Directions : Our Futures

Image : Tallawana

I’ve arrived at Parnngurr School to 10mbps satellite internet connection (when it’s on ) and a thumping outback band playing in the school compound. Honestly it’s gem sitting in the Westen Desert heartlands. Did someone say podcast their creations ?

As industry ? As a business ? Too right……
Gary Lienert from TAFE WA Newman Campus drove me out from Newman airport in the latest Outback 4wd and we passed three people on the way out. One degree centigrade on the tarmac.

It’s taken 32 hours from Sydney to get here. Past the industry which is sucking all the ore out of the Pilbara. Providing jobs. Building cities.

Creating our townie futures.

Image : Iron ore out

Going out at three trains a day each with up to 336 carraiges with $25,000 ore in each carraige. You do the maths.

Thats the average. The topper is the record at 682 carraiges and 7.4 kilometres in length. How many engines is anybody’s guess. Carbon neutral my ………

Gary reckons that the trains use more fuel getting back from the coast than too it. It’s downhill of sorts.

I sat with 90 fly-in-fly-outs this morning. They “man” the machines . More women than men in my estimation and all of them making a killing. No wonder no one wants to be a mechanic in the city.

Then it was a further 7 hours down the Tallawana Track. To the peace ( or so it seems ) of the Western Desert down by the Rudall River.

The Parnngurr School has changed so much…….last time I was here was actioning the Digital Outback project with Karen Higgins and Mardi Dwyer.

The CDEP shed has gone and Gary’s TAFE kids are now all grown up and working in the mines or playing in the band.

The community garden is on it’s way back and the school garden is looking amazing. Kids mill around and adults stick their nose in on all thats happening.

There’s an Artist up here working on a mural with the primary kids and the women Elders.

It’s 17 degrees and 5.53pm.

We have been bombarded all day on the satellite radio with news that law enforcements and child protection agencies are being sent into communities not far from here with the intent to implement the latest in the political decisions governing Indigenous Australians.

The atmosphere is tense to say the least however the future is bright.

We ( educators ) have the sense and goodwill to ensure that we connect conversations and avert yet another humanitarian disaster. Our views on this matter must be heard.

We are in the hub of the Parnngurr Community – the school. Where are you and what are you doing ?

This is civil action. This is active citizenship.

Dog Tired : Going North

Well the time has finally come around to taking a short break of sorts and getting back to the roots of it all outback with the mobdeadly mob.

I’ll be off-line for all of 24 hours. Sheesh ! Can I cope ?
There’s been a lot of running around to balance the responsibilities of getting some semblance of visitation timetable in order for all NSW LearnScope teams prior to my trip out to Parnngurr, Western Australia  (and hopefully Punmu if it’s accessible ).

Then compiling the regional visit’s EOI’s amongst TOL2 showcasing and a squillion forecasting the AFLF papers and reports. Robyn and I have been phone / emailing / mailing  extorting times and dates out of everyone available to tee -up times to meet at least once face-to-face with teams who are spread far and wide .

Behind the scenes we have three calendar’s to balance, a diary each, a plethora of official travel submissions , travel authorities and the like ……probably much like what your subject to also as you endeavor to connect people together and showcase what’s happening in your organization.

What I can report is that despite our reservations and hiccups with MediaWiki to begin with the platform is relatively responsive to a cross-collaborative spot to get information housed and usable. So is WikiSpaces and a billion other sites …..which one to choose and why.

So for now I’m going moblogging as the internet is a bore when your on the move.

Besides.

I’m kind of looking  forward to the challenge of reconnecting with what for me is real industry. Verb. Action.

Making a difference with minimal input, lateral community connections and a whole heap of spiritual big sky in between.

See you online.

StudyTxt : FLNW2

StudyTxT – one that may interest the mlearners out there in LearnScope.