Here is an intro video for the course I have been asked to teach beginning January 25th – April 9th, 2010:
ICT for Inter-cultural/Inter-faith Development (ICT4ID)
Bridging the West and the Middle East: A global classroom experience offered in conjunction with students at the University of Stockholm, Sweden; the Universities in Iran; Universities in Jordan; Universities in Finland & Denmark; Universities in the U.S. (Berkeley, Stanford, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, MIT, etc…)
The aim of this course is to explore and experience some of the unique capabilities of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) in helping to bridge people from different cultural/philosophical/religious backgrounds.
Similar to the ICT4D course I taught earlier this year, students from around the world will participate. In this case, top PhD and Masters students from “the West” (Europe and North America) and “the Middle East” (primarily Iran and Jordan) will work together on virtual teams to discover, collaborate, and create novel solutions to one of the key issues facing our generation — inter-cultural/ inter-faith collaboration. The course will run January 25 — April 9th, and I will be coordinating it while traveling myself (mainly in Europe, U.S., and the Middle East).
We will be meeting through online conferencing software (e.g. Skype), deliver and receive content through ICT4D YouTube videos, online articles, and good-old-fashioned books, – receiving lectures from experts around the world, and discussing concepts through webinars, asynchronous discussion groups and blog conversations.
Questions to be addressed (3 categories):
A – Understanding core issues
* What is really at the heart of existing tensions between people from different cultural/philosophical/religious backgrounds?
* Where have people effectively bridged those differences before, and what can we learn from them?
B – Using ICT to leverage solutions
* How can we help increase the quality of communication (using ICTs) between average people, locally and globally — regardless of race, nationality, or religion?
* How can we then utilize emerging technologies (and effective communication and collaboration principles) to translate meaningful interactions into proactive collaboration — encouraging and enabling joint inter-faith/inter-cultural actions?
C – Maximizing the impact of our participation in this course
* How can we utilize this course to learn from those who might have very different answers to these questions than we have (other students, experts, and normal people around the world), thus creating better solutions overall?
* How can the outputs of this course contribute to larger projects (e.g. AXIS Live) that outlive the term of the course itself?
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Intended objectives/outcomes of the course:
1)**Find or create answers the above questions in a way better than anyone has yet:
(a) – Understanding core tensions, differences, and commonalities between people from different cultural/philosophical/religious backgrounds
(b)- Increasing our capacity to use emerging technologies to connect and collaborate in more wide-spread and productive ways than ever before
2)**Contribute to projects that outlive the course:
(a) – Co-author a chapter and/or article on this topic with others in the course, as well as
(b) – Contribute to the creation or enhancement of an online platform and/or interface that can be used for mutual understanding and meaningful collaborative engagement
___
The multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural nature of the participants who will make up this course offer the opportunity for us to develop a richer understanding of the issues and contribute to creating effective solutions/applications which will continue to be applied beyond the term of the course itself.
___
This course has a limited enrollment, targeting top students from each of the participating institutions.
If you are interested in participating, please send an email stating: who you are, where you are from, where you live now, and why you would like to participate in this course to Dr. Clint Rogers (clint.rogers2008(at)gmail.com).
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Course literature
Rosenberg , Marshall B, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, Arun Gandhi – 2003 – 242 pages
Reference literature
* Asante , Molefi Kete; Miike , Yoshitaka; Yin , Jing; The Global Intercultural Communication Reader
* Axelrod, Robert, http://www-personal.umich.edu/~axe/research_papers.html
* Axelrod, Robert, The Evolution of Cooperation, New York: Basic Books, 1984. 241 pp.
* Engdahl , F. William A CENTURY OF WAR (Pluto Press Ltd.)
* Green , Robert, 48 Laws of power, Joost Elffers, 2002
* Klare, Michael Rising Powers, Shrinking planet, Holt Paperbacks, March 2009
* McLean , Patricia; Ransom, Laurie; Building intercultural competencies: Implications for academic skills development, December 2004, http://www.isana.org.au/files/20051017165552_BuildingInterculturalCompetencies.pdf
* Pfeffer, Jeffrey, Management with Power, Politics and Influence in Organizations (Paperback), Harvard Business School, 1994, 08-758-4440-5.
