A learning lab is a teaching format co-developed by Mitra Martin and Thomas Fischer. I (Thomas) am offering learning labs for sensual bachata and acroyoga. The intention is to branch out to additional subjects and create a universal platform for teaching with the learning lab. To promote the activities, there are marketing activities. To facilitate those activities, there is an app.
Acroyoga, sensual bachata, and other future activities are physical activities. The participant should expect soreness, bumps, bruises, and minor injuries to be very likely to occur. The participant also accepts that occasionally very bad and even catastrophic accidents can happen. Some may be very random, like a heart attack. Some may offer degrees of negligence because well-intentioned individuals make mistakes, are fatigued, or other reasons happen. Participants are always responsible for their own safety and assessing for themselves if the risk of an activity is acceptable to them. Instructors are available to provide a risk assessment and suggestions on how to make the activity safer. However, participants are ultimately responsible for making their own decisions with the presented information, which may be unintentionally poorly or incompletely expressed, including misunderstandings or other factors that diminish the value of the suggestions.
When I checked the USPTO trademark registry, there was no active trademark for the term “learning lab.” Searching the internet, there are so many uses that the term is in common usage and is unlikely to be able to be trademarked. All material on the website, handouts, videos, and otherwise are copyrighted. If a copyright notice cannot be found next to the material, it is likely an unintentional oversight and should be considered copyright protected.
I collected various forms of data like website visits through Google Analytics, advertising data from digital ad campaigns through Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Bing ads, and potentially others. The ticket seller Eventbrite provides additional data. I keep track of attendance of learning labs. E-mails and messages that I receive and answer are additional points of data. All the data is either stored in the original source, like a Whatsapp message in Whatsapp or in Google Drive documents (and local copies on my hard drive as well as a cloud-based backup). The website uses cookies from Google Analytics and different digital advertising services. I have no clue what they actually do. I’ve tried to read their documentation, but it’s an impenetrable forest. I’ve tried to look into GPDR, but it’s also very confusing to what the rules are. The GPDR rules are still evolving. Google Analytics is apparently not GPDR compliant but keeps operating anyway. I also do not target European visitors. Google has a browser extension that people can use to disable all the Google cookies. The goal for the data collection is to market the learning labs to people, facilitate the learning labs, and also do product/marketing research to develop the learning labs. There is no intention to sell the data. There is no intention to share the data with anyone, yet the use of Google analytics and digital advertising services means that those providers have the data and use it in some ways (that’s not properly disclosed in a way that someone could easily understand it).
I want people to be happy and things to work out well. However, there are things that are out of my reasonable control. For example, if you attend a learning lab, leave your phone unattended, and someone steals it, I won’t be liable for it. There are many claims that a lawyer could device like the learning lab brought you unhappiness. I take no responsibility for any liabilities and damages. It’s up to the participant or bystander to make sure their belongings are safe and the receive no harm or damage in whatever way that they are not willingly accepting. I may play an unintentional or perhaps even negligent part, but I am not liable. For refunds, I try to make people happy. By default, assume that all sales are final and no refunds are given. Contact me! I’ll use my discretion to see what I can do to make you happy.
All users and participants should work together in a constructive way towards the goal of running learning labs and learning. Participation includes communication outside of learning labs, posting of information in the app, and in the learning lab itself. Discrimination, harassment, and anti-social behavior have no place. Usually, I would try to mediate the conflict between people because often misunderstandings and unintentional consequences are at the root of two well-intentioned people having a conflict. However, not all people are well-intentioned and some cases are particularly egregious or otherwise special. A ban from further participation may be given. Participants who feel they are harmed by another person should seek civil recourse directly with the other person outside of the learning lab.
Sensual bachata and acroyoga involved physical contact. Some people may be very comfortable with physical touch. Other people may not be familiar. Both (and other physical disciplines) have specific codified ways in which and where people touch each other. New practitioners may not know where the line between appropriate and inappropriate touch lies. It is good to err on the safe side and ask for explicit verbal permission. Further, the intention, attitude, and energy of touch can make a huge difference between being a functional part of the sport and being unwelcome. Accidental touches can happen with the best of intentions and for the most careful people. Unwanted touches can happen and continue to happen for a while without protest due to the heat of the moment, the need to realize and muster the determination to protest, and other reasons. Participants should look out for that happening to note discomfort and check in with people before they have gotten to a mental place where they can protest. At the same time, you may receive touch and the toucher may not realize that the touch is unwelcome until you say something. It is always a good idea to tell people up front if you desire to be touched less or different from what is the common practice. There are many legit, emotional, and physical reasons. And the upfront communication can be helpful for you and others.
For questions: Thomas Fischer, thomas@learninglab.fans