Research on cross-cultural collaboration supported by the Internet and reflection

我们设计了许多在线工具和工作坊来培养多元文化背景下的创造力。它们是根据一套设计原则设计的，假设当人们跨越文化界限公开表达自己时，就会出现一个创造性的过程，这样个人经历就可以联系起来，它们的意义就可以在更深层次上被发现。在2003年和2004年，我们设计并开展了五次“英语游戏店”活动，使当地一百多名小学生能够与来自不同国家的交换生进行坦诚的交流，培养了对外国和外国人民的兴趣。在我们于2003年和2004年设计和举办的三次“音乐游戏店”中，许多没有接受过音乐或乐器方面的特殊训练的参与者，学习到他们可以用日常生活中熟悉的各种物品创作出有趣的音乐。在一个国际项目中，我们通过大学和高中生之间的离线/在线交流来分析协作过程。我们发现学生的观点发生了转变，从关注个人能力的“无实体”观点，转变为“具身”观点，关注他们能与他人建立的关系，以及建立新关系的更积极的行动。分析表明，非具身观可以抑制新关系的动机，而新关系可以被具身观激活。基于这些观察，我们开发了一个跨文化合作的三阶段模型，概述了如何促进和维持这种学习过程。

We have designed many online tools and workshops to foster creativity in multicultural settings. They were designed based on a set of design principles assuming that a creative process emerges when people express themselves openly across cultural boundaries so that individual experiences can be connected and their meanings are discovered at deeper levels.In "English Playshops" which we designed and conducted five times in 2003 and 2004, over one hundred elementary school children in the local community were able to communicate openly with exchange students from several different countries and developed interests in foreign countries and people.In "Music Playshops" which we designed and conducted three times in 2003 and 2004, many participants without special training in music or musical instruments, learned that they could create interesting music using various objects that are familiar in their daily lives.We analyzed collaborative process through offline/online communication between university and high school students in an international project. We found a shift in the students from what we call a "disembodied" view, focusing on individual abilities, to an "embodied" view, focusing on relations they can create with others, associated with more positive actions toward creating new relationships. Analyses indicated that a disembodied view can suppress motivation for new relationships, which can be activated by an embodied view. Based on these observations, we have developed a three-phase model of trans-cultural collaboration, outlining how such learning process can be facilitated and sustained.