scholarly journals Computer-Mediated Communication and Culture: A Comparison of ‘Confucian-Heritage’ and ‘Western’ Learner Attitudes to Asynchronous E-Discussions Undertaken in an Australian Higher Educational Setting

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Ramsay

While the internationalisation of higher education has made learner diversity a key consideration in tertiary pedagogical practice, research into the application of computer-mediated technologies in this domain has rarely taken into account culture. This article responds to this gap in the research by comparing ‘Confucian-heritage’ and ‘Western’ learners' experience of computer-mediated discussions undertaken as part of an Australian university curriculum. Likert and open-ended question formats reveal that cultural learning styles and behaviours are salient to the computer-mediated learning experience and can inform how learners view its pedagogical applications. While appreciation of the utilitarian benefits is common to both cultural cohorts, Confucian-heritage learners place greater emphasis on the interpersonal benefits. By placing distinctions in learner cultural background at the centre of the study, a more nuanced understanding of computer-mediated communication and its attendant pedagogical applications in higher education emerges.

Author(s):  
Allison V. Level ◽  
Amy E. Hoseth

This chapter provides an overview of current issues and trends related to the impact and integration of computer mediated communication (CMC) and technological innovation in the teaching and learning environments of higher education in the United States. The chapter includes an introduction to the higher education arena, and then focuses on the current learning and teaching environments. Topics such as learning styles, learning behaviors, and CMC as an infrastructure in the student environment are discussed, along with transformational changes in the teaching environment. Recent fundamental changes in teaching and learning due to the incorporation of CMC are also discussed.


2018 ◽  
pp. 340-357
Author(s):  
Carmen E. Macharaschwili ◽  
Linda Skidmore Coggin

Universities are challenged with providing quality educational experiences that meet students' needs for engagement and collaboration. The availability of computer-mediated communication tools provides opportunities for such needs to be met as well as allows students the opportunity to complete higher education degree requirements in virtual environments This chapter discusses how Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was used in a unique Skype-Buddy system to provide virtual face-to-face participation in traditional doctoral classrooms. Students' and professors' satisfaction, benefits, challenges, and surprises in this system are examined. Results and recommendations from this study are applicable in undergraduate and secondary level classrooms.


Author(s):  
Carmen E. Macharaschwili ◽  
Linda Skidmore Coggin

Universities are challenged with providing quality educational experiences that meet students’ needs for engagement and collaboration. The availability of computer-mediated communication tools provides opportunities for such needs to be met as well as allows students the opportunity to complete higher education degree requirements in virtual environments This chapter discusses how Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was used in a unique Skype-Buddy system to provide virtual face-to-face participation in traditional doctoral classrooms. Students’ and professors’ satisfaction, benefits, challenges, and surprises in this system are examined. Results and recommendations from this study are applicable in undergraduate and secondary level classrooms.


Author(s):  
Alison Ruth

This chapter proposes that Burke’s (1969) dramatistic analysis using the Pentad (act, scene, agent, agency, purpose) is a valuable methodological tool for investigating how learning theory offers a better understanding of mediated learning environments. It is argued that this framework provides a coherent and comprehensive consideration of learning and communication mediated by electronic means. Research into computer mediated communication needs to acknowledge the intertwining notion of the agents, acts and agency (mediation) within a specific scene, particularly in an online learning environment. Burke’s (1969) work provides a useful framework for discussing and describing a mediated environment and appears to be a valid framework within which to analyze different learning and communicative environments.


2011 ◽  
pp. 1334-1338
Author(s):  
Carl A. Raschke

While critics of the new computer-mediated learning styles utter jeremiads about the impending apocalypse of higher education in general, technophiles argue that the changes are all salutary. In fact, some see no difference between faculty cultures and online and traditional schools (Johnstone, 2001). In the same vein, the proliferation of digital classrooms across the instructional spectrum and online learning have touched off a firestorm of controversy concerning the “effectiveness” of new computer-mediated pedagogies versus traditional face-to-face, or “presential,” instruction. Various studies have been conducted and the findings circulated (Smith, Smith, & Boone, 2000).


Author(s):  
Elayne Coakes ◽  
Dianne Willis

This paper investigates the use of computer mediated communication (CMC) in colleges of further and higher education in the UK. Analysis is carried out by institutional type as preliminary investigation shows there are considerable differences between universities and colleges in terms of email usage. A total of 30 institutions replied to the survey: 14 Universities and 16 Colleges, some by email, others by post. This percentage is approximately 6.5% of all universities in the UK and 7% of all colleges. Whilst not a large percentage in total the results were so consistent across the sectors’ replies that they can be considered sufficiently representative of their sector. The study focuses on the use of email in support of the communication process and offers insights into the range of practice involved.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Richard Cowan ◽  
Mervyn A. Jack

Purpose – Although wikis are common in higher education, little is known about the wiki user experience in these contexts and how system characteristics impact such experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore experimentally the hypothesis that changing the anonymity of identity when editing wikis will impact significantly on user editing anxiety and that this may be dependent on the type of edit being conducted. Design/methodology/approach – This hypothesis was explored using a controlled experiment study whereby users were given excerpts to include in their own words on a wiki site used for a psychology course. Users edited the wiki anonymously, using a pseudonym relevant to the context (a matriculation number) and using a full named identity. Users were also either asked to add content to the wiki or to delete and replace content on the wiki site. Findings – The paper found that users experienced significantly less anxiety when editing anonymously compared to when editing with a pseudonym or full name and that the type of edit being conducted did not impact the anxiety felt. Originality/value – The research highlights that the effects of anonymity discussed are also in operation in a wiki context, a more fundamentally anonymous context compared to blogs, bulletin boards or general computer-mediated communication tools.


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