Technology and Women's Learning
New information technologies are affecting all aspects of life in our culture. It is important for women to have access to the new technology in order not to be "left behind" in the information revolution. A concept raised in the on-line discussion is the "digital divide": the have and have-nots of access to and use of new technology. It is' also important to consider how learning and education are affected by use of new technologies and how this impacts on women. The three workshops presented under this theme were: Women's Access to New Information Technologies; New Information and Communication Technologies and Women-Centered Learning;' and Access to Learning Through Technology: The Community Learning Networks.

Women's Access to New Information Technologies
Jo Sutton of Women 'Space, a quarterly magazine about issues of access to technology, and Fiona MacCool, Internet Project Developer with Advocates for Community-Based Training and Education for Women (ACTEW), were invited to present perspectives on women's access to information technologies.

Women 'Space and the Women's Internet Campaign were founded out of a concern to raise women's participation in and access to internet technology. There has to date been no in-depth gender-based analysis of internet activity and consequently there is very little understanding of women's internet use and expectations. Ellen Balka conducted an informal study of public access internet sites in Vancouver, and concluded that two-thirds of the users were male. The internet is a powerful tool, but it need not be top down like a corporation selling something or government giving information. We can use its potential for multi-way communication. As well, once there was a left wing tradition of reading and learning in preparation for a weekly meeting and for activism. The internet offers the opportunity to do that again in innovative ways, the motivation for which is partly provided by content, partly by working together.

Women' Space can be found at: www.womenspace.ca.

Fiona MacCool introduced ACTEW's new website. ACTEW is an umbrella organization whose members are community-based education and training organizations across Ontario. The aim of ACTEW's website is to be an interactive source of news, information and resources on issues of women's education and training in Ontario. Other organizations can post news, events and materials, and advocacy work can be accomplished through sharing information on-line. The site also has the capacity for on-line conferences and private discussions. Fiona also shared information about VolNet, a federal government initiative administered by Industry Canada to improve the voluntary sector's access to information technology and related skills and tools. VolNet's goal is to offer Internet connectivity, including computer equipment and Internet skills development and support, to 10,000 voluntary organizations by March 31, 2001. More information can be found at www.volnet.org.

ACTEW can be found at: www.actew.web.ca.

New Information and Communication Technologies and
Women-Centered Learning
The purpose of this workshop was to look at the new technologies and their relation to women's learning-how women can learn about new technology and how new technology affects women's learning and employment. Ruth Mitchell presented information on an innovative program of the Manitoba Women's Directorate, called "Power Up," and Heather Menzies, feminist author and critic in the area of new technologies, discussed some of the affects of new technologies on women's lives.

Power Up was developed by the Manitoba Department of Education and Training and the Manitoba Women's Directorate, in response to the fact that two-thirds of all jobs in the province require basic computer literacy. As the primary occupational categories for women are in sales, teaching, waitressing or service industry, they have far fewer workplace opportunities to develop computer skills. Power Up is a fifteen hour introductory computer course available to all women in Manitoba and provided free of charge in participants' home communities. Initial interest in the course was immediate and widespread and evenly split between urban and rural locations. Each participant receives a comprehensive manual for classroom use and as a take-home resource; the courses and manuals are offered in both French and English.

Power Up can be contacted at: 1-800-263-0234.

Heather Menzies' presentation raised the question of what women are training for when they are learning to use computers. There has been a fundamental shift from a nation-based industrial economy to a fragmented global cyber economy with no commitment to equality. As many as 2/3 of women who are currently working with computers may be on the disempowered side of the digital divide, controlled by the technology rather than controlling it. It is important to resist educational initiatives that train people to "do" rather than "think". Women don't want just access to new technologies, but access as thinking, participating subjects.

Heather Menzies can be contacted at: hmenzies@ccs.carleton.ca.