This chapter looks at examples where technologies have great potential and have been used effectively. Criteria for evaluating how new technologies enhance learning are:

• that the learning experience is improved compared to what was previously available and that this improvement is related to the learning itself, such as an enriched experience, greater depth of learning, increased cooperative or collaborative learning
  
  
• that new learning processes or outcomes are accomplished, such as accommodating learners previously excluded or providing access to learning experiences previously unavailable
  
  
• that factors relevant to women's learning are improved, such as appropriateness of content or process, interaction, connection with others, inclusion of life experiences
  
  
• that practical factors are improved, such as increased access, lower cost, more compatibility with learners' other commitments

Non-formal learning
There are many examples of women using the internet and the world wide web for informal learning and a kind of "network activism": raising awareness of issues locally or globally and coordinating reaction and resistance. Women who have access to technology often share information in other formats with those who don't. The focus is on the end product and what can be accomplished rather than on the technology itself. Women also are using the technology and access to information to tailor learning to their specific needs and life experiences, and are developing mentoring programs in the use of technology for other women and women's groups.

Formal learning
Some ABE and literacy programs are incorporating mastery of technology, including an understanding of hardware and how it functions, into what they teach, increasing students' sense of knowledge and ability, and their pride in the enhanced finished products possible through computer technology. Cooperative and collaborative learning is enhanced through the creation of interactive databases where learners can access information and also contribute their own findings and research. Documentation of women's lives, experiences and her story is also enhanced by women's ability to contribute to the creation of knowledge.

Questions

What new opportunity does the new technology provide and to whom?

Is the learning opportunity enhanced?

What systems, support and staffing are necessary to provide the new opportunity?

What are the prospects for sustainability?

How durable or stable is the technology, and if it changes, will it displace the learning opportunity?

What are the opportunity costs: trade-offs, reduced funding for other programs, limited access, etc.?

Notes