The social definition of love and its role in maintaining and intimate relationship. Typology of attitudes towards love

The goal of this paper is to increase knowledge about the social definition of love in the context of an intimate relationship. The empirical material analyzed comes from Focus Group Interviews, Bulletin Board Discussions online, and representative research conducted using the CAWI method. The research was an exploratory study, and the analyzed material presents one thematic area concerning how participants understand love and the importance they attribute to it in the duration of an intimate relationship. The first part of the paper will present thematic areas related to the attempt to understand what love is that were indicated by the respondents at the stage of qualitative research. The second part of the article will present the typology of attitudes towards love on the basis of the analysis of data derived from quantitative research. The following types were distinguished: optimists in love, waiting for love, rationalists in love, distanced from love.

Constructing Knowledge through Online Bulletin Board Discussions

Within the field of education, and in particular educational technology, dominant paradigms of instruction include active, interactive, constructivist, and studentcentered approaches as opposed to passive and teachercentered approaches to learning and teaching. There is hardly much argument as to the relevance of such constructivist approaches in the contemporary world. It is no more a question of whether we have enough information, but of what critical and analytical skills we need to sift out relevant information from the huge barrage of information churned out of the pervasive information communications technologies (ICTs) of our time, and how to construct meaningful knowledge to enhance human life. Within such constructivist learning environments, digital ICTs are deployed to enhance the best possible methods. This article aims to provide an overview of the meaning and theories of constructivism, and to further illustrate the concept with a case study of using an online bulletin board in a university undergraduate course.

Constructing Knowledge through Online Bulletin Board Discussions

Within the field of education, and in particular educational technology, dominant paradigms of instruction include active, interactive, constructivist, and student-centered approaches as opposed to passive and teacher-centered approaches to learning and teaching. There is hardly much argument as to the relevance of such constructivist approaches in the contemporary world. It is no more a question of whether we have enough information, but of what critical and analytical skills we need to sift out relevant information from the huge barrage of information churned out of the pervasive information communications technologies (ICTs) of our time, and how to construct meaningful knowledge to enhance human life. Within such constructivist learning environments, digital ICTs are deployed to enhance the best possible methods. This article aims to provide an overview of the meaning and theories of constructivism, and to further illustrate the concept with a case study of using an online bulletin board in a university undergraduate course.

Navigating the Virtual Forest: How Networked Digital Technologies Can Foster Transgeographic Learning

During the past decade the globally networked digital technologies that operate within the realm of the internet have encouraged academicians and educators the world over to communicate, collaborate, and share knowledge. They have stimulated the creation of transgeographic educational initiatives which broaden the opportunities of learners and are an effective means of eradicating ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and cultural divides. The construction of transgeographic learning communities within the unmapped virtual forest of the internet requires an organized and systematic approach. Success is dependent on committed participants; a shared learning platform; a clear understanding of purpose; extensive student and instructor preparedness towards technology usage; exemplary curricula; a central focus for investigation; interaction with experts; extensive opportunities for intellectual discourse; and collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to offer an independent examination of a successful technology-dependent transgeographic learning project that serves as a model from which to base future projects. The Summer Ecosystems Experience for Undergraduates (SEE-U) is available to colleges and university students worldwide, operating at three geographically distinct locations concurrently. The program includes global networking, GPS and GIS usage, a shared investigative focus, real-time interactions, data collection, a globally networked geo-referenced digital database that was specifically created for this project, data manipulation, online lectures, bulletin board discussions, Web-based office hours, links to relevant resources, expert presenters, online demonstration videos, networked simulations, collaborative research, and a series of student presentations.

The IT Revolution: Applications and Strategies for Transgeographic Learning and Academia in the Twenty-First Century

Digital technologies are closing spatial and temporal gaps while engendering expansive new international communities. Replete with symbolic interactions, these transgeographic communities inspire new realms of educational possibility, allowing educators and learners to broaden perspectives through intellectual discourse and collaboration while eradicating cultural divides. The Summer Ecosystems Experience for Undergraduates (SEE-U) is a superior model of how such technology can be used to this end. Available to colleges and university students worldwide, the SEE-U program operates at three geographically distinct locations concurrently. The program includes global networking, GPS and GIS usage, real-time interactions, data collection, a globally networked geo-referenced digital database that was specifically created for this project, data manipulation, online lectures, bulletin board discussions, Web-based office hours, links to relevant resources, expert presenters, online demonstration videos, networked simulations, collaborative research, and a series of student presentations.