Editor's Podium

Drs. Don and Elizabeth Perrin, Managing Editors

The most extraordinary change in human communication, the evolution of the Internet, swept the world like an electronic digital tsunami. We have all, willingly or not, been morphed. It is these new images of ourselves, communities, schools, families, commerce, and government that flood our consciousness. We have unparalleled opportunities to improve the human condition and we have incredible obstacles created by the very nature of this electronic web.

There is, however, probably no problem that will not ultimately be solved by breaking it down into manageable sections. Consider the SETI project to share the intelligence of thousands of PCs while they are idle to decipher radio waves from space in search of intelligent beings. As one pundit observed, - How do you eat an elephant? - One bite at a time. The caveat to all of us involved in the change is, in part, our different concepts of the future. This is as true for education and e-learning as it is for commerce, government, communities within nations and communities of nations.

Our position as communicators and educators is central yet tenuous in the digital world. We talk softly. We do not carry a big stick but a big electronic dictionary. We are painfully aware that evolution of a digital society evokes a world that is very different and that survival, both personally and professionally, requires a continual relearning and adapting to change. Ergo fas est - Therefore it is right!
Que sera, sera - So be it!

Don and Elizabeth Perrin, Managing Editors
ED at a Distance Magazine and Journal