* United Nations Cyber School Bus, http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/peace/frame.htm
* University of Jyväskylä, Introduction to Intercultural Communication, http://moniviestin.jyu.fi/vanhat/viesti/ics/6
* Ury, William, Getting past no, Amazon.com
P.S. The first version of the AXIS LIVE project intro video has been completed: http://www.adventcreative.com/axislive/
You’ll have to watch it and let me know what you think.
Hi,
My name is Shahram from Iran. I’m a student in Joensuu University as a masters student, my major is IT and software engineering.
Why I want to be in this course?
I have done several courses about education and developing country, including the ITC4D course which i did with Clint last semester.
For me it’s important to know an idea of other people around the world and also find the answer to questions which there is not any clear answer for.
Using ICT for helping people in their life is one of my dreams.
I’m sure i can learn so many new issue in this course which can help me in the future.
I am Amit and I am from India. I moved from being a Sr Software Engineer to Computer Teacher & Value Educator. I hold a Masters in Information Technology and have some background in Holistic Education. I am very interested in exploring how technology can be used to touch hearts. It was an accident that I happened to write to Clint through this blog only. We later on found that we had several similar interests and wanted to work along similar lines. The course on ICT4ID is going to be my research focus for my PhD. I am into it because I feel that globally, there is something wrong with our present day approach towards life and that we are living in a world that encourages imbalanced living/lifestyles. Families break down in chasing the corporate positions and people get killed simply because they belong to a particular gender, culture, region or religion. We can sit and blame others for what is happening out there but I think we need to question our own beliefs about life, how we see the world around us and who we think we are. I am sure this new kind of experiment will help all of us realize some friendships and values that will outlast this course and when lived would help all of us grow together in the spirit of peace, happiness and harmony with-in and with-out. I look forward to meeting you on this journey for personal introspection, global understanding and harmony.
Hi Clint, et. al –
You wanted to know a) who i am, b) what i have done in the area, c) why i am interested in the class and d) what i hope to gain and contribute.
That’s a lot, but I’ll try to do it w/ brevity, please forgive me if I fail.
I’m Brooke, just starting my 4th year in the PhD program in Instructional Technology & Learning Sciences at Utah State University, USA. I came here from Eugene, Oregon, USA where I spent time first as a webmaster then spent my last 3 years in Eugene following my heart and working full-time for the cause of peace and justice. The other thing to mention is that my faith journey has taken me many places – starting with Evangelical Christians and ending now with the Presbyterians (PCUSA). In between was time with the Buddhists, Wiccans, Episcopalians, Unitarian Universalists, and Latter Day Saints. Each taught me something important – mostly how similar we all really are.
What have I done in the area of intercultural and interfaith work? Not a lot.. In 2004 I, and 2 others, developed a workshop called “Bridging the Gap” which discussed ways that liberal activists can approach conservative politicians and have civil dialouge. It was based on a campaign I worked on in the State of Oregon to get a bill passed. I also worked with at-risk teens in Oregon in a program where one of the main goals was to understand different types of oppression in the US. It forced me to confront my own racism, classism & ageism so that I could be a better model for the teens. Since I’ve moved to Utah I’ve been active with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally (GLBTA) services on campus. In an environment such as Utah that *tends* to be anti-GLBTA this work has been challenging, but good. I have designed the first Transgender 101 workshop for the USU campus and delievered it successfully. We will be doing Trans 101 and 102 this year. Also – I went to Brigham Young Uni in Spring of 2009 to do a GLBTA 101 seminar for a school counseling class. This may not seem revolutionary, but I had never thought about presenting such a seminar at a church run, in this case LDS, university such as BYU, especially in light of political events in California, USA the previous fall that ended up pitting the LDS church against the GLBTA community here in Utah. At the end we all felt honored, respected and I’m confident we all learned a lot. The instructor said he’d like to have us back (me and my copresenter). What else? In 2008 I went toured the West Bank of Palestine with the Christian Peacemaker Teams for 2 weeks to understand the occupation / conflict. Since then my passion for the Palestinians and understanding the history of the area has been enormous. I want to go back desperately and see about collaborating with Israelis and Palestinians to help with Educational Technology in schools in the West Bank and Gaza where there is infrastructure for it. Lastly in Spring of 2009 I was Dr. Nick Eastmond’s teaching assistant in his special topics class “Multiculturalism and Instructional Technology.” He allowed me to do this because of my personal knowledge of the area.
