Over the past four years, eleven faculty members and three administrators from Bryant College have participated in projects that have allowed us to teach, work, and conduct research in the Newly Independent States (NIS). Bryant's Collaborative Learning at a Distance (CLD) Project with the NIS has evolved from these endeavors.

The idea for the CLD Project originated in the spring of 1996 when we made our first trip to Minsk, Belarus, to conduct research for a U.S. Department of Defense grant on technology transfer and product commercialization in the NIS. While in Minsk, we also delivered guest lectures at the European Humanities University (EHU) and engaged in thoughtful discussions with university faculty and students. These experiences caused us to realize that students at Bryant and at EHU would accrue enormous benefits from exchanging ideas and sharing their common as well as their uncommon experiences via distance learning technologies. At the time, however, we were only vaguely aware of the practical and technological requirements for implementing a program that would promote transnational interactions of this type.

Today, some three years later, Bryant College has embarked on an exciting Collaborative Learning at a Distance Project with the European Humanities University that allows Bryant students and NIS students to work together in academic endeavors via the web and other distance learning technologies. The CLD Project focuses on strengthening the relationship between students at Bryant and EHU. However, a few students from other NIS universities, including Moscow State University and Envila Women's College in Minsk, also participate in the project (Litoff, Ilacqua, & Langlois 1998, June).

A small but dedicated interdisciplinary team of Bryant faculty has devoted considerable time and energy to the establishment of the CLD Project. Among the faculty who have played key roles in the development of the project are Lori Coakley, Assistant Professor of Management, Joseph A. Ilacqua, Professor of Economics, John Jolley, Associate Professor of History, Gaytha A. Langlois, Professor of Ecology, David Lux, Professor of History, Judy Barrett Litoff, Professor of History, and Harold Records, Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems (Litoff, Ilacqua, & Langlois 1998, December). 

As the project has evolved, we have formed strong ties with colleagues, students, and friends in Belarus and other NIS republics (Ilacqua & Litoff 1998). With the help of grants and contracts from the United States Information Agency (USIA), the United States Department of Defense, the United States Department of Energy, and Bryant College, several of us have had the opportunity to travel to the NIS two or three times each year since 1996 (Litoff & Ilacqua 1997, Zulauf & Ilacqua 1997). These visits have enabled us to teach at NIS universities, conduct research, present training programs, lead trade missions, and deliver papers at international conferences (Litoff 1997). Our on-site visits to the NIS, ranging in length from six days to six weeks, have played a critical role in our ability to set the CLD Project in motion (Ilacqua, Litoff, et al., 1998). Similar grants have made it possible for more than a dozen faculty and staff from universities and institutes in the NIS to be in residence at Bryant.

While we are committed to the development of a distance learning project that promotes collaborative learning across national boundaries, we are also firmly convinced that it has been our regular, personal contact with NIS colleagues, students, and friends that has made it possible for us to launch this venture. No matter how sophisticated distant learning technologies may be, they can never replace the power and intensity of human interactions.

In developing the CLD Project, we have used networking skills to bring together academicians from leading non-state and state-supported organizations in Belarus. We work closely with the American Studies Center of the European Humanities University, the first non-state university to be established in Belarus, as well as the state-supported Information Technologies Center (ITC) of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the country's leading scientific and research center. The award of a three-year (1997-2000) College and University Affiliations Grant from USIA to promote American Studies and Civics Education at EHU has provided initial funding for the CLD Project. A 1996-1997 contract from the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (IPP) Program of the Department of Energy provided us with the occasion to engage in a significant project with the Director and Assistant Director of the ITC. Quite naturally, therefore, we turned to the ITC for technical assistance as we developed the CLD Project.

The core of the Collaborative Learning at a Distance Project involves the teaching of three pilot, interactive, web-based courses for Bryant and NIS students during the 1998-1999 academic year. These courses are (1) The History of American Technology, (2) Environmental Policy: Technology, Business and Government, and (3) Cultures and Economies in Transition in the Post Soviet Era.

The course that we teach, Cultures and Economies in Transition in the Post Soviet Era, is an upper-level, interdisciplinary seminar in history and economics. The presentation of the course to NIS students is in conjunction with the regular, on campus, schedule of the course. The course syllabus, supplementary materials, reading notes, and student projects are all published on the web at http://www.bryant.edu/~history/h385nis/index.htm. Students may reference the web site for relevant web links, the class calendar and assignments, research guidelines, and materials that students in previous semesters have developed. Students also learn first-hand about cultures and economies in transition by taking part in an ongoing international virtual roundtable discussion via e-mail.

