Developing on-line cross-cultural coursework: plans, progress, and the promise of a learning partnership

摘要

This paper describes a web-based course development project and research proposal that are intended to both advance the abilities of international business students and provide lessons for educators seeking to develop new electronic learning opportunities. Employing a cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural development team, the course development project uses interactive learning technology to transform a traditional International Business classroom into a web-based course that facilitates cross-cultural student interaction between New Zealand and Japanese students. Using an action research model, the research plan includes evaluation of the effectiveness of web-based course design, the effectiveness of interactive/diagnostic components of new site software, and the dynamic nature of development team interaction throughout the duration of the project. The course development and subsequent research findings are significant because they provide new data leading to informed judgements about the feasibility and effectiveness of electronic learning programmes in international business studies. The overall project provides insights into the effectiveness of new on-line data gathering technologies, the effectiveness of adaptive and collaborative technologies in producing transformational learning, the dynamics of cross-cultural student partners in class projects and cases, and the dynamics of development teams in a cross-cultural and cross-discipline context.