Opportunity and e‐quality: Intercultural and linguistic issues in global online learning

Learning in an online distance education course: Experiences of three international students

“…Research also shows that learners may feel uncertain in their communication and isolated in this environment because of a lack of non-verbal cues and social presence (Muilenburg & Berge, 2005), and this may impact significantly students who were raised in a culture where social context and/or social presence (Ku & Lohr, 2003;Tu, 2001) are emphasized. International students, especially those who are from Asia and the Middle East, may face more challenges or frustrations in this regard than their domestic peers because of such factors as language barriers (Goodfellow, Lea, Gonzalez, & Mason, 2001;Lee & Greene, 2007), feelings of isolation or alienation (Shattuck, 2005;WalkerFernandez, 1999, as cited in Uzuner, 2009), unfamiliarity with the disciplinary culture of the institution offering the course (Zhao & McDougall, 2008), and a lack of knowledge of specific cultural references (Thompson & Ku, 2005). Influenced by their home culture, international students may not participate in the online learning environment as actively as domestic students (Al-Harthi, 2005;Hannon, J., & D'Neto, 2007).…”

Rethinking distance learning activities: a comparison of transactional distance theory and activity theory

“…In other words, since written and spoken language are used in both types of educational systems, discussions of language as a device are more a part of the general field of education rather than the specialised field of distance education. In recent publications and field practice, however, language is always evidenced to be problematic in discussions of distance learners' differences such as gender, national culture, and native language of participants (for example, Goodfellow, Lea, Gonzalez, & Mason, 2001;Kramarae, 2003;Shattuck, 2005). The discussion of national culture and language differ-ences is especially important in today's distance education because of its potential to reach participants around the globe.…”

The integration of collaborative distance learning methods in secondary education: case study of an eTwinning partnership

“…Οι δύο μεταβλητές του μοντέλου αυτού είναι η αντιληπτή χρησιμότητα και η αντιληπτή ευκολία χρήσης (Halawi & McCarthy, 2008;Ngai, Poon & Chan, 2007;Johnson, Hornik & Salas, 2008). Τέλος, μία ακόμα σημαντική παράμετρος η οποία σχετίζεται με την παρούσα έρευνα είναι η ετοιμότητα στη χρήση της γλώσσας επικοινωνίας (Mason & Gunawardena, 2001;Bates, 2001;Goodfellow, Lea, Gonzalez & Mason, 2001;Zhang & Kenny, 2010). Εκτός από τις παραπάνω παραμέτρους που εξ αρχής κρίθηκε σκόπιμο να διερευνηθούν, στην πορεία της παρούσας έρευνας ως σημαντικές αναδείχθηκαν δύο ακόμη παράμετροι: α) η ενεργητική συμμετοχή των εκπαιδευομένων στις διάφορες δραστηριότητες και β) τα στοιχεία της προσωπικότητάς τους και οι ατομικές στρατηγικές μάθησης που εφαρμόζουν.…”