Abstract
![CDATA[Although it is a legal requirement of all institutions/organisations to permit sensorially, cognitively, and physically disabled persons equitable access to public website information, cultural accessibility is seldom considered important in the design of online information content. 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 artefacts or inherent limitations of their interface. A popular e-learning management system, WebCT is used to both deliver and support courses using material commonly developed for students whose cultural and linguistic backgrounds are invisible for the teacher. This paper reports on the results of a survey and logfile analysis whereby students were asked to comment on their preferences for three uniquely different purpose-built WebCT pages which comprised identical content. Results showed a definite preference for a sparse, menu-driven website as opposed to a colourful, congested, all-in-one interface, or the bare-bones WebCT interface.]]
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference E-society 2007 |
Publisher | International Association for the Development of the Information Society |
Number of pages | 1 |
ISBN (Print) | 9789728924423 |
Publication status | Published - 2007 |
Event | International Association for the Development of the Information Society. International Conference on E-society - Duration: 1 Jan 2007 → … |
Conference
Conference | International Association for the Development of the Information Society. International Conference on E-society |
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Period | 1/01/07 → … |
Keywords
- cultural pluralism
- educational technology
- educational anthropology
- web sites
- internet in higher education