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| ISSN 1499-1209 | © Stanford Solutions |
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Home > Vol.
2, No. 1 > Open Articles |
Jan/Feb 2002 | |
Around the World in 24 Hours:
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| Figure 1: Around the World |
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Photo courtesy of NOAA - see Photo Credits
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Thus began my journey around the world in 24 hours. When it ended the miracles of the day were not lost in the exhaustion at the end. And I was only there for part of the Day. I cannot fathom the energy that John Hibbs and Nancy White among others demonstrated. They were there for almost 24 sleepless sometimes meal-less hours.
In this article I can only touch the highlights and it would take volumes to cover all the wonderful events, speakers and information exchanged. I hope you, the readers, will have a sense of the powerful communication and magic of modern connectivity in pulling off an event like this. Jules Verne, I'm sure, would have been amazed!
The fifth live interactive 24-hour non-stop virtual voyage around the world, called Global Learn Day to promote communication, understanding and learning, was launched at 00:00 Greenwich Mean Time on October 7, 2001 with welcome messages from Captain John Hibbs, founder and director of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Global Education, accompanied by the music Orinoco Flow.
Thus began the simultaneous web-cast, telephony and bridged telephone connections that included stops in many countries, every continent, and many island nations. It ended 24 hours later with the Captain's Table and a fare-thee-well from the Cook Islands.
| Figure 2: Islands in the Sun |
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Photo courtesy of NOAA - see Photo Credits
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It started with a world still smarting from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and was further shaken by bombs, which started falling on Afghanistan that Sunday afternoon during the North American section of the voyage.
In spite of the many disruptions to connections during this time, the voyagers continued the journey to the end. The back-up audio systems and web chat rooms kept connectivity globally.
The mission for the day can best be described in the words of Marcel Proust:
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes.
On this Global Learn Day V there were still new highlights to be unfolded led by extraordinary people from 24 time zones.
Gajaraj Dhanarajan, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning, was the first keynote speaker of the day with his message on Telecenters and Affordable Education Worldwide.
At 7:20 GMT a special presentation was made from India by television. This first attempt at such a mode of live communication from Asia was not perfect but a perfect place to start reaching further into affordable learning in that continent.
The radio partnership in Ireland served as a model of the possibilities of Community Media and Lifelong Learning with speaker Jack Bryne.
Osei Darkwa spoke from Ghana thanks to a solar powered telecenter.
Two stops in Antarctica, one courtesy of ham radio, were highlights as scientists there spoke about the voyages of discoveries they were undertaking from this frozen landscape.
| Figure 3: Connecting to Penguins in Antartica |
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Photo courtesy of NOAA - see Photo Credits
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South Pacific radio and satellite coverage from Hawaii to Perth, Australia ensured the travellers met The Challenges of a Big Ocean, Scattered People, Small Money.
Highlights of the North American section included speaker Michael Losier from Vancouver Island, Canada about the potential of teleclasses in distance education.
Later he joined our Virtual Dinner Party with Debra M. Amidon of Boston, Massachusetts; Barbara Weaver Smith of Indianapolis, Indiana; Steve Eskow from Santa Barbara, California; and I from Calgary, Alberta.
(More details about planning this portion of GLD V can be found
at Virtual Dinner Party)
We discussed blending the best of traditional education with newer farther-reaching forms of learning. The Results of KnowMap Web Poll on the validity of distance education were discussed as well as many benefits and barriers in the sometimes colliding, sometimes merging worlds of distance and traditional education.
| Figure 4: KnowMap Poll |
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The following are the results of the web poll conducted shortly before and during GLD V.
These were the comments offered:
This fifth Voyage was dedicated to the late Dr. Guy Bensusan, a leader in distance education, who helped organize the voyage with his vision for the future before he passed away on October 2, 2001, five days before the event.
Fittingly the day ended with the promise of 1000 free computers to be granted by The Chicago Group to introduce those in impoverished countries to the wonders of virtual learning.
| Figure 5: Guiding Light |
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Photo courtesy of NOAA - see Photo Credits
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There are far too many others to mention by name.
However, you can still find the speakers, the topics and their locations listed at Speakers and Timetable. Speaker bios can be viewed and audio clips listened to from this location.
Those who missed this adventure while it was live can still catch up through the link above and prepare for the sixth voyage now in the planning stages to be held October 13, 2002. (See Event)
Help us prepare for GLD VI in October of 2002 and spread the word.
First you may use any portion of this article to help shine the spotlight on Global Learn Day so other distance and traditional educators will not miss the launching of the future journeys. Be sure to include a connection to KnowMap so they can read further articles about GLD and to the official Global Learn Day VI pages.
Contact us at Stanford Solutions for additional details or to offer your support in generating publicity.
You may also help by identifying potential sponsors for this event. The goal is to have a million people join us for at least parts of journey and a million dollars would help to fund the connectivity and assist in bringing the event to the shores of those who otherwise would not be able to travel with us.
Contact John Hibbs to lend your support as a sponsor.
Vision for the Future Now send us your stories of distance education and your vision for learning in the future!
Some of those involved in the Global Learn Days of the past have added their success or sent news clippings of successful distance education ventures. These can be found at Case Studies - Learning.
Bon Voyage until we meet again for the next 24-hour non-stop journey around the world!
The photographs credited to either NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) or NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are from collections available for public use. The use here does not imply direct permission nor constitute endorsement of the contents of this page by either NASA or NOAA.
Figure 1: Credit: NOAA.
Figure 2: Islands gleaming in the sun with tidal passages and shoals. Image ID: theb1461, Historic C&GS Collection; Possibly Exuma Sound, Bahamas. Credit: NOAA.
Figure 3: Lieutenant Cindy McFee, third woman to winter over at South Pole Stations, shown with penguins. Image ID: theb3920, Historic C&GS Collection; Little America, Antarctica; 1979, Credit: Lt. Cindy McFee, NOAA Corps.
Figure 5: Sun rises through the fog on the Mendocino coastline. Image ID: theb1447, Historic C&GS Collection; Mendocino coast, California, 1979. Credit: Lieutenant Linda Mezger, NOAA Corps.
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