15 research outputs found

    Virtual exchange: towards digital equity in internationalisation

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    Negotiating a transcultural place in an English as a lingua franca telecollaboration exchange: a mixed methods approach to the analysis of intercultural communicative competence and third space in an online Community of Practice

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    The study presented in this thesis was designed so as to explore the impact of an ELF (English as a lingua franca) telecollaboration exchange on its participants’ intercultural learning and negotiation of shared spaces and subject positions (Kramsch 2009a). After describing the two groups of students involved in the project - one from the University of Padova (Italy), and one from the University of Innsbruck (Austria) - as well as the tasks, topics and tools that were used to prompt discussion on issues related to culture, identity and representation, the study adopted a mixed methods approach to respond to two research questions. The first of these (RQ1) aimed at searching for evidence of intercultural communicative competence (Byram 1997) in the personal texts that the Italian students had produced over the course of the project: in particular, the primary source of data for this investigation were the participants’ weekly diaries, seen as a valuable and uncontaminated source of information about the students’ feelings and experiences (Pavlenko 2007). The second research question (RQ2) explored the emergence of a transcultural “third space” (Kramsch 1993) among the two groups of participants, as well as the construction of fluid and hybrid subject positions within it. For the purposes of this investigation, all the students’ reflective diaries were taken into account together with their posts to online forums and comments to the exchange activities. Overall, the study presented in this thesis offers a new lens through which to look at the nature of intercultural communicative competence, and provides insights into its strict relationship with third space as it emerges in an online Community of Practice (Lave and Wenger 1991). Furthermore, the study highlights the complexity and variety of subject positions that are activated in online intercultural encounters, and which mirror the transnational and transcultural essence of third space. Finally, the study also suggests the utility of combining qualitative and quantitative research approaches so as to gain deeper and more comprehensive understanding of intercultural learning and negotiating processes

    Un Modelo de colaboración docente interuniversitaria entre estudiantes y profesores

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    En este trabajo se presenta y analiza un modelo de colaboración entre estudiantes y profesores de dos universidades distantes y de tipo presencial. Se identifican potencialidades, dificultades y elementos clave para que la experiencia sea viable, capaz de lograr los objetivos que se pretendan y sostenible en el tiempo. La competencia de colaboración en equipo mediada por las TIC, habitual en los estudios a distancia, resulta artificial al implantarla en los estudios presenciales. Nuestra propuesta trata de que este tipo de colaboración pueda incorporarse a las universidades presenciales de una forma más natural. La idea central de nuestra propuesta es poner a trabajar juntos a estudiantes de dos universidades. Deberían realizar las actividades seleccionadas de forma conjunta y coordinada. La pretensión es que sus conocimientos queden mejor asentados y que el formato de colaboración influya positivamente en su rendimiento académico, potencie el interés hacia la asignatura y mejore algunas competencias transversales como la comunicación y el trabajo en equipo.SUMMARY -- This paper presents and analyzes a collaboration model between students and instructors from two distant and face-to-face universities. We identify potentialities, challenges and key elements for a viable experience, capable of achieving the intended objectives and sustainable over time. The capability of collaboration in a team using ICT tools is commonly worked in distance learning courses. However, the use of the same approach seems artificial in the frame of face-to-face studies. Our proposal tries to incorporate this type of collaboration in face-to-face universities in a more natural way. The central idea of our proposal is that students from two universities work together. The selected activities should be developed jointly and coordinately. The claim is that their skills are better established and that this collaboration format positively influences in their academic performance, enhance the interest in the subject, and improve some skills such as communication and teamwork

    Una experiencia pedagógica en un entorno universitario internacional para formación en Gestión de Proyectos

