Annotated Bibliography

The following are recommended resources for those interested in learning more about new technologies and women's learning.

Overviews of the social, political and economic contexts
Ursula Franklin, The Real World of Technology, CBC Massey Lectures, Anansi, Toronto, 1990. A commentary on the ways in which technology interacts with social, economic and political dynamics, including reflections on historical uses of technology and suggestions for regarding technology alternative to its unquestioned acceptance.

Heather Menzies, Whose Brave New World: The Information Highway and the New Economy, Between the Lines, Toronto, 1996. A commentary on the drive to displace workers and to implement a corporatist agenda by introducing new information technologies; presents an alternative perspective on what is called "the technological imperative" and recommends strategies for responding to the social, economic and political dynamics that support this imperative.

John Ralston Saul, The Unconscious Civilization, CBC Massey Lectures, Anansi, Toronto, 1995. Explores the ways in which the accepted notions of our society as a democracy directed by individuals is at odds with the reality of a corporatist agenda that is colonizing decision making at all levels of political and economic life.

"Seduced by Technology: The human costs of computers," The New Internationalist, No. 286, December, 1996. An issue dedicated to exploring the impact of the new technologies worldwide.

Guides and commentaries
A. W. Bates, Technology, Open Learning and Distance Education, Routledge, London and New York, 1995. Designed for educators and planners, outlines the main organizational issues in open and distance learning and presents the educational, organizational and economic factors that influence decisions about selection of technologies and teaching/learning strategies.

Council of Ministers of Education, Distance Education and Open Learning: A Report, Occasional Paper # 1, Toronto, 1995. Provides a snapshot of open and distance learning in Canada at the elementary, secondary and post secondary levels, and presents some cases that demonstrate key issues in the field.

Judith Roberts and Erin Keough, eds, Why the Information Highway: Lessons from Open and Distance Learning, Trifolium, Toronto, 1995. A collection of essays by experienced educators in open and distance learning that address theoretical and practical issues for educators, learners and users of educational technologies.