Abstract
A proper development of computing which penetrate our society more thoroughly with the availability of broadband services is provided by varied cooperative networks. However, the success of social dimension of computing requires collaboration within a multicultural environment to be considered. Aim of the following chapter is to analyze collaboration within the social dimension of computing on the pedagogical discourse. The meaning of the key concepts of social dimension of computing, collaboration and its factors is studied within the search for the success of social dimension. The manuscript introduces the study conducted within the Baltic Summer School Technical Informatics and Information Technology in 2009. The conducted explorative research comprises four stages: exploration of the contexts of collaboration, analysis of the students’ needs (content analysis), data processing, analysis and data interpretation, and analysis of the results and elaboration of conclusions and hypothesis for further studies.
TopState-Of-The-Art
The modern issues of global developmental trends emphasize “a prime importance in sustainable development that is to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Zimmermann, 2003, p. 9). Thus, sustainable personality, and, consequently, computer user, is “a person who sees relationships and inter-relationships between nature, society and the economy” (Rohweder, 2007, p. 24). In other words, this is a person who is able to develop the system of external and internal perspectives, and in turn this system development becomes a main condition for the sustainable computer user to develop. For instance, the concern of the European Union, namely, to become “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion” (European Commission, 2004, p. 2) demonstrates the significance of developing the system of external and internal perspectives for the development of humans, institutions, society and mankind. Thus, the life necessity to develop the system of two perspectives, namely, external and internal, determines the research methodology of collaboration within the social dimension of computing, as highlighted in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Developing the system of external and internal perspectives as a life necessity
However, in real life sustainable computer user is often realized from one of the perspectives:
Key Terms in this Chapter
Level of collaboration: a result where product is seen as the objective aspect
Sustainable Computer User: a person who is able to develop the system of external and internal perspectives, and in turn this developing the system of external and internal perspectives becomes a main condition for the sustainable computer user to develop
The social dimension of computing (or socialization): a dimension of Web 2.0
Criterion: a key element of the research subject to classify the subject of the research
Construct: a sub-element of the research subject
Indicator: an element of the research subject to determine the developmental dynamics of the subject in the frame of research