A Tangled Web Integrating Internet Resources into Study Abroad

1
A Tangled WebIntegrating Internet Resources
into Study Abroad

• NAFSA Association of International Educators
• Annual Conference 2005
• Seattle, Washington

2
Session Presenters

• Anthony (Tony) C. Ogden
• The Pennsylvania State University
• Margaret (Peggy) Pusch
• Partnership for Service Learning and Leadership
• Bruce La Brack
• University of the Pacific

3
Session Overview

• International Partnership for Service Learning
  and Leaderships orientation and reentry program
  
• Realities of integrating on-line orientation
  components at larger, sending institutions
  
• At Home in Japan
• University of the Pacifics cross-cultural
  training
  
• Whats Up with Culture?
• Responses discussion

4
For technology in higher education I think
Bill Gates got it rightwhen he argued that the
significant thing about the new technologies is
that they are asynchronous communications
methods.  For thestudent who likes to think
things over before asking questions, for the
professor who needs to communicate with students
who live by adifferent clock, and for the
education abroad adviser who needs to
communicate with a student who is 17 or more
hours ahead, these technologies enable new forms
of learning.  We have yet to learn how to use
them to maximum effect in higher education, but
every month brings new possibilities. Our biggest
challenge is to open our imaginations to their
potential. Source Dr. Geoffrey Bannister,
President, The Forum on Education Abroad
Profile section of EDUinsight
http//www.eduinsight.com/articles/bannister.html

5
Too Much Information?
A Google search of -- study abroad cross cultur
al training -- Resulted in 3,300,000 hits
study abroad cultural competency
-- Resulted in 76,800 hits
study abroad orientation -- Resulted i
n 3,360,000 hits
6
Current Conditions

• Majority of study abroad programs offer some
  version of orientation and many offer limited
  reentry support.
  
• Majority of orientations are less than a half day
  and most are devoted primarily to logistical
  information.
  
• Everyone faces challenges in terms of amount of
  time, people and resources that can be devoted to
  directly-delivered orientation and reentry
  training.
• Majority of university web sites have a
  Resources Section but most used to refer not
  train.

7
Potential Solution?

• For many reasons it is often almost virtually
  impossible to deliver adequate direct instruction
  to students preparing to study abroad or
  returning home.
• Perhaps the web and its resources may make it
  possible to do so virtually in the near future!
  
  

8
Shifting Paradigm?

• Evolution from
• Just-in-Case
• (JIC)
• to
• Just-in-Time
• (JIT)

9
Emerging JIT Characteristics

• ENABLES THE LEARNER
• will increasingly rely on web for
  interactive self-assessments, administration of
  instruments and self-directed exploration
  
• DOES IT AT THEIR PACE
• will be available 24/7 at the learners
  convenience.
  
• CONSIDERS BOTH PORTABILITY AND SPECIFICITY
• will stress culture-general, but not ignore
  culture-specific instruction
  
• DELIVERS IT AT THE RIGHT TIME
• will seek to coordinate learners online
  knowledge acquisition (content)
  
• with the stage of the transition (context
  process)
  
• EMPHASIZES LEARNER READINESS
• will attempt to anticipate teachable
  moments and appropriate support

10
Presentation Categories

• Large (10-80K enrollment), state public
• institutions with study abroad participation
• often in the thousands (e.g. Penn State Univ.)
• Independent service learning organization with
  programs worldwide (e.g. Partnership)
  
• 3. Small (2-6K enrollment), private institutions
  with study abroad participation in the hundreds
  (e.g. Pacific)
  

11
A Tangled WebIntegrating Internet Resources
into Study Abroad

• Private/ Independent
• Institutions

12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
A Tangled WebIntegrating Internet Resources
into Study Abroad

• Large Institutions/
• High Enrollment

22
The Penn. State University

• Land-grant institution, Commonwealth of
  Pennsylvania, 1855
  
• Twenty-four campuses
• Approx. 83,000 students (Over 3,700 Intl.)
• Education Abroad (EA)
• 1874 students participated in education abroad
  (2003/04)
  
• 155 Education Abroad programs/ 46 countries
• 11 Full/part-time staff

23
Current Issues at Penn State

• Limited staffing
• Increased parental involvement
• Portfolio management complexity
• Maintaining financial security
• Managing student expectations
• Providing orientation preparing students
• And so on.

