THIS ASSIGNMENT IS NOT A CONVENTIONAL RESEARCH PAPER, where you write about a particular topic from a detached perspective. Instead, this assignment is more of an exercise of your imagination, albeit with guardrails. You are being asked — okay, required — to imagine yourself actually being directly and personally engaged in carrying out some type of project in a cultural or subcultural context that differs significantly from your own cultural context. (Obviously we don’t have sufficient time within the duration of this course for anyone to actually carry out a project of this dimension and complexity that entails direct contact with a specific culture other than the class member’s own.) This could be done solo or as part of a group. But for those of you envision it as a group project, you need to presume that you have some degree of responsibility for leading the group — particularly when it comes to applying Cultural Intelligence (CQ) to navigate the cross-cultural challenges that you would be facing in carrying out the project. Why you? Because you should assume that no one else in the group has taken Cultural Anthropology with professor at university or has had any other serious exposure to the concept of Cultural Intelligence prior to embarking on this project with you as a participant in the group. So, what kind of project might you propose? It does not have to be any type of mission trip, although that is certainly a legitimate possibility. The most successful CIA projects in this Cultural Anthropology course over the years are those that somehow gave expression to a serious interest or concern on the part of the author, whether that interest or concern was of an academic nature, or personal, professional, cultural, charitable, scientific, vocational, avocational, artistic, athletic, medical -- or something else. In theory, your project might possibly be carried out in any culture or subculture in any part of the world. But it helps if you have identified a culture-specific need for your project to address. For example, one member of the 2020 class proposed to teach swimming to youth in Bangladesh, because he ran across a story about exceptionally high subteen drowning rates in that country. Someone else in the same section, drawing upon previous archival internships, proposed to work with members of the Navajo nation in making sure that their official archives adequately reflected that people’s perspectives and priorities, rather than just the U. S. Government’s priorities. Obviously these last-cited projects reflect fairly specialized skill sets on the part of the authors; please don’t allow yourself to be intimidated by these examples. With an eye toward further stimulating your thinking, here are a few other recent CIA project topics that turned out to be notably successful, in no particular order: Mediation program to provide counseling for Mexican-American immigrants in Texas Providing cultural and legal orientation to Syrian r ...

1. THIS ASSIGNMENT IS NOT A CONVENTIONAL RESEARCH
PAPER, where you write about a particular topic from a
detached perspective. Instead, this assignment is more of an
exercise of your imagination, albeit with guardrails. You are
being asked — okay, required — to imagine yourself actually
being directly and personally engaged in carrying out some type
of project in a cultural or subcultural context that differs
significantly from your own cultural context. (Obviously we
don’t have sufficient time within the duration of this course for
anyone to actually carry out a project of this dimension and
complexity that entails direct contact with a specific culture
other than the class member’s own.) This could be done solo or
as part of a group. But for those of you envision it as a group
project, you need to presume that you have some degree of
responsibility for leading the group — particularly when it
comes to applying Cultural Intelligence (CQ) to navigate the
cross-cultural challenges that you would be facing in carrying
out the project. Why you? Because you should assume that no
one else in the group has taken Cultural Anthropology with
professor at university or has had any other serious exposure to
the concept of Cultural Intelligence prior to embarking on this
project with you as a participant in the group.
So, what kind of project might you propose? It does not
have to be any type of mission trip, although that is certainly a
legitimate possibility. The most successful CIA projects in this
Cultural Anthropology course over the years are those that
somehow gave expression to a serious interest or concern on the
part of the author, whether that interest or concern was of an
academic nature, or personal, professional, cultural, charitable,
scientific, vocational, avocational, artistic, athletic, medical --
or something else. In theory, your project might possibly be
carried out in any culture or subculture in any part of the world.
But it helps if you have identified a culture-specific need for
your project to address. For example, one member of the 2020

