I was taken by surprise. The hostility in the room was palpable.
It was May 1995 and I was co-presenting a session titled "Perspectives on Electronic Communication" with Stanford University's John Pearson and Lisa Park at the annual NAFSA conference in New Orleans. The room was packed - standing room only - with international education professionals from around the globe who wanted to find out how the "new" technology tools of email and the web were being used in our field.
Towards the end of the session, someone asked me what the future might bring. I thought for a moment and then shared three things that I believed would happen within the next 5 years:
- Email would become a standard form of communication and international education professionals would be expected to use it on a daily basis as part of our jobs.
- The web would become a major marketing force.
- International offices/organizations would have a staff member, either in their office or assigned to it, designated to work with technology issues.
There was an immediate reaction, not all of it positive. Many people were disturbed to hear that they might be required (by their employers) to learn and use these new tools on top of their other duties. I heard one person say, "I'm retiring in less than 10 years. I shouldn't have to deal with this." A representative of a major study abroad program told me, "Well, the web is interesting, but we don't think it will be that relevant."
Even though I believed that they were wrong, I could understand and even sympathize with their reactions.
What happened later was telling. Within three months, I received a phone call from a colleague who told me that she had just been told to adopt email as a communication tool -- or lose her job! "I just want you to know that what you said is coming true," she told me. Within six months, that same major study abroad program representative emailed me to say that their organization had reconsidered and was revamping their entire marketing strategy to move towards the web. And, yes, my third prediction came true, too -- well within five years.
I was not a fortuneteller. I simply saw what was happening in the technical and business environments and extrapolated how this would eventually affect our field.
Why do I bother revisiting 1995 today? After all, it's just so... so... well, 1995!
It may be 2008, but has the general understanding of technology and its tools changed or improved in our profession? For the last few years, I have seen -- in general -- the same malaise (lack of response) in international education towards the new tools of social media that I saw more than 10 years ago to email and the web.
As in 1995, I now regularly hear many international educators saying, "My students are using [insert name of tool] all the time, but I don't have the time for it", "I don't understand [insert name of tool] and I'm worried about it", etc.
As in 1995, my answer is also the same:
Your students (therefore your customers / clients) are already using these tools. If you plan on connecting with them, you must learn to use them, too.
That presentation at the 1995 NAFSA Conference was a turning point in my international education career because I could clearly see both the deep need for information about -- and, more importantly, training in -- using technology in the field of international education.
I began to connect with others who were interested, too. These fellow travelers on the journey brought diverse and important perspectives to help inform and guide our profession over the years.
So now it's 2008 and there's obviously still plenty of road to travel. Once again, I'm inviting those who are interested to come along for the ride. Let's explore technology and communications as it relates to intercultural communication and international education.
Will you join me?
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