Look out I might get long winded with memories. Growing up in east coast of the US my early “idea” of Australia might have been shaped by the Tasmanian Devil of Bugs Bunny cartoons, the Mad Max and Crocodile Dundee movies plus Rabbit Proof Fence, The Man from Snowy River, and I think one called The Japanese Story. I remember when the much clichéd Outback Steakhouses became popular.
Oh, and in my first edtech job when video discs were the thing, I always remember the beauty of Alice to Ocean.
I’ve been fortunate to have visited Australia for extended (not tourist) visits several times, making connections in the early 2000s in my role at the Maricopa Community Colleges with many in the TAFE sector.
In 2000 I had earned a 6 month professional sabbatical at Maricopa where I was able to coordinate visits to several institutions and connectings made through the Flexible Learning Network for 2 months in New Zealand and then 2 more months in Australia. I spent time at Canberra Institute of Technology, the Riverina TAFE, a few TAFEs in Adelaide, and attended the Queensland Learning Network 2000 conference in… Brisbane!
In 2007 I was lucky to have been invited by the Flexible Learning Leaders network to do visits and talks in the capitals of all states/territories. The problem was my new position did not allow a great deal of time off, so they were able to schedule me a whirlwind tour in 10 days that was something like Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Brisbane. It was an amazing opportunity, getting to meet many colleagues I had known only online, and meeting many new people.
I was in Melbourne July 2008 (dead of winter!) when my organization the New Media Consortium did a meeting for the NMC Horizon Report: Australia Edition.
I was back in Melbourne in 2011 as a speaker for some kind of gathering of the Powerful Learning Practice network. I visited a colleague I knew from Maricopa who had moved to Melbourne- Jan took me to see the Penguin Parade and a road trip to see the Great Ocean Road. I think I also flew to Tasmania to catch up with colleagues there, spending time in Hobart and Launceston (and I got to see a real Tassie Devil).
And finally, my last visit was to Melbourne in 2017 when I was given a month long fellowship with the International Specialised Skills Institute ISSI - see CogDogRoo – Down Under 2017
I’ve been so fortunate to have had these opportunities, and at the same time, I feel like there is infinitely more I have yet to see (like getting to the outback center of Australia). And i am eager to see Brisbane again!
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