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    En este artículo se presenta una experiencia pedagógica, en un entorno universitario internacional, orientada al aprendizaje en el área de gestión de proyectos. La propuesta docente, actualmente implantada en tercer curso de un Grado de Ingeniería Informática, permite iterativa e incrementalmente presentar y trabajar con los conceptos iniciales de trabajo en equipo y gestión de proyectos: ciclo de planificación, ejecución, seguimiento y control, gestión de requerimientos, calidad, etc. Esta experiencia se ha llevado a cabo en un país europeo diferente y se ha realizado durante los últimos cuatro cursos académicos. Se desarrolla en las primeras semanas del primer cuatrimestre del primer curso de una titulación con características distintas al de un Grado de Ingeniería Informática. El análisis realizado sobre los datos recogidos (valoraciones, encuestas, sesiones de reflexión y síntesis) y los resultados obtenidos, nos ha permitido validar la experiencia y extraer un conjunto de conclusiones sobre su viabilidad.In this article we present a pedagogical experience of a teaching proposal, in an international university environment, oriented to learning in the area of project management. The teaching proposal, currently implemented in the third year of a Computer Engineering degree, allows iteratively and incrementally to present and work with the initial concepts of teamwork and project management: planning, execution, monitoring and control cycle, requirements management and quality, etcetera. This experience has been carried out in a different European country and has been carried out during the last four academic years. It is developed in the first weeks of the first semester of the first year of a degree with characteristics different from that of a Computer Engineering degree. The analysis carried out on the data collected (assessments, surveys, reflection and synthesis sessions) and the results obtained allowed us to validate the experience and draw a set of conclusions about the viability of this proposal.Este trabajo ha sido parcialmente subvencionado por el Vicerrectorado de Innovación, Compromiso social y Acción cultural de la UPV/EHU, a través del proyecto DIMAROVE dentro del Programa de Innovación Educativa bienio 2017-18 y por el Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, proyecto EDU2016-79838-P

    Un modelo de colaboración docente interuniversitaria entre estudiantes y profesores

    Get PDF
    En este trabajo se presenta y analiza un modelo de colaboración entre estudiantes y profesores de dos universidades distantes y de tipo presencial. Se identifican potencialidades, dificultades y elementos clave para que la experiencia sea viable, capaz de lograr los objetivos que se pretendan y sostenible en el tiempo. La competencia de colaboración en equipo mediada por las TIC, habitual en los estudios a distancia, resulta artificial al implantarla en los estudios presenciales. Nuestra propuesta trata de que este tipo de colaboración pueda incorporarse a las universidades presenciales de una forma más natural. La idea central de nuestra propuesta es poner a trabajar juntos a estudiantes de dos universidades. Deberían realizar las actividades seleccionadas de forma conjunta y coordinada. La pretensión es que sus conocimientos queden mejor asentados y que el formato de colaboración influya positivamente en su rendimiento académico, potencie el interés hacia la asignatura y mejore algunas competencias transversales como la comunicación y el trabajo en equipo.This paper presents and analyzes a collaboration model between students and instructors from two distant and face-to-face universities. We identify potentialities, challenges and key elements for a viable experience, capable of achieving the intended objectives and sustainable over time. The capability of collaboration in a team using ICT tools is commonly worked in distance learning courses. However, the use of the same approach seems artificial in the frame of face-to-face studies. Our proposal tries to incorporate this type of collaboration in face-to-face universities in a more natural way. The central idea of our proposal is that students from two universities work together. The selected activities should be developed jointly and coordinately. The claim is that their skills are better established and that this collaboration format positively influences in their academic performance, enhance the interest in the subject, and improve some skills such as communication and teamwork

    Una experiencia pedagógica en un entorno universitario internacional para formación en Gestión de Proyectos

