A New Ecology
It is the writer's opinion that contemporary interactive multimedia and the Internet with its capacity to bind together individuals into communities of learners is not merely a new technology-driven-phenomenon parallel to its predecessors, TV and radio. It is rather, a new ecology. In the words of Dr. Paul Gorski of the University of Maryland: "The Internet's most important potential contributions, both educationally and multiculturally, lie not in its power to connect educators and student and students to informational resources, but to connect us to the most important resources of all: other people. The key for unlocking this potential is in understanding and using the Internet, not merely as an enormous compendium of information, but as an interactive medium that can connect people across national and cultural boundaries. It is this interactive nature of the Internet that makes it a potentially invaluable part of the movement toward multicultural education."
The choices for teachers in the design of interactive learning environments are extensive (e.g. MOOS & MUDS, chat rooms, audio/video conferencing, hyper-linked/editable e-books, blogs, etc.), yet they are dependent on technical concerns such as server/user and hardware/software compatibilities,
costs of implementation and maintenance, and also pedagogical issues such as curriculum guidelines and learning goals. E-learning technologies that enable video-conferencing, CU-SeeMeÔ and Mboneä for example, provide unparalleled opportunities for language learning and cross-cultural connections in that they convey real-time images of real people in their natural environments authentically portraying gestures, body language, facial expressions, etc. However, both parties must be operating within the same technical parameters of high width broadband connections, and in some cases this may not be at all possible. And last but not least, synchronous audio/visual communications via the Internet might be somewhat of a challenging or inhibiting event wherein the lingua franca is English. This particular psycho-social issue is often apparent in the F2F classroom between teacher and student, and amongst peers when levels of language proficiency vary considerably among students. One could then fully anticipate a significant inhibitory factor impinging on interaction through either text or audio in the L2 cyber-classroom.
Ultimately, however, it appears that the catalyst in the equation of successful learner-learner and learner-instructor interaction may not rest so much upon the nature of the media as it does upon the skills and abilities of the instructor/e-moderator.
In support of the human variable as an essential component in virtual learning communities, Willis (1993) identifies a number of strategies, which are believed to bring success to the cyber-classroom: 1) developing appropriate methods of feedback and reinforcement, 2) optimizing content and pace, 3) adapting to different student learning styles, 4) using case studies and examples which are relevant to the target audience, 5) being concise, 6) supplementing courseware with print information, and 7) personalizing instruction.
It has not escaped the writer that the efficacy of these learning environments in the New Economy are as dependent on the educators as they are on the e-learning tools and technologies. The formula for success in language studies and cross-cultural education based within the traditional classroom and web environment is a result of the recognition of both the evolution of telecommunication technologies and pedagogy, and their respective roles in the development of e-learning. A managed approach (as opposed to jumping aboard the proverbial bandwagon) in regards to the adoption of educational technology and an appreciation of the requirements of adapting pedagogy to flexible delivery should enable learning environments that won't trade-off richness for reach.
Chung Ang University
Interactive Multimedia: Creating a New Ecology
The author's intent with respect to the introduction of multimedia and the development of a virtual learning community for English language and cross-cultural studies is highlighted by Alger (2002): "The design potential of e-Learning lies in two interrelated systems of thought: a) how genuine and authentic experiences can be effectively metamorphosed into electronic habitats; and b) how human sense perception can be effectively extended to and through the cybersphere in order to facilitate learning."
To this extent, one of the multimedia tools currently in use in the CAU language classroom is a dynamic e-publishing program (Desk Top Author), which enables students to author, publish and share e-books, which not only provide the capacity for hyper-linked text, but also enable the embedding, or streaming of audio and video files. These e-books are fully exportable as email content, or may be uploaded to servers in order to reach a wider audience. In the case where a fully editable mode is chosen for publishing, these e-books may be engaged by viewers/readers enabling them to interact by either submitting new text, or changing the previous text. In addition, the elements of text and images can be hyper-linked to files within a computer for local viewing, or to the Internet in order to gain access to relevant resources.
Also, forms such as drop-down lists, radio buttons, check boxes, and input zones can be embedded within the e-books, enabling the creation of tests and short quizzes. Answers for the tests can be graded automatically and stored in the back of the book, or sent back to the author via email.
These e-books, when used as learning tools on the part of the students, i.e. students as authors, necessitate the active participation and engagement of students not only with their instructor, but also their technology and content for publishing. In Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom: The Realities of Online Teaching, Palloff and Pratt, declare that online students "are responsible for going beyond a summary of reading or information contained in the subject area under study to analyze the material critically and present it to their peers and their instructors in ways that demonstrate critical thinking, analytic, and research skills."
In the end, the tangible rewards of seeing an e-book come to fruition leading ultimately to final publication and dissemination is remarkably motivating for students. Also, since these published works are under the scrutiny of an audience wider than peers in the classroom and
the instructor, it comes as no surprise to see students reviewing numerous times their publications in draft form prior to packaging them in their final published form.
These student-authored e-books finally reach their showcase on a web based server and are then submitted to an introductory forum appropriately called, Cultural Products. I am by no means suggesting that these student-authored e-books with their dynamic text and images, embedded audio files and video streaming (e.g., SWF, Real Player, WMV, or Quick Time ) will in themselves assure that learning will occur anymore than Etch-A-Sketch spawned artists or turned mediocre artists into successful ones. However, a scholastic approach to e-publishing, videography and film making for the purpose of cultural enlightenment - indeed cultural education -should not be overlooked, primarily due to the capacity of the medium to capture the authentic nature of subject matter.
Coupling this media-driven content, and utilizing it in working environments such as CSILES (computer-supported intentional learning environments) and the Grandview Global web site knowledge rooms enables students to work with not just the content, but also their peers. In conjunction with the teacher on 'the side-lines', there is now a near perfect milieu for modeling, coaching, scaffolding, articulating, reflecting, and exploring.
In regards to the undergraduate classes on North American Culture at CAU, these new virtual learning rooms are not only forums to enhance a deeper understanding of NA Culture, but also interactive environments operating in English, the predominant language of the culture. Jones (1995) declares that the consideration of context in the field of learning has moved scholarship " away from the dominant view of CMC as a 'tool' for communications transmission and information exchange towards one that views CMC as place of 'production and reproduction' of social relations." Thus the Grandview Global knowledge rooms with their access to interactive multimedia function as an ancillary role in providing culture-rich language enhancement. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, this is something the author is unable to do standing at the front of a classroom giving a lecture on culture.
"The lecture, an exceptionally efficient mechanism for conveying information, has many liabilities when it comes to developing the skill of intellectual curiosity. Content is usually presented in pre-packaged doses in a take it or leave it fashion. Consequently, learning in class often becomes little more than an information transaction, where the teacher deposits information into the accounts of students."
Dr. Michael Beaudoin, recipient of the prestigious Charles A. Wedemayer Award for his outstanding academic contributions to the field of distance education, is by no means understating the fact that "Students today need access to authentic communities of learning." However, it is Van Weigel who once more offers a profound and almost lyrical insight in regards to education today:
"Higher education can have no higher calling than to create learning environments that inspire wonder."
