Electronic Mail as a Pedagogical Tool to Teach International Accounting

This paper reports on the use of electronic mail (e-mail) as a pedagogical tool in accounting instruction. E-mail has potential significance as a teaching tool particularly from its ability to link students internationally. It is therefore of particular interest in teaching international accounting. It provides a low-cost, relatively easy-to-implement approach to enhance instruction of comparative international accounting regulation and practices. However, application of e-mail to many other classroom situations is discussed. E-mail was used as a means of accounting instruction in a joint international accounting project between students at University College Dublin and at The University of Texas at Arlington. The project, a joint comparative study of Irish/UK versus US accounting practices, was conducted entirely by e-mail. The paper reports how e-mail expanded the learning experiences of students working together internationally. This paper establishes the feasibility of using e-mail as part of students' learning experiences. Further research is underway to measure specific learning improvements attributable to e-mail as a method of instruction and to examine whether e-mail has potential as an effective teaching tool.