While the technical requirements of distance learning projects can be exceedingly demanding, Bryant's CLD Project with the NIS has been designed as a relatively inexpensive and modest program with few "bells and whistles." We have rejected sophisticated software packages with white boards, chat rooms, and other synchronistic features. Time differences, time lags, and the technological realities of the NIS limit the value and usefulness of utilizing complex distance learning technologies of this type. We consult regularly with information technology specialists at Bryant, EHU, and the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus to ensure that we use the best and most cost-effective technologies that are suitable for the resources that are available in both the U.S. and the NIS. In designing the CLD project, we have steadfastly held to the view that distance learning technology is a tool to be used to advance collaborative learning across national and cultural boundaries. We are aware of how technological gimmicks and games can impede the advancement of knowledge, and we have conscientiously guarded the project from being overpowered by technology.

Specific strategies, not applicable to Bryant students, have been required for selecting EHU students for the CLD Project. Because CLD courses are taught in English, we must target students who have solid English language skills. Fortunately, many university students in the NIS have good command of the English language.

The rigidity of the university curriculum in the NIS is another impediment that confronts students who are interested in participating in the project. Throughout the NIS, university curricula and requirements are strictly regulated by Ministries of Education. CLD web-based courses do not qualify as required courses by these Ministries of Education. On more than one occasion, NIS students have told us that they are enthusiastic about participating in the project, but that they cannot fit "elective" web-based courses within their tight schedules. Consequently, we must appeal to highly motivated students who often find it necessary to take CLD courses as overloads.

Even with these difficulties, EHU student support for the CLD Project has far exceeded our expectations. In fact, we have found it necessary to establish a cap of eight EHU students per course. During this pilot phase of the project, we have assumed CLD responsibilities on a volunteer basis, and we cannot accommodate more NIS students without adjustments to our own teaching schedules.

We attribute the enthusiastic response of EHU students to the CLD Project to the many personal interactions that we have had with NIS students and faculty over the past three years. For example, during our visits to Minsk, we have hosted receptions for EHU students where we have discussed the project and encouraged them to participate in this pioneering endeavor. We have conducted seminars for EHU faculty on the philosophy and methodology of collaborative learning, and we have presented hands-on demonstrations of distance learning technologies.

Decisive Role of EHU Faculty in CLD Project

We invite visiting EHU faculty in residence at Bryant to participate in the courses that are part of the CLD Project. This, in turn, encourages them to develop a sense of ownership in the management and outcomes of the project. When they return to Belarus, we rely on these faculty to help identify prospective CLD students. Frequently, returning faculty also serve as on-site advisors for the CLD courses.

Each of the three web-based courses offered by Bryant faculty is overseen by an EHU faculty member who is responsible for the implementation and management of the course. These on-site advisors play a decisive role in the CLD Project. To begin with, they must make certain that students know how to use the computer, communicate via e-mail, and surf the web. Other responsibilities include overseeing the assignment of personal e-mail addresses, explaining course requirements and procedures, ensuring that required texts and other educational materials are readily available, and consulting with Bryant faculty on a regular basis about a broad range of issues. These faculty advisors also meet with CLD students as a group once a week to discuss assigned readings, evaluate student progress, and address special issues that may arise.

We have encountered many logistical and technical challenges, some of which were anticipated, others of which were not. For example, NIS semesters do not ordinarily correspond with academic semesters in the United States. At EHU, the fall semester begins in early October and ends in late January. The spring semester begins in early March and ends in late June. Adjustments to course syllabi have had to be made to accommodate for these different schedules. In addition, we have extended our roles as CLD faculty to conform with the EHU semester system.

Rarely are the required textbooks and supplementary educational materials for the CLD courses available in the NIS. This means that each semester we must send copies of all required textbooks and supplementary materials, including documentary videos, to EHU. Usually, we ask that copies of the books and reading materials be placed on reserve in the library, as we do not have the funds to provide individual copies of all required works for each enrolled NIS student. Given the chaotic economic situation in the NIS, it is unreasonable and impractical to expect EHU students to purchase highly priced American textbooks.