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    International audienceIn this article we present a pedagogical experience of a teaching proposal, in an international university environment, oriented to learning in the area of project management. The teaching proposal, currently implemented in the third year of a Computer Engineering degree, allows iteratively and incrementally to present and work with the initial concepts of teamwork and project management: planning-execution-monitoring and control cycle, requirements management and quality, etcetera. This experience has been carried out in a different European country and has been carried out during the last four academic years. It is developed in the first weeks of the first semester of the first year of a degree with characteristics different from that of a Computer Engineering degree. The analysis carried out on the data collected (assessments, surveys, reflection and synthesis sessions) and the results obtained allowed us to validate the experience and draw a set of conclusions about the viability of this proposal.En este artículo se presenta una experiencia pedagógica de una propuesta docente, en un entorno universitario internacional, orientada al aprendizaje en el área de gestión de proyectos. La propuesta docente, actualmente implantada en tercer curso de un grado de Ingeniería Informática, permite iterativamente e incrementalmente presentar y trabajar con los conceptos iniciales de trabajo en equipo y gestión de proyectos: ciclo de planificación-ejecución-seguimiento y control, gestión de requerimientos y calidad, etcétera. Esta experiencia se ha llevado a cabo en un país europeo diferente y se ha realizado durante los últimos cuatro cursos académicos. Se desarrolla en las primeras semanas del primer cuatrimestre del primer curso de una titulación con características distintas al de un grado de Ingeniería Informática. El análisis realizado sobre los datos recogidos (valoraciones, encuestas, sesiones de reflexión y síntesis) y los resultados obtenidos nos ha permitido validar la experiencia y extraer un conjunto de conclusiones sobre la viabilidad de esta propuesta

    Students\u27 perceptions of the use of peer-to-peer ESL text chat: An introductory study

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    Thousands of international ESL students come to the United States every year to learn English for the purpose of matriculating into an American university. Teaching these diverse students can be a challenge for educators and despite the students significant investment of time and money, many of them are inadequately prepared for the demands of university work. Text chat has been studied by some scholars as a means of assisting ESL students to write more effectively. However, greater understanding is needed of the affective experiences and perceptions of students toward peer-to-peer ESL text chat. That is the thrust of this study, which utilized Livemocha, a free international text chat program. Several striking findings were made, two of which were that all students reported enjoyment of the text chat experience and all students reported increased confidence to write in English as a result of their participation in the research. This study draws heavily on the sociocultural theory of Lev Vygotsky, especially his theories of the zone of proximal development and perezhivanie. His work illuminates the findings of this study and the study also demonstrates the vitality of Vygotsky\u27s thought in the 21 st century. In addition to providing insight into students\u27 perspectives on peer-to-peer ESL text chat, a valuable tool to increase students\u27 confidence to write in English has been made known.\u2

    Immersive Telepresence: A framework for training and rehearsal in a postdigital age

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    Multi-User Domain Object Oriented (MOO) as a High School Procedure for Foreign Language Acquisition

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    Foreign language students experience added difficulty when they are isolated from native speakers and from the culture of the target language. It has been posited that MOOs (Multiuser domain Object Oriented) may help to overcome the geographical isolation of these students. MOOs are Internet-based virtual worlds in which people from all over the real world meet for synchronous textual conversations and can interact with asynchronous textual objects found there. Students who enjoy a MOO site may identify with its virtual target language community and find integrative motivation which the literature suggests is necessary for advanced language acquisition. This study focused on the affective nature of MOO. An experimental group of Israeli high school EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students experienced 12 academic hours at schMOOze University, a MOO site for students of English as a Second/Foreign Language. A control group employed normal EFL procedures, including reading comprehension passages, taped songs, class discussions, and grammar exercises. Using pretest and posttest questionnaires, participants indicated their anxiety about and motivation towards various EFL procedures and English class in general. (Motivation was divided into course-specific subconstructs: interest, relevance, expectation of success, and satisfaction.) The findings demonstrated some significantly positive attitudes towards using MOO as an EFL procedure, particularly for male students and those who felt proficient with computers. Nevertheless, the findings did not match the enthusiasm found in various position papers about MOO in Second/Foreign Language instruction. The experimental group gave significantly higher scores for relevance and expected success in regard to general EFL instruction. However, it gave MOO significantly lower scores in relevance and satisfaction as an EFL procedure when compared to the overall averages of the 13 other EFL procedures. No other major significant differences were found. External factors, which could not be compensated for by the experimental design, may have caused the discrepancy between tile position papers and the findings, Repeated, long interruptions of the research may well have produced feelings of discontinuity and frustration, rather than greater motivation, for students unfamiliar with the technology. Therefore, recommendations for further research include an experimental design with a more concentrated MOO experience
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