Why am I interested? It sounds like fun? I came back to get my PhD in Instructional Technology for this reason – to use the tools that my field uses to deliver education to deliver other things – such as fostering intercultural and interfaith communication. This is where I’ll capitalize on my friendship with Clint – in that – I can’t express my passion for this topic in a comment section, but I think that Clint knows it. I work very hard to learn to love my enemies and anytime I feel negative towards someone or a group of people I work hard to understand them so I can see them in a positive, peace filled, light.
Lastly. What can I contribute? Hopefully what knowledge I have of the human heart? I did some work in the emotional realm in Eugene, working myself to understand core needs I have as a human and helping others to understand that very thing as well. Also – my trip through the part of the faith world? Maybe. And – I am comfortable with the Web 2.0 world. I I’m web 2.0 saavy even if I gave up facebook for lent and haven’t really picked it up much since. What do I want to get out of the class? An understanding of what I don’t know and how I can fix that. Seeing how others around the world are using these technologies! I live in a world that is so privileged compared to so much of the world and I need to see how feasible these technologies are and understand ways technologies can be used innovatively in places where the infrastructure isn’t as good as it is here. A better understanding of the cultures and faiths of others participating (if I get to participate) and personal connections with people around the world.
Hi I’m Behrooz from Iran. I hold a B.S. in Computer Engineering specializing software.
It was a couple months ago that one of my friends in Joensuu University (Shahram) told me about this course and I found it interesting and useful but at the same time different and unique. The initial feeling which I got after being introduced to this course was some sort of strangeness and a new, distinguished and innovative idea. It was when I came to realize that my field of study and work can have other usages and impacts. It was the first time that looked at my major and it’s applications in another way, looking at it in a global, cultural and social way other than in a technical way. So it opened a new way of thinking and looking to me.
The multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural nature of the participants and the collaborative spirit of the course attract me and make me encouraged to be part of this course. I hope to get the opportunity to be able to devise and develop a richer and more effective understanding of the issues during the course along with the others. I hope we can find the forces that can bring us together and use our differences as strengths.
This is great!
I hope we continue to get participants from a variety of backgrounds who will have very different perspectives to contribute to the conversations and joint-projects.
Hello,
Everything related to this course appeals to me as a student coming from the Middle East. I am originally from Jordan and have been living in Saudi Arabia for many years.
I completed master’s degree in computer science at the University of Joensuu in Finland. Currently I am planning to start my PhD in the field that I am passionate about which is (ICT4ID).
I am so excited to be part of this and communicating with a group from different backgrounds. I hope that we will be able to utilize the diversity as a source of power that leads to greater innovative success. I look forward to the course and learning from everyone.
Congratulation!
Which universities from Iran will work in this collaboration?
How do you inform students?
good luck
Clint,
A friend sent me the link to your website and I’ve been impressed by your ideas. I like the concept behind this class as well as the multi-national cross-section that it encompasses.
I’m getting a Master’s in Linguistics at Georgetown, taking an Intercultural Communication class this semester. I’ve traveled and lived around the world, including a few years in the Middle East (Jordan and the Gulf), and I’m always fascinated by the relationship between language and culture and how language shapes our views of the world and of others. I want to explore the ideas you present here further to see how linguistics can be incorporated. Thanks for giving me some food for thought.
Marni
Hi,
A friend of mine send me the link and i read the blog, it is so interesting topic, I am from YEMEN (Middle East) and I lived and studying in Jordan and then moved to US for doing Master degree in information system, as well as I was part of Interfaith group in my university and i was so impressed by the fact that faith and culture can be similar once we understand each other and how technology can solve this gap by providing the require channels.
many different students from different faith wasn’t able to participate in our group and events, however once we used the technology and Media, minds changed and we get many request.
