Personal factors supporting intercultural communication in e-learning of information sciences

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the personal factors for both the students and the lecturers that support intercultural communication in library and information science (LIS) e-learning. Research was conducted to explore the factors supporting intercultural communication in LIS e-learning. Design/methodology/approach – Using case study, the opinion of students of two LIS curricula about the factors that support intercultural communication in e-learning has been determined. The data have been collected using e-interviews and document analysis. Document analysis and constant comparative analysis method were used for analysing collected data. Findings – Intercultural communication in the e-learning of LIS curriculum was supported by pedagogical, personal, cultural and technological factors. In this paper, the personal factors are emphasised. These factors are the supporting characteristics of the students and lecturers, their motivation, similarities between co-students and the competence of the students. Practical implications – Results of the research project are necessary to improve the curricula and to plan and conduct learning process. The results explain possibilities for supporting the students in international e-learning. Originality/value – The results of the present study concerning the personal factors and their respective support differed – when compared to previous studies – in the following aspects: LIS students brought forward the characteristics that support intercultural communication in e-learning, were willing to gain extra knowledge and skills and considered information literacy and knowledge about written communication important but, at the same time, less-often mentioned the problems emerging from lags.

International Online Collaboration Competencies in Higher Education Students: A Systematic Review

“…For evaluating intercultural and cultural competencies, five studies applied content analysis to online forums, interviews, and reports (Table 1). Three studies (Liaw, 2006; Liaw & Bunn-Le Master, 2010; Wang et al, 2013) applied Byram’s (1997, 2000) model for content analysis, Uukkivi (2016) did not report using a framework, and Vinagre (2017) used a modified coding scheme for individual and social accountability, cognitive and organizational behaviors. Four studies used standardized questionnaires: the Miville-Guzman Universality Diversity Scale in its short form (M-GUDS-s) (Ertmer et al, 2011), a questionnaire based on the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bartel-Radic et al, 2015), and the Virtual Team Competency Inventory developed by Hertel et al (2006).…”

“…The third domain emerging from the literature represents communication and language competencies, as reported by six studies (Bueno-Alastuey & Kleban, 2016; Krumm et al, 2013;May & Tekkaya, 2016;Sevilla-Pavon & Haba-Osca, 2017;Uukkivi, 2016;Wang et al, 2013). Characteristics such as openness and perspective-taking (Krumm et al, 2013), honesty, reliability, helpfulness, friendliness, flexibility, neutrality, constructiveness, activeness, positivity, patience, concreteness, objectivity, lack of prejudice, and, at the same time, carefulness and thoughtfulness were found to be supportive in communication (Uukkivi, 2016). Sevilla-Pavon and Haba-Osca (2017) described linguistic competence, attitudes, and views on language learning as communication and language competencies.…”

“…Results for the second research question, focusing on instructional designs used to promote IOCCs, showed a variety of designs for supporting one or more domains of IOCCs (Table 1). Five studies did not provide a clear description of the instructional design and learning tasks (Hertel et al, 2005;Krumm et al, 2013;May & Tekkaya, 2016;Ray et al, 2012;Uukkivi, 2016). Following Gustafson and Branch (2002), instructional design is ".…”

Teachers’ Opinions on the Use of Personal Learning Environments for Intercultural Competence

“…The recommendations by experts in light of the effects of globalization suggest the need to find new teaching-learning methods [8] that would involve the creation of new environments for tending to the cultural diversity of different classrooms [24,25]. However, the educational policy for the Andalusian community does not allow intercultural education to be carried out in the official curriculum [26].…”

Evaluasi Keberhasilan E-Learning Dalam Perspektif Sistem Informasi (Studi Kasus Universitas Terbuka)

“…Bell dan Federman (2013) mengidentifikasi beberapa faktor yang memengaruhi adopsi e-learning yaitu keterlibatan dan interaksi. Berbagai aspek e-learning telah diteliti di negara-negara lain termasuk komponen berbasis pedagogi (Krämer dan Bente, 2010;Marshall, 2010), relasi siswa dan guru serta penerimaannya (Sarsa dan Soler, 2012), interaksi peserta dalam lingkungan online (Uukkivi, 2016) dan pengalaman siswa (Jung, 2011;Loh et al 2016 Penelitian dilakukan di UT UPBJJ Bogor dengan metode pengumpulan data menyerahkan daftar pertanyaan untuk diisi sendiri oleh responden berupa kuesioner (self-administered). Responden diberikan langsung kuesioner untuk diisi dan dikembalikan pada saat yang sama sehingga diperoleh rasio sukses pengumpulan kuesioner sebesar 100%.…”