797032012-05-14T16:39:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:39:46.249+02:001pic a day 2012, May 13th - Shapes & Light<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7191668212/" title="Shapes & Light"><img alt="Shapes & Light by torresk" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7191668212_1e51a3a64b.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7191668212/">Shapes & Light</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
At Sant Pere de Ribes; a nice day, spent with friends over amazing food, good wine and nice conversation. This is what Sundays are for. After that we took a walk around and these clouds caught my eye.Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-24563071115318242202012-05-14T16:38:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:39:58.550+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 12th - Parsley<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7154214165/" title="Parsley"><img alt="Parsley by torresk" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7219/7154214165_446d9e6b23.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7154214165/">Parsley</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
Huge plant, did not expect it to grow this much. Have started to cut it down a bit, so it doesn't take over the whole pot. It is supposed to be sharing it with Lemon cucumber, Swiss chard, coriander, dill and catnip. We'll see who survives.Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-48901448849417450552012-05-14T16:34:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:40:18.139+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 11th - Down<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7181834212/" title="Down"><img alt="Down by torresk" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7181834212_5796a11ea9.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7181834212/">Down</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
Waiting for some friends by the elevator, I decided to look down the staircase; something I never do, on account of being afraid of heights. Played a bit with B&W and grain, turned out OK, I think!Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-51273494361401110122012-05-14T16:33:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:40:33.193+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 10th - Food Porn: Paella!<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7173180298/" title="Food Porn"><img alt="Food Porn by torresk" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7073/7173180298_510fd7d7bb.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7173180298/">Food Porn</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
Great food, great company for that day.Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-63684232463761203852012-05-11T13:55:00.004+02:002012-05-11T14:05:17.768+02:00Aloe vera<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTDYCvvjhjN_op7VWw9XgxN4mfw-dh3hY9V3xm94R0QYkNSulbeFygJKo1fP4A87rCuNV-zxtaKMljd_Ke92LI5S3BmjZUgll0fn_wafUCIkFYv5x1fPcvzWVEzv9Dtk7-xyOUsJfadY/s1600/IMG_2415%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTDYCvvjhjN_op7VWw9XgxN4mfw-dh3hY9V3xm94R0QYkNSulbeFygJKo1fP4A87rCuNV-zxtaKMljd_Ke92LI5S3BmjZUgll0fn_wafUCIkFYv5x1fPcvzWVEzv9Dtk7-xyOUsJfadY/s400/IMG_2415%5B1%5D.JPG" width="298" /></a><br />
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I was having a conversation with some friends the other day, when I mentioned <i>Aloe vera</i> flowers; they gave me this baffled look: apparently, they had never seen those before. I guess I take it for granted, as we have had flowering <i>Aloe vera</i> in our balcony for several years now. The one that is currently in bloom has actually not one, but <b>two</b> flower stalks:</div>
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I'm not sure how common this is. Back in Paraguaná, where I used to live, this plant was all over the place, and now that I think about it, I don't recall seeing a lot of flowers. Maybe it's the age of the plant; this one is 3rd or 4th generation from the one we originally had and had to give away on account it didn't fit on the balcony anymore. This one is a bit smaller, but still impressive: roughly 110 cm in diameter, and the flower stalk is about 115 cm long!</div>
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Anyway. Went to the balcony to get a few more pictures for the post. The flowers are actually quite nice:</div>
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And then I noticed the floor was all sticky; further examination revealed there was syrup-like stuff all over the leaves - nectar leaking from the flowers:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLgShZi1PunTQcF9W2-R1O2rJvSgFqcmhXAyJsoqcFN4R7G973Cl7wG7VHc33ECGrCwKxflzSVHruvQV-VbMtRr15b10kwQ77J95hxtaf6RB5akW_dNbr2GO54JPz6juzYtbeIURArKQ/s1600/IMG_2437%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLgShZi1PunTQcF9W2-R1O2rJvSgFqcmhXAyJsoqcFN4R7G973Cl7wG7VHc33ECGrCwKxflzSVHruvQV-VbMtRr15b10kwQ77J95hxtaf6RB5akW_dNbr2GO54JPz6juzYtbeIURArKQ/s400/IMG_2437%5B1%5D.JPG" width="296" /></a></div>
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So, of course, I had to try it. Extremely sweet stuff! Google did not reveal any information on whether this is actually used for sweetening food or something (probably not practical), but I did learn that hummingbirds dig it. Since I am most certainly not one, I have no idea what effect it could have on me. I know that ingesting some parts of the leaf is not recommended, so maybe this could be my last post :P </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">I should have learned my lesson a few years ago when I spotted a new plant growing in one of our pots, saw some black fruits, and decided to try one. It was <i>Solanum nigrum</i>, also known as Hierba Mora or the more descriptive Tomatillo del Diablo: definitely poisonous, as I learned from Google AFTER having tried one. Nothing happened, of course, but I was quite worried for a few minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">At least this time I Googled first. But seriously, it is sweet and it comes from a plant. That should mean it's safe, shouldn't it? Supposedly all the other stuff that one is not supposed to try smells bad, is bitter or something. I think. Oh well.</span></div>
