| Objectives | Technologies | Instructional Tools | Netiquette | E-Mail Uses | Teaching & Learning | Internet | Formative Evaluation |
Cultural
Connections: In Higher Education
| 501 | 502 | 503 | 504 |
| 505 | 506 | 507 |
| Name
(USA) |
Reactions | Partner
(Taiwan) |
| PST A | I think that the online mentorship is a good idea. However, there are somethings that need to be worked out for it to be more effieicent. Maybe we could be assigned our students at the very beginning of the semester so we could have more time to work with them. | S1 |
| PST B | I think that this concept of on-line mentorship is a wonderful idea, if you have enough correspondence. Winnie and I had a little chance to teach each other something through this lesson, but I believe that the reliatility of correspondence plays a major role in the success of this type of mentorship. | S2 |
| PST C | I am not sure how this teaching was going to work; it's hard not being able to look at the person while communicating with them....I am having a tough time teaching this, anyway. It's almost like I'm not teaching a real student. The delay between emails is aggravating. | S3 |
| PST D | There are a lot of benefits from this project. I got to see first hand that people from Taiwan lead very similar lives to me. I used to believe that all Asian do is study. I was able to learn that they enjoy some things that I do....but I was not able to talk to them. It would have been nice to use video conferencing so we could talk to each other. | S4 |
| PST E | One of the problems with technology is it cannot always be counted on and therefore an alternate plan is always a good idea. Although I would never use this method for teaching academics, I think it is a great way to learn and teach about cultures and other people in general. | S5 |
| PST F | Maybe more strict guidelines should be developed on both sides of the communication project...I guess I went into this assignment with too much idealism. I thought I would really interest somebody in something that means a lot to me. I guess that just because I am interested in something does not mean that I can get other people interested in it as well. | S6 |
| PST G | I suggest that each person be required to answer a short (3-5) questions sheet, asking personal information in essay format. In this way, the American can give information about him/herself and, at the same time, gauge the other's English ability. | S7 |
| Name
(USA) |
Reactions | Partner
(Taiwan) |
| PST A | I feel like this is a wonderful way to learn about other cultures and people. I definitely have enjoyed getting to know Joseph over e-mail, and hope to continue our correspondence even after I turn my assignment in. | S1 |
| PST B | One of the limitations of this on-line mentorship was the time difference. It is difficult to get on-line at the same time with your partner if you want to have a conversation. The biggest benefit is the cultural aspects.... Overall, I thought the experience was great. I think my partner and I will be keeping in touch through the summer. | S2 |
| PST C | I am really glad to have the opportunity to converse with someone on the other side of the planet from me. I have also learned more about culture than I thought I would. Though we did not get to teach and learn a lot about history and government, our cultural experience has been invaluable. I enjoyed this assignment. | S3 |
| PST D | I think it is hard enough to teach online and I'm glad that Norman was enthusiastic about it....We discussed reading strategies and building vocabulary....I've enjoyed on-line mentoring, but I wish that there was some way we could have done more with it. | S4 |
| PST E | My on-line partner communicted about twice for six weeks. After the first few initial messages where we got to know one another, we began learning about each others different cultures....Overall, I think we learned a lot from each other during the month and a half we spent communicating together. | S5 |
| PST F | I have decided that I really don't think the internet is a good way of teaching. It has been fun having a friend in another country, but I really don't think he has learned anything from me. I didn't feel like it was my place to correct all his mistakes. | S6 |
| PST G | I think this could have been a meaningful project, if we had more time. Another problem is that things can get misinterpreted. On the positive side, I think that this project helped me learn about things on the other side of the world, such as people in Far East feel about the United States. | S7 |
| PST H | Overall, I believe that his program was excellent. The only problem that I saw is the lack of time and effort. I also believe for the up coming year or semester that the class have a specific lesson to teach. This way everyone can have some type of plan or goal. | S8 |
| Name
(USA) |
Reactions | Partner
(Taiwan) |
| PST A | I enjoyed the correspondence with Christy. I hope I can get my own computer after graduation so we can keep in touch. It was a good experience & I suggest it be done next semester as well. Maybe if we had a specific set of questions to begin the tutoring, we could help more in that area. | S1 |
