Abstract
The paper reports on a collaborative project on fostering cross-cultural online discussion between two universities with one in Hong Kong and the other in Taiwan. Two online platforms—Moodle as a formal channel for course-related discussion and Facebook as an informal channel for social-oriented interaction—were employed. The study pays special attention to instructional design based on research-derived strategies and reflects on the effects of various strategies as well as students’ experiences and perceptions. The results show that the students perceived the online discussion as valuable for exchanging perspectives and enhancing cross-cultural understanding. However, they were less motivated to use Facebook as the informal channel for socialization. The challenges encountered especially those concerning using Facebook in formal learning environments will be discussed. At the end, the recommendations for better utilizing and bringing together formal and informal online platforms will be suggested.
Highlights
With growing pervasiveness and ubiquity in our society, web-based technologies have been widely used to compliment traditional face-to-face teaching
Instructional design Three instructors worked closely in the instructional design which was greatly informed by related literature concerning online discussion and community (e.g., Deng & Yuen, 2011; Kreijns, Kirschner, & Jochems, 2003; Preece, 2000)
Cross-cultural online discussion on Moodle As mentioned earlier, there were three discussion folders created on Moodle each for different topics related to ICT and education
Summary
With growing pervasiveness and ubiquity in our society, web-based technologies have been widely used to compliment traditional face-to-face teaching. The resulting blended mode of learning is regarded as a preferred and viable option (Harrington, Gordon, & Schibik, 2004) as it brings together the strength of online and face-to-face learning (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008). Online platforms provide an affordable and accessible means for cross-cultural communication by connecting students from different countries (Commander, Zhao, Gallagher, & You, 2016). When looking outside of classrooms, social networking websites (SNS) (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+) have become increasingly pervasive in student daily life, which gives rise to a growing interest in the educational potential of SNS. The pedagogical values of Facebook in formal learning domain remain inconclusive, and studies have reported a mixed attitude and views of using Facebook for learning purposes among students (Manca & Ranieri, Deng et al Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning (2017) 12:5
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