Prendes P., Martínez-Sánchez F., Castañeda L. J., 2008

Migrations and the Net: new virtual spaces to build a cultural identity

http://www.elearningeuropa.info/files/media/media14902.pdf

This paper presents some of the reflections, projects and results around the topics of multiculturalism and migration attained by the Educational Technology Research Group at the University of Murcia, some of them integrated in the Interuniversity Cooperation programmes promoted by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI). We pretend to analyze how the appropriate use of ICT in educational contexts allows to maintain the cultural characteristics of a community, while helping at the same time to promote a better knowledge and acceptance of other cultures..

Spanish current young immigrants (most of them first or second generation) are suffering different types of acculturation as a result of various factors, which are conditioning their lifestyle and relationship models within the host culture. Among these factors, the descendant acculturation and assimilation are two significant barriers towards achieving a society with a real and sustainable model of multicultural co-existence.

School is a very intense communicative environment for children, and in the primary stages it is the most significant space of interaction both to acquire the culture of the host society or for loosing the original one, as well as for disseminating, understanding and accepting both. We are living in a technological world which presents great opportunities to establish networks of communication and open our minds to relationships with other people and cultures. Our projects seek to provide answers through technology to all the challenges posed by the current realities of migration, using as a basis one of the most important elements in the adaptation of humans to their environment: education..