Conclusion

What's Next: A Highway or a Community?
This discussion paper presents more questions than answers. This is deliberate, because the intent of the paper is to promote further exploration. It is also unavoidable, since the area of new technologies and learning has many unanswered questions. But many deliberations are now underway that will affect whether new technologies really provide accessible and meaningful learning opportunities. Keeping in touch with this issue requires considerable tolerance for uncertainty, some occasional detective work, and a commitment to discerning reality in the midst of continually evolving terminology.

We have referred to the pressure to "not miss the boat," to not be left behind by technological innovations. Rather than a transportation analogy, with its implication of leaving one place and arriving at another, it may be more helpful to use an analogy of community.

Like growing up in a neighborhood, learning is not a one time activity but a continuous part of life. Developing a livable community takes time, vision and a commitment to accommodate input from a broad range of interests. As one new rural resident put it, "It's not a question of how long I've been here, but of how long I plan to stay." The impact of any technological system tends to remain even after specific technologies have moved on. We can all say we will be staying a while in a context that includes both learning and technology, and that we all have a right to speak.

The planning process involved in building a livable community offers an alternative to the concept of a high speed chase down the Information Highway. It recognizes the value of setting up patterns that promote usability, livability, flexibility and the importance of supporting human connectedness. Can we do this with new learning technologies?

It is hoped that discussion of this paper, and the activities that follow, will help those concerned with women's learning to participate in decisions around policy, financing, technical standards and approaches to teaching and learning. These are the critical factors in determining how well learning technologies achieve their promise.