Technological/Pedagogical Changes

It seems apparent that when in the Sharing Cultures Project, changes and shifts are not unilateral but accommodations and reciprocal agreements of both sets of participants. There is a constant state of negotiation that exists in our online and teleconferencing exchanges. Even more, these negotiations by and large are not driven by capitalistic desires. We have never approached the exchange in terms of there being a "winner" or "loser." In the end, each side has the right and ability to claim the change regardless of its origination, to call it their own.

Technological/Pedagogical Changes made at Columbia College:

• Found an online LMS (Blackboard and not Columbia’s own Oasis) that was accessible – therefore hospitable – to both parties
• Lengthened the class period so students could do most of their posting in class
• Began to recognize the ways that the South Africans wanted a kind of personal connection that the Americans did not usually engage in online
• Understood how the distance and political pressures affected the speed with which the South Africans would respond – in class and on our listserv – and became less demanding of the timeline.

Technological/Pedagogical Changes made at UPE/NMMU

• Provided “at-risk” students with the "good" internet access – a step above what is usually available to them and then even upgraded that access
• Hired two lab techs to help students
• Shifted ideas regarding the online email exchange – pen-pal style – to accommodate US students who were less eager to engage in such communication

Technological/Pedagogical Changes made Together

• Established regular communication in the way of phone conferencing and a listserv exchange which would come to include incorporating theoretical discussion of shared readings for instructors
• Realized the need to translate and interpret all the possibilities of organization on Blackboard
• Altered the course to place the discussion board at the center of the project
• Shifted the curriculum to emphasize personal narrative
• Recognized the need for us to be in physical proximity once a year and to alternate where these visits occur – especially because the participants in the project change

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