University Ministry at DePaul University continues to use technology for such collaboration.
Hope the success for this class and for the people who participate
Regards,
Sounds yum, the issue has always been close to my heart. Being a Bahai (www.bahai.org) I have always believed in post modernity being the promulgator of unification of humankind, and ICT as its agent.
I think I can bring a unique perspective, coming from the land of India where east, west, and for that matter every religion in the world meet…….
I’m enjoying the comments and interest by everyone so far.
The visit to Stanford and Berkeley last week went very well too — especially as the NSF funded TIER group will also be partnering on this course and project, already making some progress on develop a useful collaboration platform.
This next week I’ll be in New York and Boston — looking forward to making some productive connections there too.
Hi all,
A friend of mine (Abed) told me about this course. I really liked the idea and I believe it is gonna be very successful.
I am an American citizen whose origins are from Jordan. I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, then I moved to Jordan to finish my undergraduate and then graduate degree in Computer Science. I live now in Chicago, USA. I started my graduate studies in Management Information Systems in the University of Illinois at Chicago pursuing a PhD degree. I wish all the success for this course and looking forward to participate in it.
Hi everyone,
I am Barun Khanal from the beautiful country Nepal and have been pursuing my Masters degree in Finland at the University of Joensuu since the year 2008.
I want to participate in this course Hoping to fulfill the goals that i was not able to fill up in the last course due to many reasons. I have a a feeling that the way of thinking from other perspective have changed within me and i also have capability to change the world from the seer capability i have within me. Just because it might be useful to inform in this course that i am Hindu and because it might be somehow related later (cultural aspects), i will like to know ‘why’ the difficulty and fearfulness among the culture and religion is always bridging the collaboration among the people and (somehow) how they can be more useful. As the axis live demo video presents: although we are connected, we are less connected than before due to increase problem of depression, loneliness and fear. this can be one reason, but i am trying to find out more reasons for questions that you provided in the introduction blog of the course.
I am looking forward to the course and hope to have a multicultural ride along with the people from all over the world.
-Barun
Queen Rania of Jordan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z-aQAEA7U8
Greetings. My name is Michael Downey, and I’m a graduate student at Indiana University School of Informatics in Indianapolis, US. I’m working on my master’s thesis in human-computer interaction for development with a focus on user-centered mHealth solutions.
I would love to participate in the upcoming course, and at minimum, look forward to seeing the results of the collaboration.
Just participated in an interfaith Iftar last night here in New York. For those who might not know, iftar is the evening meal when Muslims break their fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
Met some interesting individuals who I think will contribute a lot to this class, and enjoyed the variety of people and perspectives who were there to enjoy the feast.
Also glad to see the postings here on this blog from everyone so far.
I think that your post is important, so you can start to get to know each other now.
I’ll be in contact with each of you individually soon.
found one good video that might be worth watching. Its about diversity and tolerance for the children
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKHRI5YYWi0
Thanks for that video Barun!
Also — on today, Sept 20th, I want to say “Happy Eid”
I have now completed some excellent meetings with great people from universities like Columbia, Yale, Harvard, and MIT — as well as several large news and NGO organizations.
Can’t wait to contact each of you individually and start to move forward in this journey!
This sounds really interesting Clint!
Let me know if I can be of any help 😉
This is very interesting and very unique course as it will explore and experience some of the unique capabilities of ICTs in helping to bridge people from different cultural/philosophical/religious backgrounds. I think it will generate lot of interest as it is very unique in content and context. I will like to Congratulate Clint and his team for developing this course. Cutting edge IT technologies can help in fulfilling the aims of this course. This is most appropriate course as the world is on the brink of third world war. I am looking forward to see the developments.
Hi!,
My name is sekeun and I currently staying in Finland for an exchange students. I’m studying in Department of Public Health and also interested in Health Policy and Management fields.