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<br />Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-56055844601136092682012-05-11T10:18:00.001+02:002012-05-11T10:22:07.452+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 9th: Snow-like<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7166935794/" title="Snow-like"><img alt="Snow-like by torresk" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7166935794_86c968f98b.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7166935794/">Snow-like</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
The ground was completely covered with white flowers -no idea what kind- and the sun made it look like snow. Right after a session with a group of teachers, where we discussed potential applications of board-like tools, such as <a href="http://pinterest.com/rtorresk" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, <a href="http://sworly.com/und_517845206" target="_blank">Sworly</a> and <a href="http://thenewhive.com/" target="_blank">The New Hive</a>, which we are testing. These are very rewarding sessions; they have been working with us for almost three years, so they are more friends than colleagues at this point, and are such a creative and inspiring bunch, that you wished you could always work with groups like this!Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-4625058320750393672012-05-09T08:36:00.001+02:002012-05-18T22:40:50.449+02:001 pic a day 2012, May 8th: Langoustines - 129/366<div style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7160886836/" title="Langoustines"><img alt="Langoustines by torresk" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5463/7160886836_778e130d93.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/7160886836/">Langoustines</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/torresk/">torresk</a> on Flickr.</span></div>
...or "Cigalas" as we call them in Spain. Went to this place for dinner with friends last night. It's set up as a fish/seafood market stall; you choose whatever you want, pay by weight, then it's sent to the kitchen and they will call you to pick it up when is prepared. Cool concept, great food!Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1399957008699180968.post-1776430690183325102012-05-08T12:21:00.001+02:002012-05-08T12:21:38.378+02:00The PLE Conference<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0hiT6u6gKYyiFi90saJHkWMzEeytinJya6qOfLbk0pXdTAsl2lPacXt9JSnUsS6OCQuTXYnTM2VTX6fLHxGw07maDo_YHSfyN6RJzN43fy1nya8WraoGGlWlSuJVgTD-5xuB01FFtXU/s1600/badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK0hiT6u6gKYyiFi90saJHkWMzEeytinJya6qOfLbk0pXdTAsl2lPacXt9JSnUsS6OCQuTXYnTM2VTX6fLHxGw07maDo_YHSfyN6RJzN43fy1nya8WraoGGlWlSuJVgTD-5xuB01FFtXU/s1600/badge.jpg" /></a>I had promised to write a blogpost on <a href="http://pleconf.org/" target="_blank">The PLE Conference</a>, but as usual couldn't find the time to do it. So, finally, here it goes.<br />
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The PLE Conference first became an idea back in 2009. A bunch of us got together for another conference, and at some point got fed up with it: same traditional format, people doing their thing and then disappearing (I know, we kind of did the same), the audience being basically the presenters themselves, no networking spaces, spotty WiFi and so on. It was not the only conference I had been to with those characteristics; 2009 was a very busy year for me in terms of conferences and events participation, and most of them failed to live up to my expectations.<br />
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Anyway; here we were, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/grahamattwell" target="_blank">Graham</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/cristinacost" target="_blank">Cristina</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/mariaperif" target="_blank">Maria</a>, <a href="http://de.linkedin.com/pub/tobias-nelkner/43/b1/68b" target="_blank">Tobias</a> and I. We also managed to kidnap <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/users/andrea%20pozzali" target="_blank">Andrea</a>, whom we had met after his presentation. We went to the seaside and a couple of drinks later, started talking about why conferences should be so, well, boring.<br />
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And then someone said "we should host our own conference".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGQoTPmGU8Ufgytf1OzBN5az4bAyNPHYu9hFowiTE_TZi1c92btmzlxZZjHCq4hlKBTTDEaBXpIS8tIsuYpV6KF3OgghZt7DNFKDateEIKErhoYNRAZTlZqMbjRN3-O_8-hsmglgBlRs/s1600/plecomm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGQoTPmGU8Ufgytf1OzBN5az4bAyNPHYu9hFowiTE_TZi1c92btmzlxZZjHCq4hlKBTTDEaBXpIS8tIsuYpV6KF3OgghZt7DNFKDateEIKErhoYNRAZTlZqMbjRN3-O_8-hsmglgBlRs/s400/plecomm.jpg" width="400" /></a>After a couple of minutes of silence, everyone started talking at the same time, with lots of ideas and suggestions. Eventually, we settled on PLEs as the focus of the conference: that was the reason we first got together as a team, and a couple of searches on Google showed there had been no face-to-face conferences on that topic yet. The only reference we could find was a virtual event.<br />
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After this, it was a question of deciding where to host it. (This is where I got tricked). Everyone said "Barcelona, of course!". Called one of my supervisors at the time, who assured us we would have 100% support from the foundation (<a href="http://citilab.eu/en" target="_blank">Citilab</a>, where I worked between 2008 and 2011), and that was it. Barcelona would host <a href="http://pleconference.citilab.eu/" target="_blank">The PLE Conference 2010</a>.<br />
