Seeing People with Disabilities as a Culture in the E-Learning Environment

A statement by the President’s Council on Disability: “Technology for most people makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible.”

The Cultural Adaptation of E-Learning

Culturally appropriate instructional design requires the integration of instructional design skills with intercultural knowledge. In e-learning, as in classroom-based courses, courses that accommodate the learning styles and cultural preferences of the targeted learners will offer the best—and fastest—learning outcomes. In this chapter, the author illustrates how to modify an existing e-learning course—or design one ‘from scratch’—that aligns the course content, the instructional methodologies (including activities and assessments) and the technology to the needs and environment of learners in other countries. The ‘smart’ instructional designer conducts a cultural analysis and makes validated changes to e-learning courses, before they are sent for translation, localization, or final production.

Translating E-Learning Courses

More frequently, universities and corporations are faced with the challenge of having e-learning courses translated into other languages for learners in other countries or for specialized groups. However, the translation process, especially for e-learning, requires several considerations before spending those dollars. In this resource chapter, a translation industry professional, experienced with quoting translation bids, offers tips on how to prepare content for translation and what to consider with respect to translating typical e-learning components, like video, voice over, etc. The author orients you to the project management side of translation - so you know what to expect from your language service provider (LSP), when, and why - and shares best practices that help you avoid common mistakes like trying to ‘do it yourself’.

Teaching Students in Mainland China

This case study examines the design, implementation and cultural challenges of delivering an online university course to a group of 21 Mainland Chinese educators. Culturally influenced challenges included: culturally different learning styles, inhibited online communication, and language issues. A mid-course survey and an end of the semester course evaluation tool provided anecdotal data to facilitate enacting solutions for the challenges presented in the design and delivery of the course.

Culturally Significant Signs, Symbols, and Philosophical Belief Systems within E-Learning Environments

The contextual backdrop of the problem and goal of the study are based within the framework that the researchers wanted to be sure that the courses were unique in their appropriateness to their respective cultures; but they also wanted to see if the course adaptations provided cultural values and perspectives that were fairly consistent and appropriate across cultures and nations. The methodology is qualitative in nature, specifically focused upon development design research and narrative inquiry. The findings suggest that there were several levels of concern: learner concerns; instructional design or teaching concerns; management and organizational concerns; and, technology concerns. This study has addressed the question “what lessons could be learned from semiotic and philosophical instructional imperatives inclusion within e-learning environments?” As such, the interpretation of the findings of the study shed light on the importance of simple mediation tools, such as signs, symbols, and stories. The implications of the findings indicate that more research could shed light on how to help students feel comfortable enough to follow through and complete their e-learning courses. In viewing best practices for e-learning, students’ existent knowledge can be bridged with what they need to know by using a variety of the semiotic tools discussed in this study.

Integrating Culture with E-Learning Management System Design

Although it is a legal requirement of all organizations to permit sensorially, cognitively, and physically disabled persons equitable access to public website information, cultural factors are seldom considered as important in the design of online information content. But many tertiary institutions have a highly diverse, multicultural student body whose learning needs require special attention. Usually, instructors transform existing lectures and exercises, then adds links, and discussions to create Web-supported units, but without any real understanding of possible cultural artifacts or inherent limitations of their online interfaces. This study reports on the results of an action research study whereby students were asked to comment on their preferences for three uniquely different purpose-built WebCT pages which comprised near-identical content. The students showed a definite preference for a sparse, menu-driven webpages as opposed to a colorful, congested, all-in-one interface, or the bare-bones WebCT interface.

Incorporating “World View” into the LMS or CMS is Best

“Linguistic relativism” leads people of different cultures to define, explain, and even see reality in images framed by their diverse languages. The most readily available and commonly used online educational materials are often scaffolded in unyielding structures shrouded in American standards and expectations. These Americano-centric course management and learning management systems render subject matter design and delivery, as well as assignment formulation, scheduling, and grading, difficult for educators who understand the importance of imbuing their materials with atypical alternative views of reality expressed in the worldviews of languages and cultures beyond the borders of the United States.

Cultural Adaptation of E-Learning Courseware

Web-based and self-paced learning modules have become a common-and sometimes primary-tool used by the Ethics & Compliance departments of global organizations to educate employees worldwide. These e-learning modules provide guidance around such topics as the company’s Code of Conduct, specific policies or laws, globally applicable corporate standards, and how best to manage ethical dilemmas in a corporate environment. In this case, the authors describe the instructional design process that were used on various ethics and compliance courses to achieve a more global, regional, or country-specific applicability, including an overview of changes made to content and methodology that was originally perceived as “very American.”

India to China – Repurposing Learning Software across Cultures

This case study follows an international e-learning software development project between the India and China Technology Centers of the largest independent software company in the world. The case presents many of the major intercultural project challenges that can typically arise in an information technology workplace. This example focuses on the customization and deployment of an e-learning framework supporting online and physical libraries of technical publications. This library forms an integral component of blended e-learning solutions for the technical workforce. The case uses a running narrative, project artifacts, e-mails, and team debriefings. Students will encounter reflective questioning and be given the opportunity to recognize key milestones and strategies that they might consider adopting when working with intercultural, virtual teams in their professional careers.

Blended Learning Internationalization from the Commonwealth

This case depiction addresses the contentious issue of providing culturally and globally accessible teaching and learning to international students in universities in the Commonwealth nations of Australia and Canada. The chapter describes the university systems and cultures, the barriers to authentic higher education internationalization, and the problems frequently experienced by international students. Two university cases are presented and analysed to depict and detail blended learning approaches (face-to-face combined with e-learning) as exemplars of culturally and globally accessible higher education and thereby ideologically grounded internationalization. Lessons learned are presented at the systems level and as teaching and learning solutions designed to address pedagogical problems frequently experienced by international students in the areas of communication, academic skills, teaching and learning conceptualization, and moving from rote learning to critical thinking. The blended learning solutions are analysed through the lens of critical theory.