Another one of the topics covered about Web 2.0 (going back to during Week 5) was international perspectives. Social media has such an expansive reach now that it is becoming very interesting to see interactions occurring among international communities. I appreciate being able to keep up with friends online who no longer live in the US, especially through communications supported on Facebook and Instagram.
During the previous course week, we discussed how to best design content for international users. Social media-based learning and performance support may be set up differently to address a number of influencing factors. For example, there may be some language barriers or different cultural expectations being held for interactivity. The general level of accessibilty online and which specific tools are available will also vary for users with international settings. Additionally, the local time zones in regions may be quite different depending on where users are located.
Keeping all of these considerations in mind is not a simple but certainly realistic task necessary for instructors and instructional designers alike. The content being provided to learners (whether it is done formally for course credit/training or is informal learning to support work performance) should be made clear and accessible. Some educational and job support content can even be made further individualized if needed. One example I recall coming up regularly of this was while I worked in Title I schools. Many families there had their young children learning English as first time speakers. Teachers would provide an extra copy of the class newsletters we sent home weekly in Spanish to accommodate the communication in both languages.
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