Leadership and Values in Language Education - Al Akhawayn ...

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38Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual Conferencemarkedly different from those commonly observed in face-to-face settings.Research suggests that communication and the very nature of the group itselfchanges when interactions are computer-mediated.”CMC is even more crucial for a community of professionals as in the case ofMATE as an NGO. MATE’s successes and achievements are significantlyattributed to its effective use on online communication. It is for this reason thatonline communication has been adopted as one of the important strategic choicesby MATE.2. Leadership elements in online communicationWhen dealing with leadership through online communication certain terms comeinto play such as e-moderation, e-leadership, e-management, etc. In the case ofonline communication both management and leadership are of equal importance.In order to exercise effective leadership using online communication tools,effective management is required especially with the absence or the limited use offace-to-face communication. E-moderating is another quality that the leadershould care for when dealing with online communication. Much of thecommunication acts are conducted online which requires more effectivemoderation of communication such as disseminating information, initiatingdiscussion, highlighting main points, summarizing and restating, keepingcommunication alive by involving all concerned members, taking decisions whencommunication has come to that, etc.The leader of an NGO, MATE in our case, using online communication tools hasto consider the following elements:• The members (participating in online communication) as a group ofpeople who believe in the importance of change;• The objectives of the association whose main concern is closely related toeducation in general and language education in particular;• Modeling in the sense of presenting oneself as a model of transparency,an information sharing person, an active participant in onlinecommunication, and one who is open to differences;• Conflict resolution through objective reasoning and attending to differentconflicting standpoints with the view to reach consensus on practicalsolutions;
39Proceedings of the 27 th MATE Annual Conference• Problem solving through the dissemination of information, consideringvaried views and democratically coming to effective solutions anddecisions;• The creation of an online community with solid ties, involvement invarious stages of management and the feeling of belonging to a groupworking towards shared objectives;• The communicators in the NGO as a community of leaders who are readyto acquire leadership skills and play an influential role in the communitythey belong to;• The different roles and rules involved in online communication.3. Values through online communicationNGOs work and activities principally revolve around values as NGOs are mainlynon-lucrative associations. In situations like in the case of MATE wherecommunication among its members and board members is most often carried outthrough online tools, there are certain values that gain more importance andhence require more attention. Among these values, the following can bementioned:• The NGO as a virtual group with values (as different from face-to-facecommunities and groups). We do not always know our members by facebut as virtual entities with whom we share the same values;• Communication and interaction as very important values (even moreimportant than in the case of face-to-face contexts);• The importance of the tools as carriers of values (online environments,online management systems, online communities within the associationthat share specific values and interests)• Shared professional values as the association is mainly composed of acommunity of practice (professionals);• The amplified importance given to certain values mainly linked todemocracy, transparency and dialogue ethics;• The magnified role via communication of mutual respect, politeness andpublicly acknowledged ethics (in the absence of facial expressions andbody language);• Trust, credibility and integrity in speech and action especially thatexpressed views, taken decisions and declared commitments are presentedin a virtual world (which cannot be tangible when the connection is off);• Acceptance, respect of differences and tolerance;
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