Communication sans frontiers - breaking down the barriers

So the world is shrinking....we all know that, of course, but in others ways it has stretched, like a piece of chewing gum, and the danger, of course with that, is that all that stretching makes it a lot thinner and not as strong! (I could have used the analogy of elastic, as that would have been more tasteful and acceptable, but it doesn't quite carry the imagery of thin-ness, as elastic tends to just snap!) 

When I talk about this so-called shrunken world 'stretching', I mean that in my job, for instance, the boundaries of where we teach and who we teach have now spun out across massive spaces that can make the world feel far from shrunken.  It has become VAST - we are expected to teach and reach people in all corners of our own state and, at times, interstate which is fantastic, accessible, equitable and a far cry from the old days where you went to your local TAFE/training organisation and if they didn't have it on offer, you didn't do it.  You might, if lucky, have been sent a large quantity of workbooks to plough through and send the completed volume via snail mail or carrier pigeon back to your allocated tutor.  Now, however, the barriers are down and it's a massive, gigantic, and sometimes very scary, playing field!! 

I love it, don't get me wrong, but this teaching sans frontiers comes with associated frustrations, as do all new and innovative concepts.

Communicating with workteams that stretch across huge geographical areas, students scattered far and wide across the state, the nation or even overseas, planning and implementing, talking with and reaching out to colleagues and students in an efficient and effective way is not always easy.  Of course it is, I hear you cry - we have email, video conferencing, Skype etc etc........but wouldn't it be nice if there was something, somewhere, that meant that groups could 'meet', collaborate, communicate, create,  plan and share without constant e mailing, phoning, version tracking for collaborative docs etc?  There is. 
(e.g. Moodle, Centra, Elluminate, Wiggio)

Wouldn't it also be nice if there was some way of providing students in remote and isolated communities, far from any town or city facility, with a way of accessing realistic simulated situations and learning real skills for vocational and employment purposes?  There is. (e.g. Second Life)

We want to be heard.  We want to hear our colleagues, groups, students, learners.  We want to share, create and collaborate together to make sure those barriers stay down and the 'frontiers' remain open........the best we can do is constantly explore new and emerging technologies without fear, with open minds and the 'Why not....?' mindset that encourages the growth of innovation and change.  We must not be so stretched that what we provide is thin and weak (like the chewing gum!!)  - we have to ensure that our connections (both literally and figuratively speaking!) are strong and we offer reliable tools that our end users and peers will embrace with ease.

This has been a very sensible post tonight - so will now go and put on a clown's hat and tell a few jokes to lighten up before bed time!! 

TTFN

:-)