The Janus Project

New Learning Technologies: Promises and
Prospects for Women

Executive Summary

Background

The concept of a project to review the potential impact of new learning technologies on women's learning was developed in late 1995 by the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women and funded by the Office of Learning Technologies, Human Resources and Development Canada in 1996. The Janus Project consists of two parts. the development of a discussion paper, and a workshop to review the issues related to new learning technologies and women's learning. This discussion paper is designed to identify issues related to new learning technologies and women's learning and to promote discussion of these issues among those concerned with women's learning, including learners, educators, program planners, facilitators, and policy makers.

Overview

The new communications and information technologies are also potentially new learning technologies: if used appropriately in education and training, they offer the prospect of enhanced and more accessible learning for both young and adult learners. These prospects are particularly significant for women, who rely more on flexible arrangements for both formal and non formal learning, such as part time studies, open and distance learning, and community based programs. But all technologies are part of a human organization system and function within that system. For the new communications and information technologies to realize their potential as learning technologies they must be able to be designed and used in a way that is appropriate to the context and learning goals and complementary to the human dynamic essential to teaching and learning. This paper, then, considers the potential of new learning technologies in terms of context, learning goals and the human dynamics of teaching and learning, particularly as these relate to women's learning.

The study entailed an exploration of the literature on technology and learning and discussions with those directly involved in women's learning. Key issues that emerged were access, cost and use of resources, quality and equality of learning, and opportunities that demonstrate the potential of some of the new technologies for women's learning. As well. throughout the study process, many expressed the need for strategies to examine issues related to technology. The tools and strategies section includes questions that emerged and strategies that were suggested for considering the potential impact of technology-related decisions.

Access

Improved access to learning is an often-repeated rationale for using new technologies. This section explores existing provisions for providing access to learning in Canada, particularly for women, and compares the potential accessibility of new technologies with what is already in place. Because of the high cost of some of the newer technologies and of the infrastructures required to support them, there is a distinct possibility that there will be those for whom access to learning is more limited than before, unless there are interventions to ensure equity of access. Those most vulnerable to reduced access to learning are people in rural, remote and less populated regions, those with limited money to invest in technology and those whose first language is not English. While these are characteristics of whole populations, the impact on women is potentially much greater because of women's greater reliance on part time, distance and continuing education, where new technologies are being introduced at a significant pace.

Exploring the issue of access entails comparing what is offered by new technologies with what is already available, and watching out for situations in which there is expanded access for some, and more restricted access for others.

Cost

New technologies require investments in communications infrastructure, new expenditures and reallocations of funds and human resources on the part of educational providers, and often, expenditures at the community and personal level for facilities, equipment and software. As well, many of the new technologies entail ongoing operating costs for educators and learners. The issue of cost and use of resources is considered in light of choices, and of values underlying those choices, particularly in the context of reduced funding in the education and human services sectors.

There are implications for quality and access in this changed cost structure. The tendency to recover higher development costs by expanding enrolments can mean reduced student support: selling programs to other providers can result in a poor fit between programs and learners' needs. Unless there are policies to maintain affordability for learners, and educators undertake careful planning and monitor the outcomes of using new technology, learners could face higher costs and less accessibility than they had previously.