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Yrjö Engeström (keynote): The Educational Value of Learning by Cheating
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Engeström talked about the educational value of learning by cheating. He thinks there is good and bad cheating. An example of good cheating stems from his research with the Italian examination system, particularly the national college diploma. The students are actually examined on the whole canon of classic italian literature which they are supposed to know by heart: a totally unrealistic and stupid task. Around these exams a huge culture of cheating has developed. Engeström showed amazing examples of cheating sheets and even body belts (cartucciera-ammunition belts) that sometimes are handed down from generation to generation. Cheating becomes a very social exercise, in which family and friends are involved in. Students have to systematically organise the material and prepare in a very creative way so that many even did not need their cheating slips. (Twitter: RT @reinikainen The preparation for the cheating is great learning experience. Involves selection, condensation and presentation of knowledge.)

A short introduction into the theoretical backdrop: There is a big double-bind, prticularly in the anglo-saxon learning system: as a student, do I go for grades, or do I go for substance? Particularly the anglo-american educational system with its strong consumer approach to education supports a very economic approach towards education. But Cheating can be seen as a break away from that double-bind which works as follows: The first stimulus is a contradictory situation (eg.: having to know the whole classical Italian literature canon by heart which is impossible), the second stimulus is a new mediating artefact (e.g. the extensive cheating sheet). That means we institutionalise an external tool/medium as a means of breaking away. Engeström doesn’t mean to encourage cheating on a grand scale. But he thinks that a lot of the educational system is rotten and that cheating can be a way to expose this. (Twitter: RT @Vogelsang1 Education should not ask for culturally fixed correct answers but should ask questions that require training of conceptual tools)

Jiri Räsänen (keynote) eCars – Now!

Jiri Räsänen introduced the concept of the open source movement “eCars now”. Electronic cars are more effective and ecological sustainable than cars with internal combustion engines. So far electronic cars haven’t been very succesful, partly due to economical and political interests but also because of licensing problems (patents). The car and oil lobby have so far successfully fended off any attempts to bring the eCar to the mainstream. Also: the car market is extremely competitive and difficult to enter. For example you need to crash test at least 50 cars to be allowed to sell the model. Therefore eCAr chose a different model. eCar is an open source project which develops the components to easily convert combustion engine cars into battery driven cars. The aim is to bring down conversion time from 8 months to 8 hours. In order to make the model financially viable and at the same time affordable they need 500 conversions. eCars is currently prototype testing with aToyota Corolla.