Global learning content – Is that even possible?

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It is very obvious that individuals learn differently. Certainly, a lot has been written about this in the past. Click here for information on addressing different learning styles. It is even more obvious that differences exist in learner needs from one country to the next. However, increasingly learning content developers and suppliers are making claims that they produce content for a global audience. Now I am a strong proponent of sharing knowledge globally. Indeed that’s what the open education movement and thus the Open Courseware Consortium is all about. As chair of the membership committee for the Open Courseware Consortium, I certainly do my part to increase access to information globally. However, I am very well aware that the content created for learners in a North American context may not completely fulfill the learning needs of learners in the West Indies and other parts of the world though the subject matter may be the same.

I read this article recently called E-learning on a Global Basis. The author(s) note that launching a global learning strategy is not easy. They go on to state that an effective learning strategy gets all employees — no matter where they’re situated on the globe — on the same page and all working at top efficiency.

In theory this sounds great but I question the need and practicality of a global learning strategy. This is a topic that I will for sure be following up in future blogs.