The aim of this research is to identify and analyse the ubiquitous learning acquired though blending education settings devoted to the 'lifelong training of trainers' and how these contribute to the development of a conscious, critic and engaged citizenship. Through active exploration of the learning process, the study analyses the 'soft skills” acquired which enhance performance in work and daily life, with the purpose of detecting the process of ubiquitous learning often overlooked in formal education. To this end, the study case presented here draws upon a data triangulation of qualitative and quantitative multisource information (questionnaires, interviews, participant observation, discussion groups, individual and collective diaries) which includes the study of the semantic networks consisting of learners’ own utterances. The results obtained indicate that the soft skills related to the capacity of selfdevelopment, the use of innovative resources, the enhancement of social cooperation, the ability to meet cognitive and social challenges, and the functional learning as produced though expanded learning, have the potential to pave the way for the empowerment of peoples, communities and social movements. But this form of expanded learning, as open, collaborative, democratic and committed learning, must be actively supported if future generations are not only to be consumers but also cooperative producers in a socially shared world.El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido detectar y analizar los aprendizajes ubicuos adquiridos en entornos educativos expandidos destinados a la «formación permanente de formadores» y cómo estos influyen en la construcción de una ciudadanía consciente, crítica y comprometida. Se han analizado las «soft skills» adquiridas para el desenvolvimiento efectivo en el trabajo o la vida diaria, mediante la exploración activa del proceso formativo. Se ha tratado así de detectar el aprendizaje ubicuo que suele resultar invisible para la educación formal. Con este propósito, el estudio de caso aquí presentado recurre a una triangulación de análisis cualitativo y cuantitativo de información multifuente (cuestionarios, entrevistas, observación participante, grupos de discusión, diarios individuales y colectivos), que incluye análisis de red semántica de las expresiones de los participantes. Los resultados obtenidos nos indican que las «soft skills» relacionadas con la capacidad de desarrollo autónomo, el uso de medios y recursos transformadores, la potenciación de la cooperación social, la resolución de desafíos cognitivos y sociales, la potenciación del compromiso cívico y del aprendizaje funcional, que genera el aprendizaje expandido, se pueden convertir en un instrumento para el empoderamiento de personas, colectivos y movimientos sociales. Pero este aprendizaje expandido, como aprendizaje abierto y colaborativo, democrático y comprometido, requiere un apoyo consciente si se desea que las futuras generaciones no solo sean consumidoras, sino productoras colaborativas en un mundo socialmente compartido

The category of meaning is traced forward starting from the origin of the Universe itself as well as its very grounding in pre-geometry. Different from many former approaches in the theories of information and also in biosemiotics, we will show that the forms of meaning emerge simultaneously (alongside) with information and energy. Hence, information is always meaningful (in a sense to be explicated) rather than its meaning would show up as a later specification of information within social systems only. This perspective taken has two immediate consequences: (1) We follow the GDI as defined by Floridi, though we modify it somehow as to the aspect of truthfulness. (2) We can conceptually solve Capurro’s trilemma. Hence, what we actually do is to follow the strict (i.e. optimistic) line of UTI in the sense of Hofkirchner’s. While doing this, we treat energy and information as two different categorial aspects of one and the same underlying primordial structure.

In this first part of the paper, the category of meaning is traced starting from the origin of the Universe itself as well as its very grounding in pre-geometry (the second part deals with an appropriate bottom-up approach). In contrast to many former approaches in the theories of information and also in biosemiotics, we will show that the forms of meaning emerge simultaneously (alongside) with information and energy. Hence, information can be visualized as being always meaningful (in a sense to be explicated) rather than visualizing meaning as a later specification of information within social systems only. This perspective taken has two immediate consequences: (1) We follow the GDI as defined by Floridi, though we modify it somehow as to the aspect of truthfulness. (2) We can conceptually solve Capurro’s trilemma. Hence, what we actually do is to follow the strict (i.e., optimistic) line of UTI in the sense of Hofkirchner’s. While doing this, we treat energy and information as two different categorial aspects of one and the same underlying primordial structure. We thus demonstrate the presently developing convergence of physics, biology, and computer science (as well as the various theories of information) in some detail and draft out a line of argument eventually leading up to the further unification of UTI and biosemiotics.