24
U.S. Students Abroad, 2002/03
The number of U.S. students studying abroad has
increased by 129 in the last decade, and by 53
in the past five years.
Source Open Doors, 2004
25
Growth in U.S. Study Abroad
At present rates, more than 1 million Americans
will be studying abroad by 2023.
Source Mitch Leventhal Strategies, 2004
26
Orientation Needs Assessment

• What are the realities for providing orientation
  at an institution like Penn State?
  
• Increasing enrollment
• Student outreach
• Accessibility
• Portfolio diversification
• Cost
• Continued.

27
Orientation Needs Assessment

• What are the realities for providing orientation
  at an institution like Penn State?
  
• Staff time limited resources
• Accessibility of print materials
• Regional site-specific orientation
• Instantaneous updates info. distribution
• Enabling access to additional resources

28
Advantages of On-line Orientation

• Allows institutions to provide high-quality,
  blended pre-departure orientation training to
  increasing enrollments.
  
• Allows students (and their parents) to easily
  access updated information when needed and on an
  on-going basis.
  
• Reduces bulky, expensive print materials and the
  staff time and cost that it requires to produce
  it.
  
• Provides more accessible links to culture-general
  and culture-specific resources.
  
• Allows students to easily navigate between
  targeted information and related institutional
  resources.
  
• Allows students to test their own preparedness
  and administrators to monitor student usage.
  

29
Other Institutional Responses

• New York University
• http//www.nyu.edu/studyabroad/
• University of Texas Austin
• http//www.utexas.edu/student/abroad/
• University of Wisconsin Madison
• http//www.studyabroad.wisc.edu/
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• http//studyabroad.unc.edu/studyabroad.cfm

30
How Penn State is Responding?

• Increased importance of website
  (New site, Summer 2005)
  
• On-line orientation (Launch Fall 2005)
• Incorporating internet modules in orientation
  (US Dept. of State, Whats up with Culture?)
  
• Creating on-line document center
• Providing professional ICC staff development
• And so on.

31
AT HOME IN JAPAN http//nealrc.osu.edu
32
A Tangled WebIntegrating Internet Resources
into Study Abroad

• Small Medium Size
• Institutions

33
Section Overview

• Review of Pacific Training Program
• Origin of and introduction to Whats Up With
  Culture? website
  
• Current site users and uses
• Guide to site
• Current plans at Pacific for further integration
  of Web into everything from on-site pre-departure
  to reentry while retaining direct training
  
• Suggestions for future

34
Pacific Cross-Cultural Training

• Originated in 1976
• Traditional orientation and ReEntry training
• Two Linked, 2-credit courses
• Orientation 24 hrs of instruction
• ReEntry 21 hrs of instruction
• Orientation required for all (ReEntry for SIS)
• Taught by faculty as part of course load
• Unusual levels of institutional support

35
Web-based Training Project

• Three year project --
• Free, interactive, unrestricted access
• Self-contained
• Self-guided
• Self-paced
• Self-assessed
• Encyclopedic

36
Whats Up With Culture?

• Currently used by
• U.S. study abroad offices for pre-departure
  reentry orientations
  
• Overseas advisors in Europe, Asia and Latin
  America as pre-departure mirror image
  orientations for international students coming to
  the U.S.
• In-country program directors as part of their
  Arrival Orientations for US students (some
  free standing and others as hand-over,
  coordinated programs.
• Business consultants for culture-general
  orientations for international families in U.S.
  and for pre-departure orientations for outbound
  American families
• Cross-cultural domestic and international nursing
  programs
  
• Educational exchange offices as part of
  recommended preparation

37
Total vs. Supplemental Use

• If no direct training exists used for
• basic knowledge transfer
• supplemental reading
• introduction to theory
• self-assessment exercises and
  instruments
  
• sensitization to difference

• If direct training exists used for everything on
  right column plus adding
  
• use of role plays
• D.I.E. exercises
• small group discussions
• cultural simulations
• reflection papers
• video/CD presentations

38
Handout Resources
Users index to WUWC? website Two sample syllabi
for free-standing web courses
(orientation and reentry) URL guide for further
information on Pacific cross-cultural resources
URL guide to selected web sites for study abroad

39
A Tangled WebIntegrating Internet Resources
into Study Abroad

• Responses?
• Questions?