Wednesday, October 10, 2001

In Videoconferences, San Jose Students Discuss International Affairs with Russian Peers By BROCK READ Title: "Introduction to International Relations" Institution: San Jose State University Instructor: Sharyl Cross, a professor of political science Course content: "Introduction to International Relations" is a general-education course that examines its topic through a multidisciplinary lens, drawing on history, psychology, and religious studies, as well as on political science. Students are asked to analyze historical views on war, trade, and diplomacy, and to assess recent conflicts in Kosovo and Chechnya and the United States' declared battle against terrorism. How delivered: Readings from a course packet and online threaded discussions are combined with what Ms. Cross says is the most memorable element of the course -- a schedule of videoconferences that allows students at San Jose State to interact with their peers at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Ms. Cross first used the technology to interact with San Jose State students while she was on a Fulbright scholarship at the Moscow institution, in 1999. Since then, she and Gennady Gladkov, vice rector of the institute in Moscow, have worked to establish online connections between students taking similar courses at the two locations. At a few points during the course, students at both institutions meet in actual classrooms for live, two-hour discussions, in which current events and topics drawn from readings are broached. Ms. Cross says that the course uses NetMeeting software from Microsoft University and that the time difference between Moscow and San Jose has been the only logistical problem with the live conferences. Each student is also given the e-mail address of a partner in Moscow or at the Institute of Political Studies in Lille, a French institution. Throughout the course, the correspondents share their thoughts on international relations; the students from abroad trade perspectives with their American counterparts on the research papers in which the course culminates. Course requirements: Students are graded for their weekly discussion-board postings, which cover topics such as free trade, sources of conflict in Chechnya, and gender in international politics. They must also complete the research paper, in which they must stake out a clear position on a matter of international debate. The papers are posted online so that students arguing for opposite viewpoints can dissect their classmates' analyses. The course also includes midterm and final exams that focus on material from the readings and discussions. Each week, students complete ungraded quizzes that allow them to track their progress in understanding the readings. When offered: Fall Enrollment: Ms. Cross caps the course at 35 students. "More than that would be difficult to manage," she says. Unusual features: The videoconferencing has been a unique learning experience for both colleges, Ms. Cross says. "One of the things that I think has been interesting on the Russian side is the diversity that they find in our institution," she says. "The Russian students were surprised at American students' arguments on Kosovo. I think it was very helpful to them to see that there's no common point of view" in the United States. Instructor comment: The course "is all about using these new technologies in the service of international education," according to Ms. Cross. "We see this as a way of building ties with other institutions around the world." She says the videoconferencing brings an indelible human face to the field of international relations: "The students all say it's something they'll never forget." Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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