Accommodating Cultural Diversity through Educational Software Design

Authors

Benita Cox, Imperial College of Science

Abstract

The Internet has afforded designers of educational software a broad range of opportunities to span both temporal and spatial learning boundaries. New technologies allow learners from widely different cultures to participate in virtual learning environments and have resulted in a plethora of new offerings for 'distance learning.' However, despite these technological advances, it is contended in this paper that educational material designed for distance learning as opposed to local use has failed to reflect any fundamental change in the approach to its design. In general, educational courseware designed for use by global communities represents adaptations to existing material rather than a fundamentally new approach. It is our view that the design of educational software intended for use in a global environment needs to incorporate, from the outset of the design process, a new approach. We must, for example, acknowledge and accommodate for the potentially different cultural backgrounds of the learners. To illustrate this view an example is given of designing a business game, the purpose of which is to introduce participants to basic management skills. The intended audience for the game is multi-cultural.

Recommended Citation

Cox, Benita (2001) "Accommodating Cultural Diversity through Educational Software Design," Journal of Information Systems Education: Vol. 12 : Iss. 3 , 161-166.
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jise/vol12/iss3/6