2. class proposed to teach swimming to youth in Bangladesh,
because he ran across a story about exceptionally high subteen
drowning rates in that country. Someone else in the same
section, drawing upon previous archival internships, proposed
to work with members of the Navajo nation in making sure that
their official archives adequately reflected that people’s
perspectives and priorities, rather than just the U. S.
Government’s priorities.
Obviously these last-cited projects reflect fairly
specialized skill sets on the part of the authors; please don’t
allow yourself to be intimidated by these examples. With an eye
toward further stimulating your thinking, here are a few other
recent CIA project topics that turned out to be notably
successful, in no particular order:
Mediation program to provide counseling for Mexican-
American immigrants in Texas
Providing cultural and legal orientation to Syrian refugees in
Troy, Michigan
Conducting seminars/workshops to promote STEM education
and careers to Diné (Navajo) youth on their reservation in
Arizona
Teaching English (oral and writing) to South Korean university
students in OKC
Nonprofit bicycle ministry to homeless people in the
Netherlands, starting in Amsterdam
Counseling for Syrian refugees in Germany
Doing Bible translation for specific language groups in the
country of Georgia
Delivery of sunscreen and cancer treatment to albino people in
Tanzania, along with a public educational awareness campaign
regarding albinism
Starting a Mexican restaurant in Seoul, South Korea
Awareness campaign directed to women in Durban, South
Africa, aimed at building self-worth and promoting “baby-
boxes” in order to provide an acceptable alternative to abortion,

3. while also combating drug addiction
This is just a sampling of the topics upon which members
of my most recent Cultural Anthropology courses at university
have based their Cultural Intelligence in Action projects.
Now, here is where the “guardrails” on the infinite
potential of your creative imagination come in. From the
standpoint of academic assessment, this assignment is integrally
related to this course’s overall goal of fostering enhanced
cultural intelligence on the part of its students. It is a means of
assessing how well each student demonstrates the ability to
apply concepts taught in the course in a hypothetical real -world
situation. Each student is required to propose and describe a
specific short-term project (of two years or less in duration) that
he or she theoretically could carry out, either alone or as part of
a team, within a particular intercultural context. This project
might be related to your major or to your future career plans, or
it could be something completely unrelated. A couple of
examples of previous projects have already been mentioned.
Yours could even be a project that you are actually planning to
undertake, perhaps as early as this summer. Alternatively, it
may be something that you actually have no intention of
actually carrying out in reality. Regardless which of these
scenarios applies, the proposed project must be something that
could realistically be accomplished in reality within a two-year
time frame.
While not a conventional research paper, this project will
require some research regarding the particular designated
culture or subculture you have in mind in order for you to be
able to incorporate and correctly apply specific cultural
concepts taught in this course. In other words, if the paper turns
out to read like something that could have been written at the
beginning of the semester, it will not be successful. This means
that it must explicitly reflect course content concerning cultural
differences, as well as specific course content regarding David
Livermore’s approach to the concept of Cultural Intelligence

4. (CQ).
Regardless of the specific characteristics of the project
proposed for this assignment, the project must include some
mode of engagement with people from a culture (or subculture)
notably different from the author’s own culture. That other
culture may be local, national, or international in relation to the
Cultural Anthropology student’s cultural background or current
status. (Given the requirements of this assignment, the context
needs to be limited to one and only one culture or subculture
besides the student’s own home culture.) The fundamental
reason for this requirement is that you are required to properly
applyat least three of the specific types of cultural differences
that are examined in this course (some of which we will not yet
have studied prior to the deadline for submitting the proposal
for the project)in explaining how your proposed project would
actually be carried out. This means that this paper should
demonstrate a proper understanding not only of the specific
cultural differences highlighted but also of how those specific
cultural differences would need to be navigated in order to be
able to carry out the proposed project successfully in a manner
consistent with sound cultural intelligence. In other words, the
cultural challenges to be confronted in Culture A would likely
differ to some degree from those that would need to be
addressed in Culture B.
In the final version of the paper, which must be a minimum
of eighteen hundred (1800) words in length (show the word
count), the student should describe the nature of the proposed
project and its goals. The paper may also include intended
objectives for the project to accomplish and/or specific
challenges to be overcome. In addition, a key section of the
paper must describe the specific culture or subculture in relation
to which the proposed project would be carried out and how the
proposed project will address the circumstances of people living
in that culture. (This is where the research comes in; at least
one authoritative source rating or describing specific
characteristics of the culture or subculture that is the focus of

