Implementing E-learning as socio - cultural subsystem in to traditional University teaching/learning culture

Author(s):

Edita Butrime(presenting / submitting)Raimonda Bruneviciute(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2011

Network:

20. Research in Innovative Intercultural Learning Environments

Format:

Paper

Session Information

20 SES 10, Cultural Diversity and Higher Education

Paper Session

Time:

2011-09-15

15:00-16:30

Room:

KL 32/123,G, 115

Chair:

John Willumsen

Contribution

When the business world is rapidly changing and using continuously developing ICT, according to A.L.Davidson and D.Waddington (2010), universities are establishments technologically resistant to the admission of new paradigms. Admission policy of innovations plays a significant role at universities, i.e. may slow the growth and changes as well as may accelerate them. One of the key obstacles related to the successful implementation of ICT at a lot of European universities is the fact that the managerial do not support and determine relevant ICT priorities (Rutkauskienė, Pociūtė, Targamadzė and Strička, 2006).

For many theoreticians, culture is closely related to teaching/learning. Culture is a dynamic value system of learnt elements (presumptions, agreements, beliefs, as well as applied regulations) which define how members are related to each other and the surrounding world; and how they communicate and develop their creative powers. There were investigated social and cultural causes of slow ICT integration into learning. The key cause is determined to be related to university teachers’ abilities, attitudes, beliefs and motivation (Lipeikienė, 2008). Culture provides with some information concerning the problem solution ways of social situations, self-perception and social behavior (Simon, 2004). Environment and culture always influences and form teaching/leaning.

During teaching/learning interaction cultural values, regulations and history are passed down from generation to generation. One of the teaching/learning tools is technologies which are developing very fast nowadays. Consequently there may be made a presumption that today culture is changing together with technologies.

According to A. Aušra (2005), today, for the first time in history, information and scientific knowledge is becoming not only the means of development for the modern society, but the key product of its economic activities. There has been selected the cultural model of Schein (1992) as a starting-point of the analysis to reveal ICT as a constituent of technologies.

Traditional learning forms (preparation of lecture and provision with it, students’ participation, discussions, feedback/reflection and assessment) and methods can be transferred into ICT-based e-learning social-cultural subsystem. There exists an opportunity to investigate e-learning social-cultural subsystem collected from key elements: participants, technologies (ICT), processes, relationship/connections, material (information).

The analysis of foreign and Lithuanian scientists’ publications analyzing the 2.0 technologies of network and their breakthrough has been carried out. During recent years there has been written a lot about the network technologies 2, the change from the technologies of network 1.0 into 2.0 in terms of education. This enable to clarify problem question of the research: How to develop e-learning as a socio-cultural subsystem at university?

The subject of the researchisthe phenomenon of e-learning as a socio-cultural subsystem in university studies.

The research aim is to ground the impact of e-learning as a socio-cultural subsystem to university teaching learning culture.

Method

Research methods: • Individual deep interview of university teachers who apply ICT in order to find out the teachers’ attitude towards ICT, their need and motivation to apply ICT in the process of studies. • Questionnaire survey in order to find out how university teachers apply the possibilities provided by ICT and how they evaluate such teaching/ learning. • Content analysis of transcript interview in order to categorize the respondents’ answers. • Statistic processing methods of data. For the change comparison there are applied nonparametric criteria (Kruscal Wallis, Mann-Whitney U). Methodology Structuralism (Glazer, 1994) - during the research of complex objects it is possible to divide them into elements, parts and functions, and having analyzed that separately the entire object may be interpreted through joining the researched parts into the whole. Pragmatism according to which it is necessary to seek for an optimal result under the lowest expenditure (Dewey, 1991).

Expected Outcomes

Conclusions • Modern computer network (Web 2.0 based) is a constantly changing and trending towards openness system. Learning technology encourages independence and diversity, and creates possibilities for the interaction with other process participants and supports openness. • Social networks for trans-disciplinarity create the possibility of cooperation between users and professionals; the result of such cooperation is new ideas and the design of new technologies, i.e. modern digital culture. • Continuous development of technologies impacts the teacher’ as a socio-cultural subsystem element’s change in technological knowledge. The change of technological knowledge impacts the whole change of socio-cultural subsystem of e-learning; • There have been revealed sub-cultural aspects of e-learning related to the new development of the Web 2.0 based on the technologies as a socio-cultural subsystem in the activities of participant:  Initiative comes from the bottom  Higher positive motivation from more experienced colleagues  Interaction (teacher – student).

References

1. Davidson, A., L., Waddington, D. 2010. E-Learning in the university: When will it really happen? eLearning Papers. Nº 21 September 2010. ISSN 1887-1542. Retrieved from: http://www.elearningeuropa.info/files/media/media23710.pdf . 2. Rutkauskienė D., Pociūtė E., Targamadzė A., ir Strička M. 2006. Lietuvos virtualus universitetas. Kaunas, Retrieved from: http://distance.ktu.lt/livun/. 3. Lipeikienė, J. 2008. Informacinių ir komunikacinių technologijų kompetencijos ugdymas rengiant matematikos mokytojus: habilitacijos procedūrai teikiamų mokslo darbų apžvalga. Vilniaus pedagoginis universitetas. Vilnius: Vilniaus pedagoginio universiteto leidykla. 42 p. ISBN 9789955202769. 4. Simon B. 2004. Identity in Modern Society: A Social Psychological Perspective. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Oxford, pp. 222. 5. Aušra A. 2005. Atvirųjų resursų reikšmė vystant žinių visuomenę. Mokslinė elektroninė biblioteka. Retrieved from: http://www.ebiblioteka.lt/resursai/Science%20online/05_2/eLibrary_lt_Egypt_text_2005_lt.pdf . 6. Schein, E.H. (1992). Organisational Culture and Leadership. London, UK: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 7. Glazer. M., 1994.Structuralism. (cituota 2007 kovo 15) Retrieved from: http://www.panam.edu/faculty/mglazer/Theory/structuralism.htm. 8. Dewey, J. 1991. The public and its problems. (Fotogr. leid.). Athens (Ohio): Swallow Press : Ohio University Press. 236 p.

Author Information

Edita Butrime (presenting / submitting)

Lithuanian University of Health Sciences

Teachers’ Educational Competence Centre

Kaunas

Raimonda Bruneviciute (presenting)

Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Lithuania

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