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What I didn't realise then was that of course I was also automatically being appointed local organiser. If I had known the implications! (well, to be honest, if I had known, I would still have done it).<br />
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A couple of months later, we met again, at (surprise) another conference. By this time we have had a few emails and Skype meetings, and were ready to start working. <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/mediendidaktik" target="_blank">Ilona</a> became part of the team, as well as <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/lindacq" target="_blank">Linda </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/rafaelotix" target="_blank">Rafa</a>. And the hard work began. It was a lot of work: issuing the call, having weekly meetings, deciding on budget, trying to find sponsors, simultaneous interpretation, keynotes, accommodation, getting the venue sorted out, WiFi, setting up social networks presence and disseminating the info, getting papers, finding reviewers, deciding the final programme, sending papers back for corrections and revision, logo, banner, programme, finding "volunteers" (some of my students: <a href="http://es.linkedin.com/pub/aleksandra-jaroszynska/22/680/516" target="_blank">Aleksandra</a>, <a href="http://es.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-gritsaenco/13/60/aa0" target="_blank">Andrew</a>, <a href="http://es.linkedin.com/pub/alexei-cutasevici/19/a12/647" target="_blank">Alex</a>, <a href="http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/chengcheng-hu/22/26b/15" target="_blank">Cheng</a>, <a href="http://es.linkedin.com/pub/marina-sluhinscaia/50/932/82b" target="_blank">Marina</a>, <a href="http://es.linkedin.com/pub/martin-casals/1b/316/40" target="_blank">Martin</a>), catering, setting up a space for the posters session, for the wine & tapas, lunch... It is amazing what happens behind the scenes, and you learn to have some respect for the people that organise this things. I can understand why some of them just go for the tried and proved template: thinking outside the box and trying to be innovative is risky and creates even more work.<br />
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You cannot do it alone. Yes, I was in Barcelona and had to deal with a lot of things other members of the team simply could not do. I had a lot of help from Citilab and many of my colleagues there worked really hard on this. <a href="http://www.i2cat.net/en" target="_blank">i2Cat</a> were also very supportive and sponsored the interpretation and part of the keynotes accommodation expenses. Some of the teachers that were participating in the <a href="http://citilab.eu/en/projects/hortdigital" target="_blank">HortDigital</a> project also helped and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/mgarc130" target="_blank">María José</a> even offered to host <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/catspyjamasnz" target="_blank">Joyce</a>! The organising committee did an outstanding job, and we had several people helping just because they wanted to. My only regret is that I couldn't participate in all the sessions, and that I had to completely miss some of them, as most of the time I was running up and down the building sorting things out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqEKV41h4GzNiTI4f3ntkTlNL4TT8_-pRI7utlv57JAGkSi6YqMNBGLS2PnrV_lZSY5GM36AobcNqIybgY9p8JyUqopI9xTcFbvZCYkEO9FGKzCuxb0VkwTctcF57vapWnGhDeLnLivI/s1600/PLE+2011.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqEKV41h4GzNiTI4f3ntkTlNL4TT8_-pRI7utlv57JAGkSi6YqMNBGLS2PnrV_lZSY5GM36AobcNqIybgY9p8JyUqopI9xTcFbvZCYkEO9FGKzCuxb0VkwTctcF57vapWnGhDeLnLivI/s400/PLE+2011.png" width="400" /></a></div>
For the <a href="http://www.pleconf.org/2011/" target="_blank">second PLE Conference</a>, I was still part of the organising committee, but with way less pressure; we had new members, and a great local team. Southampton was amazing, and kept the spirit alive. This year it has been harder for me to participate actively: lots of changes, both personal and professional, mean less time, but I have tried to keep the Twitter conversation going on, made it to a couple of meetings, did my reviews. I'm sure <a href="http://pleconf.org/" target="_blank">this year's conference</a> will be great, and I know that both the Aveiro and Melbourne teams are working hard on it, day and night.<br />
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BUT. It is worth the effort. Gemma has already <a href="http://reflexionsperamestres.blogspot.com.es/2012/05/why-should-you-consider-attending-ple.html" target="_blank">written about this</a>, so I won't go over it again, but the unKeynotes, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/pleconf" target="_blank">the backchannel</a>, the networking, the participation... all this has made The PLE Conference an event that is fixed in my calendar. Even if I don't attend any other event, this is the one I won't miss. How long will it keep running? I don't know. Would the name still be appropriate in 3 or 5 years? Probably not. And that's actually a good thing, in my opinion. But if something will remain, it will be the spirit, the inspiration, the camaraderie. I am extremely proud of being a part of all this, and hope I can continue helping and participating for many more years.<br />
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Why are you still reading? Go mark July 11th to 13th in your calendar right now! You won't regret it ;)<br />
<br />Ricardo Torres Kompenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03429207540292381641noreply@blogger.com4