Solvig Norman, Royal Roads University (presentation slides)
Lynette Jackson, University of Victoria (presentation slides)
Gina Bennett, College of the Rockies: (presentation slides)
Some of the "boundaries" mentioned in these presentations were:Solvig noted that interacting with others in different cultures requires respect, patience and careful attention to our own actions to ensure that we are not imposing our cultural views on others. This can be very difficult especially in areas that we often may not think of as relative to culture rather than absolutes. Three of those dimensions are
- Food: What are "appropriate" foods? Are deep-fried scorpions on your list of delicacies? What would you do if offered such a treat?
- Language: How do you cope when you do not share a language with the people you are interacting with? Do translators do the whole job? What are the challenges to working in a foreign language?
- Time: Is 9 to 5 the only standard for the work day? What does it mean to be "on time"?
Gina spoke with passion about opening doors to education and information to all people. For me, with the following quote, she gives us an empowering perspective to contemplate with respect to (online) resources and education:
"When is it ethically justifiable to deny people access to and dissemination of potentially useful information?" Reinking, 2001
These are the thoughts I took away from that panel. Can you share a story, a comment, a reading that can help us expand boundaries in our thinking about education in the whole world?
Hope to hear from you. :-)
laura