A Cross-Cultural Analysis of MOOCs’ Platforms Website Layout Design
AUTHORS
Min Cao,School of Foreign Language Studies, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo Henan, China School of Languages, University of Portsmouth, UK
ABSTRACT
This article aims at exploring and identifying the different strategies taken in designing MOOCs’ platforms website by analyzing their visual communication, which is mainly expressed through the website layout, the use of videos, discussion forum, and written text. Edward T. Hall’s, Edward T. Hall and Mildred Reed Hall’s and Geert Hofstede’s theoretical framework of high-context and low-context communication styles are applied into the analysis. After analyzing two MOOCs’ platforms in high-context cultures and low-context cultures, it is found that MOOCs in high-context cultures prefer long videos, hierarchical structure of navigation on their website layout, whereas MOOCs in low-context cultures apply more text-based material, linear layer of navigation and discussion forums in their website.
KEYWORDS
MOOCs, visual communication, high-context culture, low-context culture
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