JAN: Local-Global.....quite honestly I can hardly tell the
difference anymore. If you believe Nicholas Negroponte.....the
next generation of children will be "of the world". More and
more of us find that our families, our friends, our professional
colleagues and our communities of interest are from everywhere
and anywhere. This is about connections.....my e-mail in July
included messages from more than 20 countries ...ranging from a
Peace Corps daughter in Ecuador....to the mother of my Finnish
exchange student.....to Canada....Australia...Namibia....
India.....Tanzania....Etc., etc. Terry Gibson whom many of you
know....is missing his first Distance Conference because he
wanted to be at the wedding of his son in Malawi. Before he left
we discussed some of the people he might talk with there as they
join the ADEC Distance Education consortium. My friend and
colleague Ed Schuh, Humphrey Institute and former VP of World
Bank told me seven or eight years ago that we would see the
diminishing in importance of national and regional, including
governments. The recent Knowledge 97 conference convinced me
that we are well down that path. Local indigenous knowledge and
international systems for collaboration and knowledge generation
and learning received nearly equal attention on the agenda. At
the same time we feel overwhelmed with information and new
knowledge. We should be increasingly energized or sobered--depending upon your point of view and our need for order - that
really very little of the world beyond North America ....some
parts of Europe and Australia are really technologically
connected nor participating in the so-called WWW. I still have a
hard time finding out the news from my old home in Tanzania...or
my daughter's current home, Ecuador....or Ethiopia, the
birthplace of my foster daughter, unless there is war, tragedy or
coup. Yet...when we have a Tiennamen Square or conflict in
Russia.....or a sensational killing in the U.S. we are there.
You who are concerned with distance learning are in a wonderful
position to begin to ask new local and global questions. As you
are connected both locally and globally, you can sort out new
options. We must voice the need for better systems - appropriate
software for new cooperative learning tools and affordable
technology options globally. The future of the world may depend
on new connections and collaborations. This is national and
international security.
