Developing a Socially Responsible Approach to IT Research

There is an ever-widening gap between the social classes in American society reflected in wages, living conditions, health care and access to technology. This chapter argues that a hidden agenda underlies much current educational technology research which, intentionally or unintentionally, reinforces the societal power structures which support this inequitable access. In order to demonstrate this subtle discrimination some of the work of well-known educational technology researcher Larry Cuban is examined in order to highlight the ways in which his choices of research sites and methodology help to perpetuate the digital divide through generalization and a failure to acknowledge the existence of persons who lack technology access in their homes. After the critique a methodology for conducting “socially responsible” educational technology research that employs a postmodern critical perspective to mitigate the discriminatory factors present in much contemporary research will be proposed.

Culturally Negotiating the Meanings of Technology Use

This paper explores how the “meanings” of technology use are being culturally negotiated between Western educators and native Iñupiat Eskimo learners at schools across the Alaskan Arctic region, as part of a wider examination of the impact of the Western product and process technologies embodied by these schools upon the socio-cultural consciousness of the non-Western learners whose educational needs they seek to serve. There are two distinct aspects to this intercultural negotiation between educators and learners: (a) attempts of the former to reconcile their practices with the latter’s values, standards, and expectations; and (b) efforts of the latter to culturally appropriate the non-indigenous technologies being made available to them. It is expected that professionals working in a range of organizational contexts within our field may be able to gain insight from the remarkably universal nature of the problems and solutions involved in this extreme and instructive situation of socio-cultural tension

Cross-Cultural Adaptation of E-Learning

This chapter introduces the concepts of Culturally AWAre Systems CAWAS), a new family of adaptive systems that try to adapt learning contents and pedagogical strategies according to learners’ cultural background. CAWAS is based on the notion of cultural intelligence and on the representation of a culture as both a static system i.e. a “relatively stable system of shared meanings, a repository of meaningful symbols…” and a dynamic one i.e “a process of production of meanings. A methodology for evaluating culturally rate and selecting appropriate resources is described. A system implementing this methodology is finally introduced. The aim of this work is to develop systems that will be better accepted by learners and de facto will work more efficiently by showing a cultural proximity with learners during a learning session.

A Review of Emerging Technological Trends in E-Learning

Advances in information technology and the redefined web trigger a holistic view of learning process. The objective of this study is to provide a conceptual view of how various technologies can be used to maximize learning outcomes through e-learning. Among the trends investigated in this study are, XML and semantic Web, content-based video indexing, personalized, intelligent Web tutoring, and m-learning. In addition to these technologies, a brief review of some of the key behavioral issues is presented. For researchers and developers interested in maximizing the learning outcome through e-learning technologies, the paper provides a taxonomy of these trends along with a framework for future designs.

Comparison of Case Studies in Managing E-Learning Programs

This chapter will focus on two cross-cultural case studies on the development and implementation of e-learning programs between two universities in Croatia and in the United Kingdom (UK). The authors will compare the implementation and the development of two degree level programs: The Graphic Arts program at the University of Zagreb, Croatia and the Criminal Justice program at the University of Hertfordshire, UK, and highlight some of the common issues the two universities encountered. Furthermore, this chapter will discuss the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs), staff development and student support, as well as the lessons learnt from the respective program developments.

The LOLA Strategy and E-Learning Knowledge Management

Economic globalisation and technological changes have led to one of the greatest challenges that education faces – the access to permanent education for all segments of society. In this scenario, there is a need for innovative e-learning methodologies that involve students in the construction of knowledge and make use of the technologies now available. In this chapter, we introduce knowledge management in the context of the Online Learning Lab (LOLA), a methodological proposal for collaborative learning. LOLA represents an advance on most e-learning programs as its methodological approach surpasses traditional proposals for knowledge reproduction and stimulates students to become more active, autonomous, responsible and investigative. The activities in LOLA, described below, give rise to ideas, paradoxes, discussions and the formulation of concepts, all leading to the production of new knowledge while involving students in individual and collaborative work.

Teaching Shakespeare Online in a Virtual Classroom

This chapter shares the experiences from a faculty member who teaches an online course-Shakespeare’s Major Plays, and from an instructional designer who helps the faculty design the course. It also relates the effective use of Course Management Tool-WebCT, to facilitate teaching activities and to engage student learning. This chapter concludes that a successful online course depends on two important factors, learner-engaged teaching and effective use of technology. The balance between the two enhances the efficacy of education and technology.

Technology in Primary and Secondary Medical Education

There is an increasing need for cost control and improved outcomes in both primary and secondary medical education. This chapter reviews the characteristics of medical learners, and summarizes shortcomings of traditional medical training that may be amenable to technological intervention. Technologies useful for educating medical students and practicing physicians will be described, along with examples pertaining to each technology. The chapter concludes with a summary of potential barriers to the adoption of medical education technology.

Impacts of Learning Styles on Hypermedia Projects

Kolb (1984) defined learning styles as one’s preferred methods for perceiving and processing information. Learning styles have been a high-profiled factor in hypermedia research on how they affect learners’ performances of cognitive tasks in hypermedia environment, yet not much research has been done on how learning styles would affect developers’ preferences in designing and developing hypermedia projects. This qualitative research studied 19 students from a graduate level multimedia design course on their articulations and implementations of hypermedia features, and found that learning styles of the developers did influence their perceptions of the features’ importance and their efforts of implementation of hypermedia features in their projects.

Interface Design, Emotions, and Multimedia Learning

In social psychology, “what is attractive is good” means that a physically attractive person is perceived to be more favorable and capable. In industrial design, the interface is one of the three elements that influence users’ experience with a product. For multimedia learning, does the interface design affect users’ experience with learning environments? Does attractive interface enhance multimedia learning? Research in multimedia learning has been neglecting this issue. In this chapter, I propose that attractive interface design does indeed promote multimedia learning. This hypothesis is based on the review of the following theories and related empirical studies: 1) an interface impacts a user’s experience; 2) beautiful interface induces positive emotions; 3) positive emotions broaden cognitive resources; and 4) expanded cognitive resources promote learning. The Model of Emotional Design in Multimedia Learning is proposed to highlight how emotions regulate multimedia learning. Suggestions regarding designing attractive interfaces are provided.