Daily Bookmarks 07/01/2008
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Online Tutoring e-Book 6 – Culture and Ethics – Facilitating Online Learning
Although this is written specifically for online tutors, much of the information and advice applies to online facilitators as well. The authors examine cultural differences in the online learning environment, including how diversity affects language, written text, images, metaphors, communication style, and online presence. Appendix B is a chart comparing different linguistic groups and cultures.
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Some of the key questions revolve around how culture is, or is not, experienced online:
- Is it easier to work across cultures free from visuals cues, which tap into our prejudices?
- Is it harder without visual cues so that we miss sensitive cultural cues?
- Just how do we maximise the diversity and respect for cultures while tutoring online?
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Web-based Learning Design: Planning for Diversity
2002 summary of research on how diversity affects online learning, focusing especially on Hispanics. Includes differences in communication due to culture, including differences between different Hispanic populations (i.e., Mexico isn’t the same as Guatemala). Also notes that Hispanics are often on the wrong side of the digital divide and may have less prior experience with technology, therefore exhibiting fewer characteristics of the net generation.
I haven’t read the entire e-book yet, but I’m planning to use it as a reference for a course I’m developing on online facilitation skills. We’re including a module on diversity, specifically focusing on how diversity affects online communication and learning. I agree that this isn’t something that we emphasize as much as we should, and I’m happy to have found several great sources recently on this topic.
I admit that I don’t necessarily think about diversity when I’m designing courses. It isn’t always part of the instructional design process for me. I was interested to see several articles focus on designing to support diversity as well as facilitating. I need to spend more time really digging into those sources to see what I can learn.
It’s very cool to see the innovation in the online K-12 realm too. I think it’s great that you’re working on best practices for teaching in that area; so much of the existing content focuses on higher ed.
This is too funny. I literally just bookmarked the first link to Otis before I came to your blog for the first time.
I really like your second link a lot, though. It is a topic that doesn’t get discussed enough in depth in elearning circles.
Anyway, thanks for the second link (and for confirming the importance of the first to me). I will be using both for a course on best practices for teaching in an online environment. It is a part of my work for eDCSD: Douglas County Online Education.