| This case study examined an experiment in setting up an Internet-based videoconferencing cross-cultural collaboration. The purpose of the experiment was to test the feasibility and practicality of establishing a cross-cultural learning activity between a Chinese school and a Canadian school. The study of the experiment addressed questions about the challenges that participants faced, the factors affecting success of the experiment, and the lessons learned from the evolution of the experiment.;Two teachers, one from Canada and one from China, and their teams of students and technicians, collaborated in the experiment. The researcher, as experimenter, designed and carried out the experiment, collecting data concerning three aspects of the collaboration: policy, pedagogy, and technical concerns. Data included field notes, participant journals, e-mail messages, interview transcripts, videotapes, and records of videoconferencing interaction. The researcher organized and analyzed the data using a two-by-three matrix: China/Canada, policy/pedagogy/technology. Motivation of participants was analyzed according to instrumental and expressive purpose. The study was situated within research on cross-cultural learning and telecommunications in a global context. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