5. the project must be properly cited in the paper and properly
listed, either in a bibliography or a list of works cited.) The
ideas or writings of other people may not be plagiarized; instead
they should be properly cited, either in footnotes or end notes or
parenthetically within the body of the text. Quotations should
be used sparingly and properly cited. Either APA, MLA or
Turabian is an acceptable citation system to use for citations, so
long as consistency is maintained. As an indicator of student
authorship, the paper must explicitly cite at least one of the
assigned, required, or recommended sources listed in the
syllabus. It does not have to be one of the two main textbooks;
it can be any reading that is included either on the original
syllabus or on a revised course schedule
Running head: INTERNET AND DISTANCE ED 1
Internet and Distance Education Delivery Models
Jane Ford

6. EDU 400 Distance Education
Prof. John Smith
July 27, 2010
In the top half of the page, centered and double-spaced, include:
title of the paper, your first and last name, course number and
name, instructor name, and date of submission. Please note that
Ashford University APA guidelines require title pages to
include
the course instructor’s name and date. This requirement is
specific
to Ashford and is not included in the APA publication
guidelines as
outlined in the APA Publication Manual (6
th
edition).
To center a line in MS Word 2007, select the
Home tab. In the Paragraph section, choose the
Center symbol (multiple lines centered in a small
box). To center pre-existing text, highlight the text
first and follow the steps above.
Margins should be uniform, 1 inch at the top, bottom, left,
and right of every page. To change your margins, select the
Page

7. Layout tab. In the Page Setup section, click on the Margins
symbol. Clicking on Margins will present a menu of margin
settings, or you may create “custom margins.”
To insert a header in MS Word
2007:
1. Select the Insert tab. In the
Header and Footer section,
select Header, and a drop
down menu will display;
Choose Blank.
2. This will open the Header
and bring the “Header and
Footer Tools” options to the
top menu bar. Check the box
for Different First Page.
This will ensure “Running
Head:” is only listed on the
title page.
3. Clicking on Page Number
will present a menu of page
numbers. The page number
should be in the top right
corner of the paper.
4. With the page number
highlighted and the cursor in
front of the number, hit the
backspace key (the number
will move to the left) until the
cursor is aligned with the left
margin (the number will also

8. temporarily be in the left
margin).
5. Then, type “Running head:”
followed by a shortened
version of the essay’s title in
all caps.
6. After typing the “Running
Head” and title, hit the “tab”
key until the page number is
back on the right margin.
7. On page 2 of the paper,
double-click on the header
(where page 2 is listed on
the right margin). Then,
repeat steps 4-6 above.
However, insert only the
shortened title of the paper
(do not include “Running
Head:”).
For addition guidance in using MS Word 2007, go to the
Ashford Writing Center. In the Writing Resources section,
look for the Microsoft Word 2007 Basics Tutorial and the
Basic Guide for Using Microsoft Word (2007).
INTERNET AND DISTANCE ED 2
August 2010

9. Internet and Distance Education Delivery Models
Technological developments over the past twenty years have
given people across the
globe the ability to interact and obtain information at a
tremendous rate. Due to these
developments, the field of distance education is also growing at
an exponential rate, as is the
research conducted on the availability, effectiveness, and best
practices for distance learning.
This increased interest has led to a variety of options in
distance learning systems, and the
primary methods for course delivery. Distance education
courses are primarily taught via one of
three course models: synchronous, asynchronous, or blended.
Synchronous course delivery is conducted in ‘real time.’ This
means the instructors and
students are online at the same time and typically interact via
streaming video, live chat, or in a
net-meeting format. Students can post or ask questions and
receive immediate responses from
the course instructor or other students.
In the asynchronous course model the instruction is conducted
when the students and

10. instructor are not online at the same time. These classes
typically occur through a distance-
learning system that allows the users to post and respond to
messages in a specific location
within the course. For example, Ashford University conducts
online classes using the
asynchronous method. Students and instructors are assigned to
specific online courses. Within
these courses students participate in discussion forums, post
assignments, and retrieve learning
materials. Correspondence with the instructor is primarily
conducted via the online course
discussion forums and email.
The blended learning model is a combination of both
synchronous and asynchronous
delivery. The instructor may have a set lecture time during
which all students log into the system
to listen and interact with the class. The remainder of the
week’s instruction may then be
The entire paper should be double-spaced. Use the automatic
double-spacing command. Select the Page Layout tab. In the
Paragraph section, click on the small symbol on the lower right
corner of the section (downward-right facing arrow in a tiny
box).

