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tween different age groups, such that the younger
age group (17-19 years) reported more positive
attitudes than the older age group (21-32 years).
It is possible that this may relate to differences in
education and exposure to the Internet.
In some cases (Chioncel, Van Der Veen, Nil-
demeersch, & Jarvis, 2003; Mehrotra, 2003), both
younger and older learners with the same educa-
tional background reported that participating in an
age-diverse group was a positive experience. Older
learners felt that the younger group respected their
opinions, and the age mix in the virtual classroom
finally provides a multitude of ideas. Instructors
noted that older learners fear failure, more than
younger learners (Chioncel et al., 2003). There
has also been expressed the opinion that older
learners have difficulty with multitasking, and as
a result, require more understanding from other
learners regarding their capabilities. Furthermore,
older adult learners are less confident in using
information and communication technologies
and need more time to remember the necessary
information for understanding the material.
Consequently, if they feel confident and relaxed,
being a part of the educational environment, they
will learn more.
Older adult learners most commonly have their
own views and opinions on certain subjects, and
therefore, they will challenge teachers on the in-
formation that they give. The teacher has to invent
ways in order to get older adults to challenge their
ways of thinking and open their minds to new ways
of perceiving knowledge (Mehrotra, 2003). Older
adults also have a lot of maturity regarding their
studies and will give help and advice to younger
students. They have better attendance, are more
mannerly, and in most cases are more grateful for
the opportunity to learn.
The instructor would confront age differences
within the members of a virtual team by using in-
formation summarized below (Liang & McQueen,
1999; Merriam & Simpson, 2000):
• Age differences and barriers may be ad-
dressed by tailoring distance programs or by
creating peer groups with similar learning
backgrounds and interest.
• Delivery systems for different age groups
relate most prominently to the amount of—
and degree of—interactivity. Therefore,
instructors must facilitate interactivity pro-
cedures between the participants of different
age groups, introducing both synchronous
(e.g., chat) and asynchronous (e.g. e-mail)
ways of communication.
• Instructors must also analyze all the evidence
concerning the individual characteristics
of any participant related to age, like prior
educational background, professional skills,
and expectations, and suggest realistic solu-
tions that confront any potential learning
issue on an equal basis for each and every
learner. In order for this to happen, instruc-
tors should receive feedback information
(with interviews, interactive exercises, etc.)
throughout the learning procedure.
• Since older adult learners are more sensi-
tive to failure, they need more individual or
one-to-one attention.
The above discussion concerning the social
differences among learners in a CSCL educational
environment is being summarized in Table 1.
The first column contains the Differential Fac-
tor corresponding to Social Differences and the
second column the Behavioral Attitude affecting
Learner- Learner Interactions that might occur
in a CSCLE.
CulturAl diFFerenCes
Cultural differences focus on how individuals'
values, beliefs, norms, communication styles, and
study behaviours are influenced by the culture
in which they grew up or live. Cultural differ-
ences may help the instructors to understand
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