Designing for Differences: Cultural Issues in the Design of WWW‐Based Course‐Support Sites

Abstract

Culture is a critical influence on the acceptance, use of, and impact of learning resources. WWW-based course-support sites are becoming an increasingly familiar type of learning resource in higher education. How might different aspects of culture be predicted to affect the institution's, instructor's, and student's reactions to WWW-based course-support sites? How can such sites be designed to adapt to different expectations and learner preferences, especially those related to culture? This article analyses various of these cultural aspects, and argues that WWW-based course-support sites should be designed to be adaptable to different types of cultural differences through the application of a set of ten design guidelines. An example illustrating the design guidelines, the TeleTOP Method from the University of Twente, is described and evaluated relative to the design guidelines. Important considerations related to feasibility as well as to conceptual and strategic choices are included in the scope of the guidelines; the instructor's cultural ecology requires particular attention. But WWW sites and guidelines in themselves are not enough for cultural flexibility; sensitivity and appropriate responsiveness remain human activities. Introduction: Culture and the design of WWW-based course-support sitesCulture, "the beliefs, value systems, norms, mores, myths, and structural elements of a given organisation, tribe, or society" (Watson, Ho and Raman, 1994, p. 45) manifests itself in the shared and identifiable ways in which a group interprets and reacts to its environment. The behaviour of individuals and collectively of institutions "is affected by the values and attitudes that they hold and the societal norms that surround them.

Scholarship 2.0: analyzing scholars’ use of Web 2.0 tools in research and teaching activity

“…It was, therefore, interesting for us to explore if, two years after the last survey, there had been relevant changes in the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in research and learning activities. Finally, as impact of learning and using the technology is influenced by culture-related aspects 5 (Collis, 1999), we decided it was interesting to us to conduct a survey on the use of social media in a well-developed and technology-oriented country like The Netherlands.…”

Identifying complex cultural interactions in the instructional design process: a case study of a cross-border, cross-sector training for innovation program

“…According to Collis (1999), culture functions on the following levels, societal, organizational, group, individual and domain/discipline. As an abstract concept, culture is often described in the ways that it functions or is manifested.…”

Groupware requirements evolution patterns

“…We recognize some of these factors in this case, i.e. critical mass (Rogers 2003;DeLone and McLean 2003), culture and norms (Collis 1999;Malikowski et al 2006), commitment, (Chang et al 2010) and provision of communication and knowledge infrastructures (Holsapple & Lee-Post 2006;Serce & Yildrin 2006). In the light of these findings, we would like to identify the unique properties of the implementation in this case that contributed to the system's prolonged use.…”

“…Similar to Case Study A, the development of this groupware is an in-house effort originating from the ground up. Tele-learning (Collis, 1999) was a term coined to refer to the utilization of ICT technology in enhancing the learning process. Back then, the term e-learning was not yet a major hype.…”

“…It represents the product idea the designers have propagated about the software as well as the general perception of its proponents (Collis et al, 1999). This way, it is top-down encompassing requirement which originates at the university level that is also relevant to the school.…”