Social and cultural time refers to how different societies represent and experience the concept of time. Individuals from different cultures have varying ways of organizing, planning, and scheduling themselves based on their cultural representation of time. When designing online learning experiences, it is important to consider potential differences in how students from different cultures manage their time and participate in social and collaborative activities. Paying attention to social and cultural time can help address these differences and create more inclusive learning experiences.

1. Social & Cultural Time Francesc Llorens. UOC. 2011

2. What is Social & Cultural Time? Time acts as a kind of paradigm that derives its components from science, religion and collective imagery. Literature about Social and Cultural Time comes mainly from ethnology and antropology 1 , philosophy 2 and even the arts 3 . Except for western cultures, there is no significant historical influence of technology in the organization and representation of the Time. [1] Levy-Strauss, C. (1975). El pensamiento salvaje . México: FCE. [2] Kermode, F. (2003). El sentido de un final . Barcelona: Gedisa. See also Toboso Martín (2003): Tiempo y sujeto . PhD Thesis. Retrieved Mai 26, 2011 from http://forteza.hst.ucm.es/profes/juanfran/crono/tiempo_sujeto.htm [3] Sora i Domenjó, Carles (2010). "Fenomenología del tiempo en la representación visual interactiva". Hipertext.net , 8, http://www.upf.edu/hipertextnet/numero-8/tiempo_interaccion.html Refers to the way in which a society (or community) represents the notion of Time and considers its acts, facts and values as shaped by this representation.

3. Why is important to know about Social & Cultural Time? An exemple … Individuals of different cultures have different ways to organize, plan and schedule themselves. Japanese distance learners have a cognitive style quite different from their Europeans counterparts. They prefer to work in concrete and reflexive learning sequences rather than in abstract and active ones ( slow time ). Some studies 1 show that japanese distance learners has particular attitudes when joining virtual activities [1] Aoki, K. & Bray, E. (2006) Learning Styles of Distance Learners in Japan: Cultural Considerations. Retrieved Mai 26, 2011 from http://bit.ly/l7PFh1

4. When should we pay special attention to Social & Cultural Time when designing learning experiences? Multicultural presence in virtual classrooms. This implies to identify the possible differences in the management of the students time. Social relationships in the students communities, outside the classrooms. Teamwork participation and collaborative working 1 . When we design learning experiences with ICT, we should recognize the cultural differences among learners, and take into account at least three possible scenarios (not exclusives) in which they could appear: [1] Kirchner, F., Pass, F. & Kirchner, P.A. (2009). A cognitive load approach to collaborative learning: united brain for complex tasks. Education & Psychology . 21. 31-42.

5. THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR ATTENTION! The End