I’m from Korea but I really like to travel and wander around the world and experienced many things that I want to share with others.
Well, it is complex to explain why I’m interested in..but first, while I was staying in India for 5month volunteering, I faced alot of cultural and regious differences. Second, while studying development and sustainable issues, I felt there are so much problems between people in the way of thinking and perspectives. Third, I had taken health informatics courses which is studying connection between health and ICT, I found there is great potential. So, all these things are mixed and I expecting this inter-cultural/faith dialogue by using ICD.
I really hope we could share and learn from each other.
Hello everyone,
My name is Tomás and I am studying sociology at Åbo Akademi in Finland.
I come from Perú, Latinamerica. Mine is very diverse country that is facing diferent challenges but in a especial context: South American integration process.
This course sounds very new and useful for me, I would like to bring that approach to my place.
I have a lot to share about our culture and values (the latinamerican “world” is here) and to learn from everyone, especially from Middle East and Africa.
So hope to see you and read you!
Tomás
Moi! Hello!
My name is Ilona, I’m a Finnish girl, and I’ve completed almost all of my courses for a master’s degree at Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. My degree programme Information networks is very interdisciplinary, including e.g. sociology, asthetics and journalism in addition to computer science and industrial engineering courses. I am fascinated by how the ICTs are transforming the way our societies are.
I plan to do my master’s thesis on a topic related to ICT4D: I want to research how ICTs could make the information about development aid projects more accessible and in general, how could we provide and present this important information in such a way that the stakeholders could have access to the big picture and further utilize the information.
Next spring I’ll be working six months for the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in the Finnish Embassy at Abuja, Nigeria. I hope to be able to collect some data for my thesis during that period.
I am really interested in the ICT4D topic, and although this course’s approach isn’t exactly the same I have in my thesis, I find the course objectives and outline fascinating, and I’m sure I could apply a lot of the learning into my thesis.
Furthermore, intercultural dialogue is just my thing. During high school I spent an exchange student year in the marvellous city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Since then I’ve been passionate about learning more on intercultural dialogue as well as strived to multiply my learning. I am an active volunteer of my exchange student organization Youth for Undestanding, and have been very involved with participating and organizing many training courses and seminars on intercultural dialogue. I find the course topic a good addition to my current experiences, as I don’t have that much experience on the Middle East.
I am convinced that this course would be a very interesting and beneficial addition to my education.
Hello all,
We are Yuliya Shiyan and Vera Fetyukova, IMPIT-2008 students at University of Joensuu. We are from Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan. Now we are working on our MSc theses. We took the course ICT4D last year. We really like that time. It was really great. It was the excellent opportunity to interact with people from around the world. It was really, really great!!!
We got enough information about using ICT in different developing countries. We would like to continue learning about that. We are very interested how and what can be done by just simple students to help different countries using ICT.
We are waiting for a new opportunity to get new good friends.
..Yuliya&Vera..
yshiyan@cs.joensuu.fi
vfetyuk@cs.joensuu.fi
Hi, my name is Kalle and I am studying university of Joensuu, but I live in
Tampere and I also work for the Nokia Devices. I am studying a master degree
and my major is Educational Technology.
I am originally from Finland, city called Oulu that is located almost on the border of the Lapland.
I am interested of this course because I have studied two times in Erasmus programs, 9 months in Ireland and 4 months in The Netherlands so I am deeply interested about different cultures and methods how to be connected with
different people that are living all the around of the world.
The internet and telecommunication technologies are making possible that
people can be for example participate distance learning activities, I think that is future, that is how the school are going work globally, so I really want
to be apart of this development.
I would like get new ideas about this subject and maybe give some ideas to my company Nokia Devices, because we have a lot of workers in India and China, they are so far away there is really a need to get new innovations how we could work with then easier using the possibilities of the Internet. Also learning the different aspect of different cultures are really important for me.
-Kalle Kyllönen
Hello, I am Olorunleke from Nigeria. I am a Master degree student in information technology at the University of Joensuu.
I am studying ICT ethics and other educational courses, I will like to participate in this course ICT for Development.