11. This will open the Paragraph dialog box. In the Spacing section,
select “double” from the line spacing menu. Click OK.
Align the text of the essay along the left margin. Select
the Page Layout tab. In the Paragraph section, click on
the small symbol on the lower right corner of the section
(downward-right facing arrow in a tiny box). This will open
the Paragraph dialog box. In the General section, select
“Left” from the alignment menu. Click OK.
INTERNET AND DISTANCE ED 3
August 2010
conducted asynchronously by having students post additional
discussions and questions to a
specific location within the learning system.
Regardless of the delivery method, all distance-learning
systems include course
management. Within the course management system,
instructional designers, course authors,
and instructors have the ability to edit content, administer
assignments, monitor discussions, and
interact with learners. The course management features of a
distance-learning system are one of

12. the key elements for the successful delivery of a distance
education program.
An important factor in selecting a distance-learning system is
the ease with which
students and instructors can interact and understand the delivery
structure. Students’ success is
often related to their experience with the course technology. If
students are to be successful in
learning at a distance, they must be comfortable with the media
used to transmit the content of
the course. Ultimately, the distance-learning system should
enhance the learner’s experience.
Asynchronous Course Delivery
Within distance education the delivery of information occurs
through the use of various
communication methods. When the instructor and learners are
separated by time and geographic
location, asynchronous communication occurs. Asynchronous
communication does not require
the participants to interact simultaneously. Asynchronous
learning tools can be used for a
variety of teaching and workplace situations.

13. Historically, distance learning involved only the student and
instructor. Learners did not
have the opportunity to communicate with one another.
Fortunately, technological
advancements have brought much to the field of distance
learning. In the teaching arena of
online learning, asynchronous communication can be done by
way of e-mail, newsgroups for
discussions, streaming video, and audio. According to Witt &
Mossler (2001),
INTERNET AND DISTANCE ED 4
August 2010
The new opportunities that a college degree will [provide] is
made possible by the
advantages of an online education, including class work on a
more flexible schedule, ease
of doing research online, ease of collaborating with others at a
distance, and access to
universities that may be geographically far removed from where
[one] lives. Online
classes also make it possible for students to learn from working
professionals in their

14. fields who may be scattered across the country or around the
world. (Adult Learning in
the Information Age, para. 1)
Asynchronous communications allow learners to select the time
and place for class
participation. Through e-mails and other asynchronous learning
tools, students can be a part of a
learning community, set goals, and complete coursework. In the
workplace, professionals can
interact without concern for time differences or the high cost of
international phone calls. With
the asynchronous model, the user has greater control over the
acquisition of information and the
ability to set a convenient time for completing coursework,
training, or job-related activities.
Synchronous Course Delivery
Online synchronous course delivery offers students and
instructors the most similar
format to a traditional classroom learning experience. While
the instructor and students are not
located in the same place, they are interacting and
communicating at the same time. Within the

15. synchronous delivery system, there are many options for the
communication and transmission of
course content. In Transforming Learning Methods through
Online Teaching the authors address
the role of technology in improving academics, including the
benefits of synchronous learning,
particularly for the younger students and their familiarity with
“chat room” type technology.
Bach, Haynes & Lewis Smith (2006) state, “Synchronous
communication develops its own
curios and quite different type of narrative when compared with
face to face discussion, and
This quote is greater than 40 words.
Therefore, block quotation style
should be used. For blocked quotes,
indent and double-space each line.
INTERNET AND DISTANCE ED 5
August 2010
there is often a text based ‘stream of consciousness’” (p. 135).
Synchronous delivery of course
instruction also allows for immediate feedback. In the
asynchronous delivery model, learners

