Digital Amnesia and the Demise of a Learning Community

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Publication TypeJournal articleAbstractThrough presentation of a personal account of the emergence of Education Network Australia (EdNA) in 1995 through to its eventual demise some 15 years later this article uses narrative inquiry to reflect upon a number of critical issues regarding the sustainability of learning communities and of the digital infrastructure that is developed to support them. ‘Digital amnesia’ is introduced as a construct to describe practices that ultimately led to the disappearance of digital content and services associated with Internet domains associated with EdNA – and hence the learning community associated with it. EdNA’s demise is described as in terms of squandering social and community capital. The formation of a new entity and services intended to fill the service vacuum has shown little evidence of a sustainable approach or an understanding of the affordances of digital technology, particularly with regards to information stewardship. A number of lingering questions are teased out from the narrative and together represent a challenge for further inquiry.AuthorMason, J.Date2015Publication CollectionNorthern Institute - Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in Social ContextsVolume18/ 2015Page Number30-39CopyrightThis work is licensed under CC BY-SASuggested CitationMason, J. (2015). Digital Amnesia and the Demise of a Learning Community. Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in Social Contexts [Special Issue: Narrative Inquiry], 18, 30-39. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18793/LCJ2015.18.04.ISSNISSN 1329-1440 (online)ISSN 2202-7904 (print)PublisherFaculty of Law, Education, Business and Arts CHARLES DARWIN UNIVERSITYPlace of PublicationDarwin