Autonomous Learning and New Possibilities for Intercultural Communication in Online Higher Education in Mexico

This chapter examines the role of autonomous learning among students and teachers mediated by information and communication technologies (ICTs) in building meaningful curricular experiences, and creating bridges between curricular and didactic development, reflective thinking and learning practices. In undertaking such analysis, the author draws on experiences from online courses that are part of distinct degree programs at the University of Guadalajara in Mexico. The chapter affirms that educators and students using autonomous learning, based on curricular experiences, can improve pedagogical and communicational interactions for a meaningful construction of knowledge in higher education, particularly when such experiences are extended into intercultural global contexts (e.g., students located in different nations using ICTs to participate in the same online class). The chapter offers a critical analysis of how autonomous learning can transform the use of ICTs and facilitate the development of more complex, diverse, inclusive and wider learning and teaching environments.