Learner on the Orient Express

Agatha Christie captured the glamour of travel in her mystery novels (though some of her passengers did not arrive at their intended destinations, if you know what I mean). But few of the people in her books were working while traveling, with the notable exception of detective work. Irene McAra-McWilliam, who recently gave the opening plenary at CHI 2008 in Florence, said in a new eLearn Magazine interview that "many places are excellent spaces for thought," and mentioned travel as one of her optimal work environments.

What does this have to do with e-learning, you might ask? One of the main target audiences of e-learning programs is working adults, who, with or without families, are incredibly busy people.

Given that the length of a day can't be extended, it is a challenge for many people to get their coursework done. Inspired by Irene's insights, I propose travel can provide the concentration necessary for learning. It also has great advantages over trying to do coursework at the office and risking a manager's wrath, or trying to minimize interruptions in the evening at home, when loved ones want attention.

Here are some reasons why travel is advantageous to learning:

• You get things done in preparation for a trip so that you don't have to think about them while away. The bills are paid, the children's schedule is in someone else's hands, and you have everything you need on hand. How refreshing—and mind-clearing.
• You are in transition. While you are actually someplace at all times, the place you are in while traveling is inconsequential. Thus you don't have to think about it. (Have you noticed how the monitors on trans-Atlantic flights are constantly reminding you where you are? It's a great reason to travel first class: to have control over what you view—or don't view.)
• You have few distractions. I know someone who met her husband in the seat next to her on a plane, but, in general, most people I know ignore their traveling companions unless they are ones they selected themselves. Ellen Goodman, a syndicated columnist, wrote—in 1984! —about how terrible it was when planes first added phones: "Now even this refuge has been violated." But most people don't talk on the phone on planes and even trains have quiet cars.

I find Amtrak's Acela from Boston to New York the perfect place to work. Perhaps the ambient noise and rhythmic motion even enhance my thought processes.

In daily life, however, there are not always opportunities to travel that coincide with the 20-page term paper. My next suggestion, then, is to commute using public transportation. While my first point above is minimized in daily commuting, the others still hold. Not only is it greener than driving alone, but there are uninterrupted blocks of time to complete coursework. And if memory serves, Agatha Christie never knocked off a passenger on a commuter train.