How computers can help teachers to produce cultural sensitive web-based learning material

The use of the Internet as a supportive tool for learning process made easier the transposition of geographical barriers in education, bringing some challenges to Distance Learning, such as the development of web-based learning material, whose content will be explored by learners from different places and cultures. Therefore, it is interesting to think of providing tools which support teachers to deal with those challenges. Cognitor is an authoring tool that helps teachers to develop web based learning material, aiming to support teachers to develop learning content which can integrate learners from different culture background, during the learning process, and which can be easily understood, through the use of common sense knowledge, i.e. the knowledge shared by people inserted into the same cultural context. This paper presents a usability test on Cognitor and discusses some preliminary results from it, pointing to the relevance of the tool to help teachers with their tasks.