I am interested in this course because I will like to know more about different culture, religion, people and how I can use the knowledge I gain from this course to help people in communication, and solving cultural diversity, religion cries etc.
I am looking forward for the best I can gain from this course.
Hi
I am Muhammad Zahid Currently doing Master in ICT4D at Stockholm University.
Yes it is very practical and long awaited program to give a better insight about different cultures. And to bring technology’s blessing to everyone,
.
Thanks
zahid
This is good news!
I am Jose Reuben Alagaran II or you may call me Joey. I graduated recently with a degree in PhD Communication, with cognates in Educational Technology and Distance Education from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
I live in Manila and now teaches Educational Technology, Distance Education, Communication Research, and Social Dynamics of Multimedia at Miriam College, an exclusive girls school in the heart of Quezon City here in the Philippines.
I am interested to take this course since I am a researcher and an educator at the same time. ICT is an interesting field since the time Marshall McLuhan foresaw “global village.” I would like to know how ICT is used for development purposes and at the same time in international understanding through intercultural dialogue. I have plans to take another PhD course in international/intercultural communication.
I hope this course would further enrich my knowledge on the topic especially from the Western and Eastern perspectives.
Thanks and more power.
JOSE REUBEN Q. ALAGARAN II, PhD
Looking forward to participating in the course in January.
Hi.
My name is Fadilla, I am from Indonesia. Now I am studying Education and globalisation at Oulu University, Finland. My previous study is computer engineering.
I am interesting taking this course because I want to see how far this ICT could help/contribute to this multicultural situation, since my work is very related to this subject. So i’m curious to learn.
Thx,
Fadilla
My name is Innocent and I am a Nigerian pursuing a Masters’ degree in Finland. I am interested in taking this course because I have always been interested in the intricate nature of multicultural mores and diverse religious believes. The use of ICT in comprehending cultural and religious differences will create a strong motivation for ICT development and advancement. However, in other to effectively comprehend and proffer lasting solutions to the enigmatic nature of culture and religion, it is imperative for the participants to come from diverse, cultures, milieu, races and religions which is the suitable platform this course is providing. This course will enhance my studies, build my knowledge and provide answers to some inexplicable questions since there is assured collaboration from the participants from different backgrounds. Furthermore, I am delighted to be among the participants of this course because in my view, this course connects me to the world and I wish all participants the best in their life pursuits in all ramifications.
Hi,
I am Gobinda Kandel from Nepal(Mt Everest and birth place of Buddha. Currently studying MScIT at Lappeenranta University of Technology Lappeenranta.
While I was in Nepal, I was associated with ICT NGO(ITS-Nepal) for 3 years and always interested with ICT4 development.
I hope connecting with multi culture and nationality people would be interesting for me.
Who are you, and what do you study?
I’m a major in Economics and international relations in Helsinki school of econpmics in Finland. Originally, i come from Kenya, (where the lowest temperature is 15 degrees) and i came to Finland to undertake the degree course.
When dealing with an incresingly globalised environment, new opportunities have arisen as well as some existing resources have been permanetly removed. The main seperator from the winners and loosers in this new economy is the managers’ ability to communicate to all cultures in an effective way. This does not only apply to business, but also to exisiting social interactions.
i look forward to understanding the challenges facing intercultural/inter-faith communications and how Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can fit in the equaltion and improve the processs.
Hi Clint,
I’m a Masters in IT student at University of Joensuu (now University of Eastern Finland). I would like to study this course which I understand is about to start now. Please let me know how to enroll.
Thanks
Hello,
I am Sita Pun from Nepal, studying IMPIT at University of Eastern Finland.
This course seems to be quite interesting and interactive. Hence, I would like to learn more about it.
My name is haochen. I come from China. Now I am study IMPIT programe in the University of eastern finland.
I have taken the course called ICT Ethics. And I found I am interested in this field. That is the reason I want to take this course.
hao chen
– Who are you, and what do you study (or work doing)?
Hi~i’m LiaoDing,first year student in the master program of ICT in university of Joensuu,and my student number is 186109.
– Where are you from originally?
