Introduction to the Subject Area:
The global technological marketplace has brought with it the need to address international and local target audiences and learners. To remain competitive, companies have begun to address the needs of the many and the few. Educators have begun to consider the multi-ethnic needs of learners in both national and international educational contexts. This shift is significant for designers and researchers of technologies as their roles move to a diversification of design. The problem with diversifying design is knowing how to go about it, what steps to take and what roads should never be traveled. This task is often left up to the designer, design team or researcher. Either way, implementing diversification in products, programs, services or on-line environments lies with the manipulation of culture based design specifications.
Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Instructional Design (ID) are two fields that have considered the integration of culture in design. For almost 20 years, researchers and designers in HCI have been examining the cultural differences that inhibit and support the design process. They have come to realize that meeting the software needs of foreign and domestic markets can be a challenging task and that there needs to be specific frameworks or guidelines to enable product development. This type of internationalization and localization of products is the trend (Aykin, 2005; Hall & Hudson, 1997; Taylor 1992). Instructional Design, over the last 20 years, has seen more of a focus on educating learners and a sprinkling of articles on factors related to culture in design (Subramony, 2004). The literature in ID has focused on culture through educational qualifiers such as cultural diversity, cultural pluralism and cultural sensitivity (Scheel & Branch, 1993); therefore the role of culture in design is fragmented. Overall, there are models, frameworks and guidelines for the design of instruction; however there needs to be a more explicit focus on the integration of culture in design. These trends towards internationalization and localization in HCI and multi-culturalism in ID should have designers rethinking what it means to integrate culture in designs and more importantly how to do it.
The integration of culture in design remains a nebulous task as designers have no definitive culture based model in which to follow. Thus, there is a need for such a model that might be used in conjunction with or instead of traditional models. Culture based models seek to enhance the design process through the integration of culture based design specifications (Young, 2008). (Design specifications are design related features that assist in the management, design, development and assessment of products and/or services). A culture based model could show designers how to: integrate features of culture throughout ICTs; understand people and societies; communicate across cultural contexts; screen for bias; design authentic culture based technologies; research the culture based qualities of a target group or environment; and analyze media.
Objectives and mission of book:
The objective of this book is to provide practitioners and researchers with a framework to integrate culture in design. The Culture Based Model (CBM) is an intercultural instructional design framework that guides designers through the design, development, management and assessment process. This model works in constructing custom development, adding on to existing designs, re-engineering off-the-shelf products, and providing diagnostic evaluations. CBM has 8 areas consistent with the acronym: ID-TABLET. These areas include Inquiry, Development, Team, Assessments, Brainstorming, Learners, Elements and Training. CBM’s ID-TABLET focuses on project management and project design. The areas under project management include: Brainstorming, Team, Development, Learners, Assessments, and Training. The project design focuses on monitoring and content development. The areas under project design include: Inquiry and Elements. These areas operate simultaneously and maintain an interactive relation. As a model that seeks to meet culture based design decisions, CBM is a comprehensive tool for the design process. This book provides practitioners and researchers with CBMs framework by defining and describing the model and then offering examples of applications.
Audience for book:
- Novice & professional Instructional Designers and E-Learning Designers with interests in incorporating culture into the design of instructional products, services, user interfaces and other on-line environments.
- Professors of HCI and ID could use this text to exemplify the components that make up culture and to demonstrate how students might integrate CBM in their designs.
- Students of instructional design can use the book to implement CBM when designing technologies that focus on culture, or it can be used for research purposes.
- Researchers who are interested in analyzing culture based qualities and exploring culture in the design of ICTs.
References
Aykin, N. (2005). Overview: Where to start and what to consider. In N. Aykin (Ed.), Usability and internationalization of Information Technology (pp. 3-20). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Hall, P., & Hudson, R. (1997). Software without frontiers: A multi-platform, multi-cultural, multi-nation approach. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Scheel, N. P., & Branch, R. C. (August 1993). The role of conversation and culture in the systematic design of instruction. Educational Technology, 33, 7-18.
Subramony, D. P. (July/August 2004). Instructional technologists' inattention to issues of cultural diversity among learners. Educational Technology, 19-24.
Taylor, D. (1992). Global software: Developing applications for the international market. New York: Springer.
Young, P. A. (2008). Integrating culture in the design of ICTs. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(1), 6-17.
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