New frontiers/new technologies/new pedagogies

During the last decade there has been a growing awareness of the tremendous impact of globalisation, internationalisation and the role of new technologies in the blurring national and cultural boundaries. The emergence of global media- of an information society-involves new flows of information and cultural representations that defy traditional boundaries of education in both conceptual and practical ways. Challenges arising From encounters with cultural difference are intensified by flexible modes of delivery using new information and communication technology (IT), such as the Internet. While a degree of explanation has taken place in areas such as the shifting relationship between technology, citizenship and cultural diversity, there is a marked absence of systematic research informed by best principles of pedagogy that reflect a thorough understanding of current developments in telecommunications. This paper explores some key issues arising from current research into the use of online technology in internationalisation of higher education, Reflecting upon the findings of a collaborative project between The Monash Centre for Research in international Education and Telstra Australia, this paper is informed by a recent study of educator; and sen ice providers in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. Entitled New Frontiers/New Technologies/New Pedagogies, the project seeks to develop a framework enabling a clearer picture of pedagogic possibilities across cultural boundaries in an age of global information networks. It is argued that a critical rethinking of the relationship between technology, culture and educational practice is not only desirable, but essential if educators are to effectively address the diverse needs of students in ways that effectively prepare them far a world of work, knowledge find community that is very different from the one encountered today.