There's a time and a place for everything. For most people in the developped world, the time and place for learning is the classroom. But what about those people in delopping countries. They make up the largest part of the global population, and yet their concerns are often far more basic and pressing than classroom learning can effectively address.

This concern lead me to the second half of my studies into international issues: Informal learning campaigns. The idea is to get crucial learning to learners without disrupting their daily routine, which in many developing countries may be vital to their survival. Included with this view are two projects I worked on related to this topic.

The first is a call for an informal learning campaign in Malawi, a country in southern Africa. The idea was to get essential information about health and farming to the rural populations, without requiring them to disrupt their daily work. This would be accomplished through means such as community theater, and also mLearning, which has a good chance of working in Malawi because of the high level of mobile phone ownership. This information would be presented in such a way as carry the endorsement of local leaders and experts. Interestingly, as another of my assignments that delved into the idea of mLearning, this was also another team assignment. Given that this is the third time I focused on mLearning, and the third time I found partners interested in the idea, it seems reasonable to conclude that I am not alone in my desire to see mLearning gain prominence in DE.

The second project was very personal to me, as I fought a hard battle last year against my parents-in-law about the importance of breast-feeding newborn babies. In China, this knowledge is not widely known, and the infant-formula lobby spends a lot of money (illegally) promoting formula as the best choice. They even do so within hospitals. The thesis of the research project is basically to change perceptions through an informal learning campaign started in hospitals and involving health care-professionals, all supported by community-based groups of families helping each other through the challenges of new-parenthood. Again, there is a call for local experts and factoring in community values so as not to appear foreign in concept. Traditional values hold sway in China, so outside interference would likely fall on deaf ears.

Both of these projects changed my perception of what education could be, and taught me the importance of community-based learning for issues such as health and well-being. In my own life, I've begun looking for local support on issues I find of importance in order to better reach my in-laws when I have concerns about my family's well-being. In that sense, these projects have affected me personally, and have offered me insights I can use in my own life.