Breaking Stereotypes: Constructing Geographic Literacy and Cultural Awareness through Technology

Conceptualizing the use of technology to foster peace via Adventure Learning

“…Nonetheless, Carano & Berson (2007) warn that mere exposure to diverse groups of people is not the determining factor to promoting respect for diversity. Instead, it is important to engage in an ongoing dialogue with individuals or groups of people in order to enhance ones cultural awareness and to develop a greater understanding of difference.…”

“…Despite blogs being the most commonly used form of technological intervention (Carano & Berson, 2007;Drexler et al, 2008;Oravec, 2004), other studies have made use of wikis (Drexler et al, 2008;Ferdig et al, 2007), social networking sites (Ferdig et al, 2007), and video sharing sites (Buchanan et al, 2008;Meadows & Murphy, 2004). Importantly, Web 2.0 applications have been mostly linked to antecedents to peace via their association with social, and specifically Vykotskian, notions of learning (Vygotsky, 1978), in that promoting collaboration, communication, diversity, and interaction leads to desirable outcomes.…”

“…Importantly, Web 2.0 applications have been mostly linked to antecedents to peace via their association with social, and specifically Vykotskian, notions of learning (Vygotsky, 1978), in that promoting collaboration, communication, diversity, and interaction leads to desirable outcomes. Email (Carano & Berson, 2007;Merryfield, 2003;Yablov & Katz, 2001) and video conferencing (Buchanan et al, 2008;Laterza et al, 2007;Lee, 2006) have also been used for the same purposes, while mobile phones have been proposed as tools to encourage the dissemination of information around the world and to promote mutual understanding and peace through exposing people to diverse ideas (UNDV, 2008) Furthermore, online and video games are increasingly becoming associated with peace-related outcomes, as serious games have become complex learning environments where learners can engage in authentic learning activities (Oblinger, 2006). For example, Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) offer opportunities for exposure to diverse populations (Ferdig et al, 2007), and collaborative learning and knowledge construction through social interaction (Papastergiou, 2009).…”

“…Initiatives that promote awareness, exposure to multiple perspectives, sharing of ideas, initiation of dialogue, and perspective taking can promote respect for diversity (Doering & Veletsianos, 2008b;Ferdig et al, 2007;Verbaan, 2008) by (a) mediating the deconstruction of images of the "other"/ "enemy" (Buchanan et al, 2008;Carano & Berson, 2007;Doering & Veletsianos, 2008;Ferdig et al, 2007;Lee, 2006;Vrasidas et al, 2007), and/or (b) offering the potential for participants to create more favourable images of the "other" (Buchanan et al, 2008;Goldsworthy et al, 2007;Yablov & Katz, 2001). Cultivating an ethos of respect for diversity therefore can become a building block within peace-seeking endeavours.…”

Geographical Literacy, Attitudes, and Experiences of Freshman Students: A Qualitative Study at Florida International University

“…As national studies and scholars have repeatedly indicated, young students in the United States are less geographically literate than those in other industrialized nations (Carano & Berson, 2007). In the 2002 edition of the National Geographic-Roper study, the participating nations were Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, and the United States.…”