Exercise – Fulbright Questions
January 20, 2012
With whom do you propose to work?
I intend to work with community members in the Dominican Republic where I plan on visiting three different locations.
What do you propose to do? What is exciting, new or unique about your project? What contribution will the project make to the Fulbright objective of promoting cross-cultural interaction and mutual understanding?
I propose conducting a mixed methods study about the impacts of invisible learning in these communities and how these communities use both open, closed, and pirated educational resources.
When will you carry out your study or research? Include a timeline.
This research will take place during the summer or 2012 and the summer of 2013
Where do you propose to conduct your study or research? Why is it important to go abroad to carry out your project?
Migration affects both the community of origin and the community where immigrants migrate to. The Dominican Republic is a good example of a country where a large percentage of its population lives abroad and many more hope to migrate. In addition the increased connectivity of individuals through the internet and other communication means is transforming communities throughout the world, impacting individuals’ formal and informal learning. To better understand the transnational impacts of invisible learning it is important to visit and study a country apart from the United States.
Why do you want to do it? What is important or significant about the project?
Increasingly open education has gained ground and is becoming a buzz word in education and technology sector. Individuals’ opinion of copyright and the right of access to information are being transformed in the digital age and the traditional boundaries which previously greatly dictated and influenced the transfer of knowledge are diminishing in relevance. What these new interactions and what the Web 2.0 internet means for learning, however, is yet to be fully defined. The rapid rate of change of the internet requires us to be constantly analyzing its impact. ICT and open, closed, and pirated educational resources have and will continue to become increasingly relevant to developing countries.
How will you carry out your work? All students should discuss methodology and goals in their statements.
I will carry out my work by being a participant observant, holding focus groups, conducting interviews, and asking the local population what these changes mean for them and what do these telecenters or community technology centers mean for their education, and their invisible learning. Statistical data will also be collected during the study.
How will your project help further your academic or professional development?
Understanding invisible learning and how the internet helps individual’s skill formation is pivotal for understanding learning in the 21st century. Having a strong interest in openness and access, how these technologies can democratize learning and diminish social reproduction, increasing individuals equality of opportunity is the focus of my professional career.
Your project statement should contain a clear commitment to and description of how you will engage with the host country community.
I consider myself partially Dominican, at least in the broad sense of the world. My grandfather and uncle are buried in the “Plaza of the Immortals”. They lost their lives helping to organize and overthrow of a brutal dictator and fighting in an invasion of less than 300 men. While I grew up in Venezuela, because of the exile of my grandfather, I have always felt a strong affinity for the Dominican Republic. I consider myself in some way part of this community. Apart from this, I will be conducting a participatory study as it is their voices, not my opinions that will hopefully be better understood after completing this study. Whether or not the local community feels that these technologies are helping them and how the investment in ICT compares to other viable investments will contribute to the development of future policies..
How will the culture and politics of the host country impact your work?
Hopefully it will have mostly a positive impact. I expect to be considered a distant relative by them not just a foreigner. There is a high level of corruption in the Dominican Republic but having grown up in Venezuela, I have experience living in this type of environments. I will deal with these problems as they arrive. By visiting two the Dominican Republic two different summers, I will be able to learn over time which community technology centers will be the best one to partner with and study and which community technology centers despite their initial promise will not be good locations for my study.
How do the resources of the host country support your project?
I will be a guest and visitor of ITLA, the Technological Institute of the Americas. I will also be working with the Office of the First Lady and its Rural Connectivity and Community Technology Center (CTC) initiative. They will not provide me with financial support but their support of my project will increase my access and the overall reception of my study.
If employing such research methods as extensive interviewing and the use of questionnaires, how will you locate your subjects?
The subjects, or the participants, will be those individuals that are contacted during my visit to a number of CTCs. By observing and contributing to the CTCs, I hope to gain its visitors’ trust and have the opportunity to survey and interview a large number of community members who regularly visit the Community Technology Centers.
Is your language facility adequate? If not, how will you accomplish your work?
Spanish is my first language. I am a fluent Spanish speaker.
What are your plans for improving you language skills, if they are not adequate at the time of application?
I do not plan to take any additional course in Spanish. I will practice my Spanish colloquially and adopt new vocabulary by reading and listening to the medial
