This resource has been drawn from discussions in the General Forum of the Australian Flexible Learning Community during the period July 2002 to December 2004. Many thanks to all who contributed.

What’s the secret to normalising new technologies into our daily lives – in particular, our working lives? This was the focus of several streams of conversation in the General Forum.

An early contributor identified…

…the challenge of adjusting our lifestyles and work patterns to collaboration through e-technologies means we have to develop new habits and attitudes.

-  New habits in that we’d have to regularly log into the sites we are using to collaborate and communicate via these.

-  New attitudes in that we would have to be prepared to look for and try out new software seeing where we might be able to use these.

How to encourage themselves and others to adopt new ways of working – particularly with new technologies – was a persistent theme. Perhaps the secret is about getting back to the underlying need.

I thought the point about getting back to the basic underlying need was a key point. Engagement with a new technology comes when it will meet a need that the other means are not satisfying and it opens up new possibilities. That's why it has so much to offer the country regions in particular and we should be putting a lot of emphasis on getting the infrastructure etc to allow them to use it as the country people will be I'm sure, be real drivers once they can make it work for them. It will allow them to connect, access learning and a whole range of business, cultural and other opportunities.

Also we need to really strongly market the possibilities, use the immersion approach so that staff everywhere can see the possibilities and how they may save them time and improve how they are doing things. If people recognise this it creates the motivation to get into it, have a go, learn and apply.

The idea of the immersion approach was echoed in several conversations. The point seemed to be that if NOT using the new technology means missing out on valuable information, the motivation for adoption is higher. As one contributor pointed out…

Remember when email was a hassle? We couldn’t avoid it and now it's become a habit with many of us; it’s just second nature.

Not everyone was convinced though.

I have concerns about the effect of concentrating our communication too much on e-communication. Stephen Downes spoke about not using the telephone any more now and doing almost all his communication online. Information technology is just another tool (albeit powerful) and it should not (I believe) take over from the other ways of communicating but just add to the range, otherwise we run the risk of becoming very narrow - despite the advantages of being able to communicate world wide. I think if we talked to artists, musicians, dancers and great face-to-face communicators they would agree - they recognise the power of communicating through their particular preferred sensory mediums.

A strong argument, but not one that was going to be left standing.

I think of all the new possibilities and wonder if your concern re lack face-to-face will soon be solved with cheap, easy video conversations online that are as user friendly as picking up a telephone is for us now. Perhaps that will replace the phone altogether? Remember telegrams?

Sadly I do remember telegrams and have to accept that one day the telephone will either disappear or evolve to something Mr Bell wouldn’t recognise.

The participants in this particular discussion were typical of Australian VET practitioners. Any new way of working represents quite a lot of time (for the transition) and they’re thinking…

How can I fit this in my 24-hour day and the lifestyle balance I’ve built to keep me functioning and happy?  Something would have to give and then comes the agonising exercise of deciding what this will be. If the need/demand is not strong then I’d be reluctant to give up things that I’ve currently chosen to be in my life.

Work-life balance is an issue in all industry sectors – not just VET. Technologies designed to help us do things quicker have not resulted in more spare time. Instead, the result is that we’re now doing more and more in the same amount of time. As a result, a feature of the 1990’s and 2000’s is the expectation that employees will do more than ever before and in many cases, will work longer hours rather than fewer.

It seems to me that a 'change of attitude' is what is often required when contemplating the future, but it's not always an easy thing to do. And you're absolutely right; it does take time. The best thing is not to beat yourself up about NOT having all the time required to focus on change, but to make some small incremental but fundamental changes along the way and believing that the big changes will just need more time.

One contributor commented…

I talked to some of the people here in my office about blogs, Moodle, Wikis etc. and the widespread use of wireless technology now in the US and Canada. They raised concerns about the effects on public health - a valid issue given the huge increase in exposure to electromagnetic radiation these days. Then there’s the effect on fitness levels of sitting too long in front of a screen! (Unfortunately, I speak from personal experience here!!)

The health issues are real, though... maybe it won't be too long before we can jog while conducting those conversations online! (In my case, hopefully without a vidcam!) The possibilities are endless... sadly.