Fostering Cross-Cultural Understanding Through E-Learning: Russian-American Forum Case-Study.

dc.creator	Ekaterina V. Talalakina
dc.date	2010-09-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:08:01Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:08:01Z
dc.identifier	10.3991/ijet.v5i3.1290
dc.identifier	1863-0383
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/f19aeb9396e843628ef57ab95d4505a1
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/11674
dc.description	Abstract— The importance of cross-cultural understanding is accelerated nowadays by globalization and joint efforts of different countries in the face of global challenges. Countries’ educational systems display attempts to incorporate cross-cultural studies in their curricula across all stages of formal learning. Many higher education institutions offer special courses aimed at promoting cross-cultural studies. One of the tools used to facilitate the process is e-learning. The present article examines the case study of an internet-based collaboration between two higher education institutions – State University Higher School of Economics in Russia and Champlain College in the USA – in fostering cross-cultural understanding. The project is based on the study of individualistic and collectivistic values within the framework of two corresponding courses studied at both institutions. The topicality of the study is determined by the growing importance of the cooperation of two countries on the international affairs arena, on the one hand, and the fundamental differences of the countries’ underlying value system, on the other. In particular, a post-soviet Russia is generally viewed as a developing democracy representing the collectivistic end of the value spectrum, whereas the USA is considered as an extreme case of individualistic value system. The comparison and contrast of the two systems conducted simultaneously by the representatives of both cultures (students of the two universities) within a specifically built internet forum comprises the base of the project. The case study covers the project’s objectives, its background, the rationale behind its content choice, the design of the e-learning tool, the profile of the participants of the project, its implementation stages and its outcome. The major findings of the case study deal with the process of building cross-cultural awareness, reinforcing students’ analytical skills and providing them with a research incentive, fostering self-reflection, values projection from one culture onto the other, drawing the areas of their intersection, which, finally, result in cross-cultural understanding. The results of the study are assessed at quantative and qualitative levels.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	kassel university press GmbH
dc.relation	http://online-journals.org/i-jet/article/view/1290
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1863-0383
dc.rights	CC BY
dc.source	International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), Vol 5, Iss 3, Pp 42-46 (2010)
dc.subject	cross-cultural
dc.subject	understanding
dc.subject	education
dc.subject	e-learning
dc.subject	international
dc.subject	collaboration
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology (General)
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology and Engineering
dc.subject	Theory and practice of education
dc.subject	LB5-3640
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology (General)
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology and Engineering
dc.subject	Theory and practice of education
dc.subject	LB5-3640
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	Theory and practice of education
dc.subject	LB5-3640
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	Theory and practice of education
dc.subject	LB5-3640
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Technology (General)
dc.subject	T1-995
dc.subject	Technology
dc.subject	T
dc.subject	Theory and practice of education
dc.subject	LB5-3640
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	Fostering Cross-Cultural Understanding Through E-Learning: Russian-American Forum Case-Study.
dc.type	article