Global Understanding-Expanding Expectations

Yıl 2015, Cilt: 1 Sayı: 1, 71 - 88, 22.03.2016

Nilüfer Pembecioğlu

Öz

The concept of ‘Distance Education’ is a promising and important point shaping both the national and international educational standards. In this respect, there seems to be an urgent need to have a look at the past experiences and to re-structure the future applications. The expanding costs of face-to-face education, the lodging and transfer bills on the side of the students as well as teachers, the personal and institutional costs add too much to face-to-face education. Also the new education policies and social policies on the way to internationalization have a huge impact on distance education putting it into a more promising position. Istanbul University is a partner institution of the Project of “Global Understanding” run by the East Carolina University of the United States of America. Within the Project, university students are in communication with 40 universities in about 20 countries. The Project involves access to the universities of countries such as America, Brazil, Algeria, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Morocco, Gambia, India, Netherlands, Iraq, England, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Moldova, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Russia, Taiwan, and Turkey. The project provides a platform to more than 1500 students each year to meet with each other, communicate, and share with each other. In this respect especially the ones coming from more disadvantaged parts of the country would find an opportunity of intellectual mobility rather than physical, social, cultural, and emotional mobility. The participants are also provided an atmosphere to understand the culture of the others living in different societies. The courses provide intellectual, social, and virtual mobility chances for those who live in the disadvantaged areas of the world. These new type virtual classroom applications diminish the problems stemming from the socio-cultural environment or economic conditions. The project is one of the best examples of “Distance Learning in Higher Education Institutions”. This paper attempts to explore the process of the project from the very beginning how the different decisions made during the applications, how careful steps improved the project, and how the courses are evaluated, assessed as well as how the participants were put in follow up activities. The concentration would be on the expanding period and its reflections on national and international level understanding. The paper is mainly dwelling on the qualitative and quantitative responses of the participants to evaluate not only the project itself but also the participants from various cultures and disciplines.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Distance Education, Intercultural Communication, Awareness Rising, University Education, Future Expectations

Kaynakça

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