1. 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 :: 1.800.275.5162 :: www.usdla.org New Learning Cultures from the U.S. Perspective How are Institutions in the U.S. Dealing with Intercultural Complexity in Today’s (e)Learning Environments? Marci Powell, President United States Distance Learning Association

2. 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 :: 1.800.275.5162 :: www.usdla.org 2 Interface between Academia & Industry U.S. workplace survey of 431 human resource leaders by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management. April/May 2006 Objective- to examine employers' views on the readiness of new entrants to the U.S. workforce-recently hired graduates from high schools, two-year colleges or technical schools, and four-year universities. Results “The future workforce is here, and it’s ill-prepared.” Business leaders report that while the three "R's" are still fundamental to every employee's ability to do the job, applied skills such as teamwork, critical thinking, and communication are essential for success at work.

3. 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 :: 1.800.275.5162 :: www.usdla.org 3 21 st Century Education “We need to teach our students how to be prepared for jobs that don’t yet exist,” DiBlasi said, “using technologies that haven’t been invented in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” Howie DiBlasi, Technology Evangelist

4. 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 :: 1.800.275.5162 :: www.usdla.org 4 Competition

5. 5 Alignment Lifelong Learning Primary/Secondary Higher Education Workplace

6. 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 :: 1.800.275.5162 :: www.usdla.org 6 How do we learn? Where do we learn? Web 2.0 Virtual Environments Social Networking Mobile Computing Telepresence Bringing learners of all cultures together like never before. New Learning Cultures

7. 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 :: 1.800.275.5162 :: www.usdla.org 7 Intercultural Complexities English as a Global Language? –Variations –Colloquialisms Creating Cultural Sensitivity – Faculty: i.e. Buffalo State University –Students Cultivating Respect and Trust Developing Relationships Best Practices Internationalizing curriculum to integrate multi-cultural learning experiences Building more intercultural communications among diverse students both f2f and small collaborative working groups. –Observation is important to handle any misinterpretations, intercultural sensitivities, and promote mutual respect. Handling Homogenous groups –Home country peer gravitation

8. 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 :: 1.800.275.5162 :: www.usdla.org 8 The Last Lecture Professor Randy Pausch Carnegie Melon Specialty: “human-computer interaction” New course: Building Virtual Worlds

9. 8 Winter Street, Suite 508, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 :: 1.800.275.5162 :: www.usdla.org 9 Questions and Discussion Marci Powell mpowell@usdla.org marci.powell@polycom.com 001 210-403-9737 office 001 210-482-0775 mobile