21st Century Technology in Today's Classroom - Essay Example

context, which includes “the institutional objectives of the e-learning program, the role and skills of any instructor, longevity of the resources, and cultural sensitivities”; and influence, which means how the e-learning design will influence the learner, the learning community, and the environment in which the learning is taking place (Brown & Voltz, 2005, pp. 4-7). Article 2 Abstract: Teacher’s conception of e-learning and e-teaching is also crucial. Teacher’s like e-learning because it excites their students, and provides a way for lectures to become more interesting.

Moreover, students have a way of exploring their tacit knowledge, and learn more about co-operative learning and how to behave in social situations. Teachers also like e-learning because it gives them a way to give students extra information, outside the lecture and it also gives the teacher a way to give information to the masses. On the other hand, for some cultures, self-study is difficult. For instance, for a Chinese student, who still expects the teacher to provide information through the lectures, self-study through e-learning is difficult.

Therefore, there needs to be ways to overcome these challenges (McConnell & Zhao, 2006). Article 3 Abstract: This article talks about cultural differences, which could prove a challenge to the e-learning community. Different cultures share knowledge in different ways. Some cultures are individualistic, which means that these cultures put personal goals in front of group goals; collectivistic cultures are the opposite. The individualistic cultures see information independent of context, while the collectivistic cultures need contextual cues and disregard information in writing.

Anther difference in culture includes in-group and out-group orientation. Cultures which are out-group orientated do not have a problem sharing information outside their group; in-group orientated cultures do. Some cultures have a strong fear of losing