| Name
(USA) |
Reactions | Partner
(Taiwan) |
| PST A | This was a good experience for me. I learned about Taiwan, and I learned that ground rules and communication are key to successful teaching. I need to be more clear and explicit. | S1 |
| PST B | Throughout the time period, we have faces several problems with the e-mail connection, but both Edwina and I are committed to making it work. I plan to continue with this mentorship long after the class has ended and feel confident that Edwina wishes to continue as well. | S2 |
| PST C | This is a wonderful experience because it allows for anyone to reach someone else who is far away. The on-line teaching can give help to a student in another country who may not be getting the information in their home country. I feel that this project has greatly helped my partner and I. | S3 |
| PST D | I think that we had computer/spring break problems with our communications. I guess technology could be a major problem with online teaching. This to me is a definite drawback of the method. Also, I felt very connected to my partner, yet so distant from her. I do not like that feeling. | S4 |
| PST E | Naturally, the benefits of or meetins are learning about another person through written means. The limitatin is that I have no idea what she looks like, If I saw her, I would not know her! | S5 |
| PST F | Within a classroom, teaching on-line is a good idea and a bad idea. It is good in the sense that one gets to learn other cultures. It is bad in the sense that sometimes there are communication problems. | S6 |
| PST G | I believe when you teach, you also learn. I have learned a lot about the differences in our cultures as well as similarities. I do wish that I could talk to her instead of having to write. It seems like there is never enough time to talk about everything. | S7 |
| Name
(USA) |
Reactions | Partner
(Taiwan) |
| PST A | One negative thing about looking at someone’s composition skills online is that this is normally conversational English. People very seldom write online the way they would when writing a formal paper....I expressed how I enjoyed our online relationship to Tina. | S1 |
| PST B | I enjoyed this experience of connecting via the Internet with students of another culture. I think my partner Irene enjoyed it also. We both learned about each other and espeically about each other's country and culture. | S2 |
| PST C | This was beneficial because you get perspectives from someone that lives half-way across the world. It was also beneficial because she could write and I could respond when I felt like it. | S3 |
| PST D | In a way, we have taught each other different things about our countries. At least in a round about way, we have learned from each other. I am going to try and write her as often as I can after the course. | S4 |
| PST E | Not too much culture was exchanged between us. Maybe if we had more time to participate in this, or had more guidelines, it would work out better. | S5 |
| PST F | I think it is a neat idea for a montorship. But some sturcture is necessary fro actual learning to occur. An actual subject that both people have some outside information on. | S6 |
| Name
(USA) |
Reactions | Partner
(Taiwan) |
| PST A | I think that although he did not send me any papers to correct or sentences to structure, I can still accurately depict his problems and accomplishment. I think I needed to know that there were people outside of our continent that are studying and learning just as we are. I enjoyed the experience. Thanks! | S1 |
| PST B | I have learned a lot of things working with someone via e-mail and it is definitely a system I will incorporate into my classroom in a modified form. | S2 |
| PST C | I think we both felt like we were teachers to each other. It was a neat experience. But I also feel so out of touch with her. I feel that she is just a machine instead of an actual person. I think that if I had already met her in person, tht would have helped a lot. | S3 |
| PST D | I tried to use instructional model. Learning analysis, instructions were given. I instructed her on proper sentence structure. | S4 |
| Name
(USA) |
Reactions | Partner
(Taiwan) |
| PST A | I feel that a pen-pal relationship with someone from another country was great for a cultural experience but was not that great of an educational technology experience. Problems with connections and responses made it hard for some people to complete the assignment. Overall, it was an intersting experience. | S1 |
| PST B | I am beginning to see how important that online mentorship can be. It is great to have an open link to another part of the world whenever I need it. | S2 |
| PST C | I think online learning is great for someone who has questions they want answered, but I don’t think it would work for students in high school who are apathetic to their education....On the whole, I think the experience was a good one. | S3 |