E-Mentoring in Global Software Development Teams

Global Software Development (GSD) teams face communication and coordination problems due to spatial, temporal, and cultural separation between team members. Cultural diversity and cross-cultural management are significant issues among GSD teams. In software development projects, mentoring dramatically reduces the learning curve for novice human resources. Due to the large amount of electronic communication instruments, a remarkable number of different e-Mentoring concepts have emerged, which provides opportunity for mentoring that would not otherwise be possible. This chapter presents key success factors to enable e-Mentoring as a tool to develop a common culture in GSD scenarios. These success factors enable the correct application of mentoring programmes and the use of this to build a common culture in organizations that perform GSD.

Intercultural Education with Indigenous Peoples and the Potential of Digital Technologies to make it Happen

Internet and the technologies linked to it (ICTs) have greatly expanded the linguistic and cultural domains of the most widely spoken languages in our global world. At the same time, endangered languages that were already excluded from the traditional media have an even smaller presence in this larger world. However, the Web also offers a great opportunity for these languages to have a voice and a presence, as it would have not been possible before, though it is normally rather difficult for numerous reasons. This chapter seeks to create a theoretical and practical framework consisting of five steps: Documentation, Dissemination, Community, Education, and Monetization. Each of these steps considers traditional methods and tries to improve their efficiency and effectiveness by using ICTs in an interdisciplinary and holistic approach.

Learning Object Model and Framework Design for the Digital Modules Production

The MIH (Multicultural Interdisciplinary Handbook) project provides new tools for helping teachers and pupils plunge deeper into the culture and the language of another nation via its history and its landscape/geography. The Digital Modules are the most innovative tool of the project. Throughout the chapter, the authors present all stages to develop MIH Digital Modules: (1) the definition of the Learning Object Model based on IEEE LOM; (2) the framework design in order to provide quality digital contents; (3) the Digital Modules production process both during the project and after the end of the project; (4) the tutorials that support all the creation process; and last, but not least, and (5) the multicultural perspective of the Digital Modules.

Technology-Based Values Teaching in Secondary Education

This chapter presents a case study of the use of ICTs, and in particular the blog, in a Spanish Secondary School classroom in order to promote the teaching of values such as solidarity or tolerance. The aim was to enhance coexistence in increasingly diverse and multicultural classrooms in which the acknowledgement and development of these values prove essential for a successful coexistence.

Gender Violence Experiences of Urban Adult Indigenous Women

This chapter deals with the problem of gender violence, especially in Chilean Aymara women. The aim of the study is to make a diagnosis of the indices and forms of domestic violence against women on the basis of gender in a sample of Aymara women from the urban area in the Arica and Parinacota Region (Chile). The chapter assumes the definition of intrafamiliar violence, according to the formulation adopted by Chilean legislation, as a complex and multi-determined phenomenon, which happens in the context of a culture and certain social relationships that support and make it possible. In this sense, it is one of the most dramatic manifestations of discrimination experienced by women because of their sexual condition. It is conceptualized as any form of physical, psychological-emotional, sexual, and/or economic abuse, which happens within the couple relationship, regardless of the legality of the bond. The chapter deals with the description of conditions and ways of life of the Aymara ethnic group, from socio-demographic, economic, and public health indicators that may be related to these women’s perceptions concerning their situation in view of the intrafamiliar violence phenomenon. The research is a quantitative and qualitative multimethod design. The qualitative side of this study consists of group discussions in which the object of the research is analyzed through an outline ad hoc. The quantitative side of the research consists of the application of two standardized scales of domestic violence (WASTT and ISA).

Multicultural Approach to Learning History and Geography at School in Europe

MIH project (Multicultural Interdisciplinary Handbook: Tools for Learning History and Geography in a Multicultural Perspective) is a Comenius Multilateral Project funded with support from the European Commission that was developed from 2009 to 2011. Conceived from the idea of educating lower and upper secondary school pupils in a process of construction of a European identity by involving them in the culture of other countries, the MIH project meets this need by providing new methodological and ICT tools that could help teachers and pupils plunge deeper into both the cultures and languages of other nations via their history and geography. This chapter describes the multicultural approach that has oriented the project development and MIH’s most significant results, and opens the way to introduce a European perspective in history and geography school curricula and classroom activities.

About the Use of the DMs in CLIL Classes

This chapter is a contribution to the discussion regarding the implementation of the CLIL methodology in school classes, particularly as far as the traditional tension between language and content learning is concerned. It starts with an overview of the development and diffusion of this methodology in European schools, lingers over what is going on in the countries of the MIH project (Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, France, and Austria), and finally, it focuses on its results, the Digital Modules. It shows how it is possible to overcome the above-mentioned dichotomy, language versus contents, by using a cultural approach that enables students to move their own thinking forward. In fact, even if the basic principle of the CLIL is that the content comes before the language, in school practices this is not always the case, as documented in several surveys.

An Enquiry into the use of Technology and Student Voice in Citizenship Education in the K-12 Classroom

This chapter describes a case study conducted in a high school setting. A students as researchers’ approach is used to explore the use of technology in the citizenship education classroom. The case study demonstrates how starting student learning from the perspectives of the multicultural backgrounds of the students and using technology can greatly enhance the learning experiences of the students within the citizenship education classroom.

Teamwork and Project Experiences in Multicultural Environments for Computing Students

This chapter presents several multicultural education experiences in Higher Education devoted to computing education and developed under IP and other international specific sessions where students’ teamwork is analyzed while developing a case study and was supported by the use of technology. This enables a reasonable management of workshop data to allow auto-evaluation as well as a joint discussion of the benefits of the work. The collaborative and e-learning environments also covered the support of work before attendance during the intensive weeks. The chapter presents results of the analysis of behavior of students showing the influence of gender and cultural background in individual and group performance. In general, data and information from 6 editions (Amsterdam, 2005; Sundsval, 2006; Copenhagen, 2007; Spain, 2008; Michigan, 2009; Espoo, 2010) are included and show how these experiences have positive effects on students’ perception of teamwork and collaboration in multicultural environments.

Understanding Culture and its Implications for E-Learning

Universities around the world are facing the task of adapting to a changing environment. In a contemporary global context, universities must respond to new educational needs, leading to a global process of enhancing lifelong learning. In addition, they must add new demands not only by students but also from other stakeholders who see the university as a core institution of training for adults. In the highly competitive and global environment of universities, traditional elements such as geographic location are less important in favour of other more intangible factors, such as the image of universities, prestige, and ability of adaptation to the training needs of people. Moreover, the phenomenon of e-learning leads to an increase in the competition between universities, where previous intangibles are increasingly important, as well as those that emphasize cultural aspects. This chapter presents how cultural dimensions are related to higher education, particularly from the work of Hofstede and The Globe project, as well as some cultural elements to consider in virtual environments.