2 items on »managing foreign contexts« tagged with

»internet«

Being intrinsically motivated, or not?!

Since obiviously nobody takes the story of Opac and me serious (Marie called my relationship a "running gag" ... excuse me?!) I'll cut it short. My requests got lost - just like that and the lady at the counter actually dared to imply that it might be my fault since first of all I didn't pay and then on top I put them in the right but actually wrong box. I was brought up to be a good girl so I smiled at her and filled in all these ******-*******-requests anew. Now I get the wonderful opportunity to wait ..... and wait ..... and wait until eventually I get the books.

Meanwhile I read some other books. In particular a thesis on Interface-Design for a Web-Based Learning System. It was written here in Weimar by Ulf Schubert in 2001 and might actually free me from reading all these learning and teaching theories myself.

Web-based learning systems were developed to support traditional learning environments such as in schools or universities. They are based on the ideas of self-managed learning and learning in groups. Due to their avaibility as an online-source, it is up to the learning individual to decide on when to study, where to study as well as on how and what to study. The idea of group learning is made possible by the fact that several users can be online and connected to the system at the same time and by the use of communication systems like chats or forums or blogs (yippieh!).
N. Döring is quoted (and I'm trying my best to translate into English): "In all internet-services the user can be information-recipient as well as information-producer, he/she can passively watch or become active, thus proving implicit and social learning to be regular side-effects of regular internet-use." (Döring, N.: Lernen mit dem Internet, S.319)

Since the internet offers such a wide range of information, the user has to learn to differentiate critical what could be useful to him/her. This goes in accordance with the theory of cognitivism which constructed the idea of discovering learning: being driven by curiosity and personal interests the learning individual tries to find his/her own solutions to interesting questions by looking for relevant information independantly. To learn like this can not be forced from outside but relies on an intrinsic motivation which of course is the best foundation to gain intensive and lasting knowledge.

Yes! That's what I'm doing here.
But, actually, in the moment, I really don't care: Basketball is calling..... Yippieh!

Remembering Why I Study Media

I mean it is so obvious but still I was not sure if media or a web application in my case could actually help businesses to cross borders. It sure can! :-)

"Technology has permeated every aspect of organizations and has fundamentally redefined the meaning of work. Technology has simultaneously shrunk the world and expanded the boundaries of the organization. Businesses are able to effectively manage local businesses at the global level, and employees are able to participate in teambased work environments without ever leaving home."

[p.67 in: Gerald R. Ferris, M.Ronald Buckley, Donald B. Fedo. Human Resources Management - Perspectives, Context, Functions, and Outcomes. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2002. 4th edition]