From: "Swisher, Bob" <bswisher@ou.edu>
To: "'it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu'" <it-fyi@listserv.ou.edu>
Subject: it-fyi: Students & Foreign-Policy On Line in Maryland Program (C
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 15:36:59 -0500
Students Negotiate Foreign-Policy Issues On Line in U. of Maryland
Program
By BIANCA P. FLOYD
A delegation representing the United States proposes a new international
organization to help shape global trade policy. The team from India
agrees, but says it is concerned that the United States would dominate
such an organization. In a message to Brazil, Germany, and Namibia, the
British team suggests finding ways to improve existing organizations,
but does not rule out supporting a new one.
Unlike most foreign-policy negotiations, however, this one takes place
without huge conference tables and assembled delegations. It is an
electronic-message stream in which students around the world are
conducting simulated international negotiations under the
aegis of Project ICONS.
The project -- ICONS stands for International Communication and
Negotiation Simulations -- was created by Jonathan Wilkenfeld, chairman
of the government-and-politics department at the University of Maryland
at College Park. Using computers and communicating over the Internet,
students act as negotiators, debating foreign policy on issues as
diverse as nuclear proliferation, human rights, drug trafficking, and
trade.
Mr. Wilkenfeld "started doing this kind of thing with his classes in the
late 1970s," says Betsy Kielman, managing director of ICONS. The
simulations help students understand "theoretical issues associated with
comparative foreign policy and how nations make decisions about their
political and economic future."
Initially, Mr. Wilkenfeld's students negotiated face to face. As
technology improved, however, he realized that computers offered an
opportunity to reach out to students at other locations, providing a
more realistic experience. Students from more than 40 colleges in the
United States and other countries have since participated in the
simulations, for which their institutions pay Maryland a fee.
ICONS allows students to create and test negotiation strategies as
members of teams. At the same time, it exposes them to cultural
differences and varying approaches to solving world problems.
To start the five-week process, students are presented with a scenario
about a given international issue or situation. Working as "country
teams," they conduct research and develop position statements that
detail the goals and strategies of the region or country they represent.
The students communicate using both e-mail and on-line conferences.
This fall, Ms. Kielman says, ICONS will also begin offering shorter
simulations in which participants can focus on issues tailored to
specific geographical areas. The new options, she says, will open up
opportunities for faculty members who are teaching courses on regional
concerns, such as Asian politics or Middle East water rights.
The new simulations will include one focused on setting a regional
agenda for security in Europe and another about identity and
nation-building in Africa. The shorter simulations, which will run three
weeks, will enable faculty members to use the material as a
module within a course.
ICONS also makes available an on-line library with access to links,
search engines, the texts of treaties, the home pages of international
organizations, and other resources.
"We have made a deliberate effort to attempt to integrate the research
possibilities of the World-Wide Web into the game itself," says Ms.
Kielman. "We used to get complaints from teachers that used to say their
communities were research-poor." She says that all participants now have
sufficient resources to participate competently.
Country teams are charged $600 for five-week global simulations and will
be charged $300 for the regional simulations. The fees cover computer
costs incurred by the University of Maryland, as well as costs of
materials, administration, and technical support.
Copyright © 1998 by The Chronicle of Higher Education