Well i’m Chinese,come from Beijing,but my hometown is Chongqing,another metropolitane city in China.
– Why are you interested in taking this course?
I found it’s a interesting things that to get known of some other cultures and be firends with who in the different place of the world.As well as i want to gain the ability that to deal well with the inter-relationship,i think that would a significant advantage for me in the future’s job hunting
Jacob Adams from Rexburg, Idaho
I live in Salt Lake City, Utah and am finishing a PhD in Education Policy from the University of Utah. I want to participate in this course for one main reason:
-the more I learn about education policy in the international context the more I am amazed at how Atypical Policy Participants/Learners (APLs) rarely know the policy process, let alone the policies that influence their educational practice and careers. I see ICT as a way to broaden the participation of APLs in policy circles affecting education which mainly includes Typical Policy Actors (TPAs) or those who are either paid or elected formally to the position.
I know Dr. Rogers from a class in Multi-cultural Education at Brigham Young University and also desire to “travel among the world” as Clint does even if it is through ICT at the moment.
My name is Ella Gustafsson and I’m a student of Media Studies from the University of Turku, Finland. At the moment I’m living in Slovenia and studying for a semester in the beautiful town of Koper.
I’m really internationally minded and interested in intercultural communication and at the moment doing research about online communities. I’m interested in ICT from many different points of view (sociological, political, psychological) than most of the participants so I think I could bring interesting ideas into the conversation.
Hello,
My name is Mikael de Anna. I study Italian language in the University of Turku. I am half italian and half finnish, although I have lived my whole life here in Finland.
The subject of the course appears to be really intresting and could give me some answers as I have been wondering the problems regarding different cultures. Also as I am not so keen on my current major studies, it could give me also some guidance regarding my future of studying and profession.
Good afternoon. I’m Finnish, study Computer Science at the University of Turku, Finland, and have no interesting international background.
I find myself more occupied with IT ethics, our changing relationship to information, and other such pretentious things, and less with the actual ones and zeroes. I eagerly talk about the implications of casual worldwide communication, but my theories have little substance. I’m interested in seeing what this course can pull off.
This seems to be a pretty interesting course. I am IMPIT candidate at University of Eastern Finland and would like to take this course.
Hello,
I am Guillaume, I come from France and have been working in a variety of environments besides my own country in the field of education in developing countries, as well as ICT applied to education. I graduated from a Masters Degree in Media Engineering applied to Education. It is an ERASMUS MUNDUS program sponsored by the European Community. I focused on massive implementation of ICT in education systems in developing countries and did my master’s thesis investigation in Peru on the notorious One Laptop Per Child program.
I currently live in Accra, Ghana, working as a Technical Assistant for the French Embassy at the University of Ghana, Legon.
As a person with a special interest in education I have found overtime that the best places to learn are usually the ones where you know least, with people coming from a different background than yours. I find myself doing a lot of international cooperation, and I am looking forward to learning more in that subject. I am also very interested to see how the use of ICT will influence communication between us. Looking forward to working with all the interesting people who introduced themselves on this page, and many greetings from Ghana.
Hi Clint,
My name is Telojo Onu, or Telly for short. Recent graduate of the Executive Masters in E-Governance from the Swiss University of Technology – EPFL.
I have a keen interest in Information Society, Knowledge Sharing for Development and use of Virtual Environments to facilitate Communities of practice.
I was born in Ethiopia, to Nigerian Parents but living in the Caribbean.
I am interested in taking this course because I am currently working with a team implementing and Information Society Project in an Island in the Caribbean, although this course may have a more religious spin to it, the fundamental issue is understanding how different cultural contexts can influence adoption, and approaches and best practices that have worked to mitigate that as well as bad practices to avoid.
At the end of the day its all about context, but knowing what to look for is critical. I know i am cutting close but i am interested.
Hello,
This is Raghu doing masters in Information Technology in University Of Joensuu.I am very much interested in this course as i am from developing country like India.Tell me how can i get into this course.
hi clint
i am willing to take the course and i am not gtting any rely from you so could u please enroll in this course to me