Define the Role of Cultural Analysis
Each participant offered a different definition of culture with some commonalities. While
some associated culture with the organizational culture that learners come from, others
linked culture with nationality or ethnicity and language; still others interpreted cultural
differences as defined by personal learning styles. The feedback from the participants
helped create an extensive list of cultural variables critical for distance learning design,
from language and technical adaptability to religion, cultural taboos, and etiquette, but also
revealed the absence of any universally applicable definition of culture. The participants’
perceptions of cross-cultural design revealed a strong sense of cultural inclusivity among
designers and the desire to learn more about learners’ cultural needs, but because each
defined culture differently there was no common approach.