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Technical Learning
Women are learning about the technologies using a variety of
strategies that go beyond the "read this, do that" orientation of manuals and
instructional materials. They are mentoring and providing supportive groups for
those new to technology, offering informal information sharing tailored to the
learner's level of comfort, competence and interest.
Organizations such as the Web Network and publications such as
Women' space here in Canada provide support to community development
groups and other advocacy groups so that their on-line experience works to
their advantage. Instructors work with the groups to determine basic needs and
to translate those needs into instructional guidance using plain language. Web
Network then works with the group to devise innovative, appropriate technical
solutions, trains the group in the use of the technology, provides materials
and follow up support.
This kind of training is an essential component of access. As
stated by one interviewee: "having an account isn't access" or as another put
it, "a perfectly good system was in place and it wasn't being used." Technical
support, like that provided by Web Network's manual, "Web for Women," helps
women's groups achieve practical use of communications technologies.
| A number of our respondents said
their attitude was to approach technologies systematically, step by step. One
of our respondents, who is very conversant with the new technologies and who
spoke about her approach, said this: |
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I always put myself in the role of the user. What would I
like to do? Very early on I got involved in multimedia, which then took me into
the realm of the traditional audio visual area. And so I got involved in
digital imaging, using a computer to control a VCR and camera ... and of
course, videoconferencing. So I saw a merging, a convergence of those two
areas. I tended to learn other technologies because they were related. For
example, an instructor wants to make a multimedia CD Rom about parasites. So
then I had to look into what's a good video camera that we could hook into a
microscope and then we could just tape it. How do we put titles on the video?
Then once we've got that we do the digital and the CD part of it. You have to
go through the other technologies as well. Then I became aware how those other
technologies can be used in a classroom and what it does to the students, how
it impacts them, and their reactions to it. |
Formal Learning
The need to provide support to learners is echoed in the formal
learning sphere. In Australia a National Plan of Action for Women in Technical
and Further Education was established in 1992 to address issues surrounding new
technologies and the delivery of training to women. A national research project
connected to the Plan found that "Women students were not daunted by the need
to use communication technologies and computers in flexible delivery, [rather]
... concerns ... related to limited access and technical services available to
support students' use."6
Adult Basic Education and English as an
Additional Language Programs
In ABE or EAL (ESL) programs,
learners can use computer technology for a variety of projects. One instructor
observes that because they are accustomed to using memory and visual cues,
people with limited literacy can quickly learn how to use computers for
drawing, painting, writing and to learn vocabulary. Programs can be used to
assist with spelling and typescript and students can produce visually
attractive print materials. Mastery of computer skills gives learners a sense
of self-esteem and control over their environment and increased confidence in
their ability to continue learning.
Learners can also develop confidence by learning how computers
work. One instructor ensures that learners she works with have opportunities to
move, fix, and take apart computers. One of these learners, a young immigrant
woman, went on from an ESL program to complete a library science degree at
university and then found a job at the local library. One day she impressed her
colleagues when the computer broke down and she opened it up and fixed it using
skills she had learned in the ESL program.
These ABE and EAL programs adopted some beneficial guiding
principles. These are that the program must be appropriate and allow for
interaction, that the technology enhance what the teacher is doing, and that
the student and her needs must be the program focus. In other words, as the
research in Australia concluded, "The power of open learning lies not in the
tools-the technology itself-but in the flexibility and thus the power it places
in the hands of learners."7 |