Click to view my dissertation.

Preface

In the fall of 2008, I made a whirlwind move from Punta Gorda, Toledo, Belize, to pursue graduate studies at East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville, North Carolina. The move had been planned perhaps ten years prior, right after I had completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Belize. But, the transition was only realized ten years after I completed that degree. I had successfully secured two years paid leave, an assistantship in the English Department at ECU, a visa for my daughter and me (after a serious wrangle with the American embassy), an apartment, and a seriously beat up used-car. That is, after preparing for, and successfully passing the GRE, putting together and subsequently losing a portion of my application package, and having had serious doubts about what some called my “wild plans.” I was a single mother of two young children (4 and 8 years old at the time); after all, I had a secure job that paid well, as well as a home—why did I need to move?

Moving to North Carolina, and embarking upon graduate studies, was not easy either. In my first semester, I registered for traditional onsite courses that, for three days a week, from six to nine in the evening, took me away from my home and my children. My schedule changed by the spring semester when I switched my concentration. Once I heard Dr. Sherry Southard speak at the orientation about another concentration offered in the English department, Technical and Professional Communication, I changed my concentration. (I was at ECU registered for the Multicultural and Transnational Literature concentration in the English Department.) Dr. Southard caught my attention when she described the concentration as one that was writing focused, audience focused, and one within which learners would be “learning about writing for specific purposes.” I felt that these focuses spoke specifically to those I practiced and intended within my teaching career. In addition, the technical communication concentration was offered strictly online. It was as if fate had finally lined up for me. If I had only known about a technical communication program, of course there was no way I could have possibly known, even if I heard the title it would not have meant anything to me. Technical communication was not only what I had been teaching (somewhat), but could have been the focus of study that could have spared me all the trouble, anxieties, and expenses of moving, I thought.

The problem is that online learning has not reached its full potential. My colleagues had negative attitudes towards online courses. The program seemed hesitant to offer its courses nationally, or internationally, with the exorbitant costs to distance education (DE) students (at least in comparison to what was charged to on campus students). These were problematic to me since it contrasted greatly with whom needed online education.  An additional cost for the DE program, I thought, would certainly discourage enrollment, nationally and internationally.

Once officially enrolled in the TPC program, I was unprepared for an entirely online experience. The work was demanding, feedback was impersonal, teaching strategies among the 3 instructors I had that first semester varied immensely, and I did not know what to make of my peers, as I was unable to ‘read’ them in the online environment.  Before the middle of the semester, I realized I was not the only individual who felt the challenge of the digital environment. But, by the end of the semester, I had become a great fan of taking classes in an online environment. I signed up for courses two summers in a row, in addition to those I took during the fall and spring semesters, and I traveled while completing courses. The research, and work with new technologies, was refreshing. Most importantly I had more time with my two children. An important benefit to online learning was it allowed me to work while they were in school or asleep. Online learning was the answer to much of my problems.

Consequently, online learning pedagogy became my research focus. Not only did online learning intrigue me as an educational platform, but I saw it as an important tool to help individuals, like me, who juggled the responsibilities of family and work while simultaneously completing their education. Having two-year’s paid leave, as I had, was a privilege many others were not afforded, and opportunities to learn  online could allow individuals without the privilege of paid leave to both work and pursue an education at the same time.

Another very important aspect of online learning aligned with my own background (an international background), and the flexibility inherent in providing online learning to a cross-cultural audience intrigued me especially. Coming from a developing country, a shortage of program options is often the case (a technical communication graduate program was not available in my own country); therefore, individuals from developing  nations frequently pursue graduate programs offered by universities  in countries other than their own. Technical communication is a program of study that is relatively new (less than fifty years old), even in the United States, and it is not offered by many American universities let alone universities outside of the United States. Because of this, taking online courses is an ideal solution for learners of various international backgrounds who want to study technical communication.

Several barriers exist to fully realizing online education as the foremost platform for the achievement of education for non-traditional and international learners. Continued research is the key to understanding how to overcome these barriers. The research focus I introduce here is intended to be a part of data needed to achieve effective cross-cultural online learning theory and practice.