16. must often wait for feedback or answers to questions.
An effective synchronous delivery system motivates the learner,
provides sufficient time
for learner and facilitator interaction, and operates the cour se at
a steady rate, allowing the
learners time to reflect and ask questions. Like the
asynchronous course delivery model, a
successful synchronous delivery system can also provide
participants with an effective and
challenging learning experience.
Blended Learning Course Delivery
While asynchronous and synchronous learning systems each
offer a specialized approach
to distance learning, a blended learning system can combine the
tools of both systems to present
an effective and convenient learning experience. According to
Watson (2010), “…blended
learning combines online delivery of educational content with
the best features of classroom
interaction and live instruction…” (p. 4) For example, training
for supervisors may be divided
into various sections. One section’s content may be taught via

17. CD-ROM with the learners
interacting through a newsgroup or discussion board. The next
section may be taught in the
classroom setting. Fundamentally, current blended learning
models represent a transfer in
instructional strategies, similar to the way in which online
learning demonstrated a change in the
delivery and instructional models for learning at a distance
(Watson, 2010).
Course Management Systems
The distance education boom has led many institutions on a
search for a management
system capable of delivering courses, sharing information,
while managing the varied and often
complex learning tools. As shared by Caplow (2006), the most
significant aspects of the course
Generally, citations should have the
last name of the author(s) and the
year of publication. Direct quotations
should include the page number
(paragraph or heading section for
works without page numbers).

18. INTERNET AND DISTANCE ED 6
August 2010
management system include the ability to provide course
materials in a web based format, access
to online exams, links to course materials, in addition to a
system that supports student and
faculty interaction in discussions and evaluation. Given the
increasing number of options
available in distance education, the task of finding a course
management system that offers the
necessary options, along with the ability to interact with other
technology solutions, can be
daunting. The decision to implement a courseware management
system cannot be pieced
together. All distance learning systems, from blended learning
systems to content management,
must have the capability and the resources necessary to interact
with the course management
system.
Learning technologies have opened the doors to a wide variety
of options for distance
education delivery, and each learning model has benefits and

19. limitations (Picciano, 2001). The
internet and learning technologies provide the means for
transmitting content, managing courses,
and promoting the interaction of the instructor and learners.
When selecting technology for a
distance-learning program, the system that provides the best
learning approach should be
utilized. Around the world, students can join the same class,
share information, and learn
together. The field of distance education and the various
learning systems are continually being
revised and improved. Ideally, the most effective distance
learning system is one that provides
students with the resources to be a successful distance learner.
Additional APA Format Tips:
- All terminal punctuation (e.g., period, question mark) is
followed by two spaces.
One space is used in reference citations, initials, abbreviations,
and with
commas, colons, and semicolons.
- Do not hyphenate words at the end of a line.
- Always have at least two lines of a paragraph at the top or
bottom of a page.
o Under the Home tab, in the Paragraph section, click on the
small

20. symbol on the lower right corner of the section (downward-right
facing
arrow in a tiny box). This will open the Paragraph dialog box.
In the
Paragraph dialog box, click on the Line and Page Breaks tab to
ensure
that the Widdow/Orphan control is checked.
INTERNET AND DISTANCE ED 7
August 2010
References
Bach, S., Haynes, P., & Lewis Smith, J. (2006). Online learning
and teaching in higher
education [ebrary Reader version]. Retrieved from
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10197006
Caplow, J. (2006). Where do I put my course materials?
Quarterly Review of Distance
Education, 7(2), 165-173. Abstract retrieved from ERIC
(Accession No. EJ875031)
Picciano, A. G. (2001). Distance learning: Making connections
across virtual space and
time. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Watson, J. (2010, June). Blended learning: The convergence of

21. online and face to face
education. Promising practice in online learning. Retrieved from
North American
Council for Online Learning: http://www.inacol.org
Witt, G. A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). Adult development and
life assessment. Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu/books/4
Indent the second and subsequent
line of each reference five to seven
spaces (also referred to as a “hanging
indent”). Double-space each entry.
Alphabetize your references by the author’s last
name. Use initials for the first and middle names.
Online library entries should either be cited
the same as a print article, or use the home
page URL of the journal. If a Digital Object

22. Identifier (DOI) is available, it should be
used in place of the URL.
If you have more than one entry with the same author AND
published
in the same year, add a lowercase letter after the year both here
and
in your in-text citations, for instance, (2001a) and (2001b).
Samples of citations and references (APA 6
th
Ed.) are
located in the Ashford Writing Center.