Ensuring quick and reliable access to the web is another complication that we have had to face. With time and patience, NIS students can usually access CLD courses over the web. However, accessing web sites can take thirty minutes or even longer, and the navigation of these sites is often slow and cumbersome. To resolve this problem, we send updated CD-ROM versions of the CLD web sites to EHU on a regular basis. CD-ROMs that are run on computers connected to the web provide students with full entry to the CLD courses, including the ability to access hyperlinks.

E-mail communication between the United States and the Newly Independent States has proven to be more difficult than we had originally anticipated. While U.S. students are accustomed to sending and receiving scores of e-mail messages each day, NIS students are usually forced to ration their e-mail correspondence. A small minority of NIS students have access to e-mail through their personal home computers; but most NIS students depend on under-equipped (by U.S. standards) university computer laboratories for electronic communication. While U.S. students are routinely assigned university e-mail addresses, NIS students are rarely provided with their own personal, university e-mail address. In fact, one of the perks of participating in the CLD Project is the assignment of a personal e-mail address. Unfortunately, even when students are assigned e-mail addresses, they often discover that access to university computer laboratories is limited.

The seven-hour time difference between the East Coast of the United States and Belarus presents still another problem with e-mail communication. E-mails dispatched from the U.S. to the NIS after 2:00 p.m. will not ordinarily be read until the next day. Moreover, there are those frustrating times when important e-mails inexplicably bounce back with the daunting message "fatal error." Consequently, quick back and forth e-mail communication so common on American campuses does not usually take place between students in the U.S. and the NIS.

In order to encourage synchronistic e-mail communication with students enrolled in Cultures and Economies in Transition in the Post Soviet Era, we have adopted e-mail office hours on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. (6:00 until 8:00 p.m. in Belarus). By choosing these e-mail office hours, we are able to avoid the busy use of the Internet in Belarus during the mid and late afternoon. Moreover, the Thursday period from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. is a time when EHU students have assigned access to the university computer laboratory. We also encourage our Bryant students to be on-line at this time.

To promote regular e-mail correspondence among students enrolled in Cultures and Economies in Transition, we have also introduced the concept of the international virtual roundtable discussion that is supported by a list serve composed of all students and faculty in the course. To facilitate virtual roundtable discussions, we require Bryant students to send a minimum of two e-mails each week to EHU students. We also ask Bryant students to keep hard copies of all e-mail correspondence that they send and receive. During intervals and at the end of the semester, we evaluate these e-mails. The shortage and high cost of paper in the NIS prohibits EHU students from keeping hard copies of their e-mail correspondence, but we do require that they keep a log and journal of their e-mail communication with their Bryant counterparts.

The virtual roundtable discussion permits students from both countries to get to know each other and to be introduced to the similarities and differences of each other's cultures. At the same time, e-mail communication is also intended to provide students with the opportunity to share informed opinions about assigned readings, special topics under discussion, and recent news about the NIS. Indeed, a major purpose of the virtual roundtable discussion is to help students learn how to communicate across cultures as they learn first-hand about economies in transition. We also anticipate that student mentoring, intellectual exchanges, and international friendships will evolve from this process. Our hope is that as the protocol of the virtual roundtable discussion is refined transnational student research projects will evolve and be incorporated into the course. Having just embarked on this venture, however, we readily acknowledge that we have much to learn about facilitating and evaluating virtual roundtable discussions.

The virtual roundtable discussion represents the primary way that interactions take place between Bryant and EHU students enrolled in Cultures and Economies in Transition. In addition, we enhance the chance for students to get to know each other by placing digital photographs of classroom activities on the course web site. Occasionally, internet-based teleconferencing technologies are used. We also videotape classes that feature special events or guest speakers.

The CLD Project, in general, and Cultures and Economies in Transition, in particular, offer students from very different cultures the opportunity to collaborate with each other as they address pressing historical and contemporary issues. We are still in the pilot phase of the project, but judging from the successes thus far, we are confident that we can expand this program to include a much broader representation of students in the NIS. With the rapid expansion of distance learning technologies, traditional geo-political boundaries are no longer the formidable barriers that they once were. As Bryant College's Collaborative Learning at a Distance Project with the NIS has already demonstrated, students from diverse regions of the world can work together in academic endeavors to expand their knowledge about themselves and others.

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We would like to offer a special thank you to Carolyn A Cahill, an undergraduate Computer Information Systems concentrator at Bryant. We have relied heavily on her skills and expertise for the construction and maintenance of our course web site, Cultures and Economies in Transition in the Post Soviet Era.

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