13157s

13157s

Student Presentation (20 minutes)

Ayuka Nakagawa, Kansai University, Osaka, Japan, ayuka20602@msn.com
 * Using SNS Effectively for Cross-Cultural Collaboration **

Recently communication with others separated geographically is much easier because of the Internet, thanks to the rapid growth of networks and information communications technologies (ICT). Social networking services (SNS) receive much attention since they encourage people to communicate at a distance to share information. In fact, there are many examples of using SNS to facilitate international exchange learning. It also helps partners to stay in contact when conducting cross-cultural collaboration activities.

Since the frequency of interaction, positive attitude and interaction itself are considered important in international exchange learning, the convenience and ubiquity of SNS can indeed help to promote activity. In cross-cultural collaboration, however, interaction is only a process towards collaboration that involves working together with another group to achieve a shared goal. Therefore, the elements you need to interact with a partner may be different depending on whether your goal is exchange learning or collaboration.

In this presentation, we will focus on a university student group that conducts cross-cultural collaboration with an equivalent group abroad. First, we will analyze the characteristics and tendency of the interactions with their partner group on SNS and show what elements are be needed for the interactions. Then, we will discuss how SNS could be used in order to make the interaction meaningful for cross-cultural collaboration.

All audiences Keywords: Study abroad, social media, cross-cultural, collaboration