The global diffusion of online media has freed individuals from the confines of place, but this situation brings problems and opportunities for educators working online.  Failure to identify potential problems associated with such contexts can mitigate prospective advantages or lead to disaster.  Educators can thus benefit from approaches that identify problems associated with offering online education to internationally distributed students. This presentation introduces the “friction points” approach – a mechanism educators can use to understand this new educational context, identify prospective problems, and address such factors to avoid miscommunication in online pedagogical contexts.  This presentation would examine this approach by Reviewing and considering various technical developments, geopolitical forces, and economic factors driving efforts to expand online education in to international spaces Identifying and understanding how two different infrastructures (hard infrastructure and soft infrastructure) can create technological, geopolitical, and cultural problem areas Noting and describing prevalent problems that occur within each infrastructure and what factors contribute to such problems Presenting and discussing strategies educators can use to address such problems and resources educators can use to guide such activities In examining these factors, the presentation will help attendees develop checklists they can use to guide their activities related to globalizing online courses and programs. Through this approach, educators can develop online courses that allow for more effective and (ideally) equal participation among globally distributed students in different nations within the context of a common online class.