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The
future seems to have arrived. The information and communications
technological revolution has in a relatively short period of time
introduced new methodologies and activities into our lives
bringing about changes in our way of thinking, living, employment
and social institutions. Feminist scholarship, concerned about its
impact on women, has put forward different studies and
conclusions. Once again there is the concern that the new changes
may bypass women. The arguments and analysis are very similar to
those made in studying the exclusion of women from the field of
science and technology. We know that society’s starting premise
is that women are essentially unscientific i.e. not rational but
more emotional and perpetuates this belief by systematically
excluding them from the knowledge and use of tools and skills. The
exclusion begins in the household, continues through school and is
reinforced by other institutions. The majority of women are thus
not part of the culture of technology. The sexual division of
labour in households further restricts them from ‘leisure’
time hobbies and surfing the Internet. Raised and socialised into
being atechnological, the question, ‘how can women overcome
their resistance to new technologies?’ is a crucial one. The
other crucial issue is, ‘how can we take those women who have
already taken the first steps to another level of involvement in
technology?’ We put forward the proposition that we need to
recognise the agency of women users of the Internet. Our strategy
to strengthen women must include engaging with them in their areas
of interest and with contents that make a difference in their
lives and struggles and at the same time encourage the learning of
the medium.
Users
There
is no way to calculate the number of Internet users as people
access it at home, through cyber-cafes and at work. The rough
estimate is that twice as many men than women get onto the
Internet. In the US, about 38 per cent of women use the Net and
the rate falls in many developing countries. Less than one percent
of the population – male or female – has Internet access out
of which women form 22 per cent of all Internet users in Asia, 38
per cent of those in Latin America, and six per cent of Middle
Eastern users (Hafkins, 2001). The majority of these users do so
as part of their work or tools of production like for data entry,
manufacture and for programming. Others use it as a tool of
communication. Very few are producers, like Net content providers,
designers, inventors and engineers. Undoubtedly, there is a need
to encourage more women into the field through education and
training. This will mean their individual advancement, increase in
knowledge and employment potential. However, at the same time it
is true that these women are largely from the elite or middle
class and urban backgrounds. There is a need to make efforts to
redress this.
A very small beginning has been made in taking this technology to
urban slums and rural communities. The Mahila Samakya in Rajasthan
gave a demonstration of this to former US President Clinton. New
implements and technological advancements at first seem elitist.
Compared to a stick, the plough must have seemed sophisticated,
two and four wheelers are still considered male territory though
an increasing number of women drive cars and some buses and taxis.
The computer’s mouse need not be an object of fear if women
remember how easily they deal with a real live one and accept
technology as something they can understand.
We at Akshara too have taken up the task of upgrading the skills
of existing users by involving them in their areas of interest in
the context of the women’s movement. Our target group were young
women who were part of non-government organisations with a minimum
knowledge of e-mail and the Word programme. As we know from our
own experience of working in non-government organisations, there
is a dearth of time for upgrading one’s skills and knowledge.
Yet our work demands that we expand our scope of information and
skills. Online learning seemed the best answer to the limitations
and scope of the situation. It would simultaneously address the
issue of skills and information.
Online
learning
Very
simply, the Internet is an international network of computers
linked together to exchange information. The core of this network
consists of permanently joined computers with high speed
connectivity. Once you connect to a service provider, your
computer ‘talks’ to another person anywhere in the world. The
Internet grew out of a US Defence Department project in the
sixties designed to link its military bases, research departments
and manufacturers. As computer manufacturers and software
companies realised its potential, more services were provided and
more people began using it. No one really owns the Internet as
anyone can place whatever material its wants on it. Its uses keep
expanding from electronic mail, shopping, business, bank support,
to games and music. New developments keep taking place making the
Internet indefinable and a complex phenomenon. In the final
analysis, it is less about computers and more about people
overcoming physical barriers in order to communicate and share
information.
It did not take long for education to join the list of
possibilities. Education connected itself to computers in three
ways: to learn about
the computer itself; to learn using the computer and Net; to use
the computer and the Net as an instrument of education.
Online learning is gradually replacing video training,
complementing classroom teaching and CD-ROMs and manuals. It is
part of the information technology industry with training
institutes and companies offering programmes or learning
management systems and numerous courses for corporate staff
training and for higher-level academic teaching. The proliferation
of online learning courses has produced a body of literature on
its theory and implementation.
Shepherd (2002) puts forward three models, which are commonly used
for e-learning.
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The
self-study model comes from books as manuals and CD-ROMs and
relies heavily on written material. It does not presuppose an
interaction with the tutor or other learners. The learner is
expected to advance according to the text and his/her own
pace. The self-study model makes manuals and learning more
accessible to others when it is placed on the Internet.
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The
classroom model takes the classroom onto the Net and the tutor
uses chat, notice boards and quizzes over the Net to teach and
assess the learner. The virtual classroom saves the learner
travel time and cost.
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Finally,
the distance-learning model relies on a scheduled learning
process with minimum interaction with the trainer. The Net is
seen as an instrument or new channel for distance learning.
Each
of these models have their pros and cons and usually learning
courses do a mix and match according to their learner profiles.
Honey and Mumford have classified different sets of learners
according to their learning characteristics. Though it is
impossible to bring one homogenous set of learners together when
offering a course, it helps understand various styles of learning
and matching course material to a generalised profile.
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Activists
have an open mind and like to ‘do’ things, experiment, and
try new things. They will give anything at least one try.
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Reflectors
like to ‘look before leaping’ and are not so open to
experimentation. They like to gather data and are slow in
making up their minds.
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Theorists
use logic and rationality, are
used to organised academic way of thinking and arguing.
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Pragmatics
are hands-on people who like
applying what they have learnt. Pure theory is not their cup
of tea.
The
StreeNet experiment
Given
the rush and worry of our daily lives, we had longed for online
courses, which we could access. When a feminist teaching
institution in Sweden asked Akshara to collaborate with it on
designing and executing a course for activists of the north and
south, we readily agreed. A dearth of funds prevented the project
from taking place in its entirety but funds were available to do
the India part of it. We were to get technical support from our
Swedish partners and access to their software. Though this
technical support was possible through the Net, obstacles emerged
in the shape of language barriers. So except for some funds we
were on our own.
We had spoken about this experiment to some documentation centres
in various parts of the country. Of these, Sakhi from Trivandrum,
Jagori from Delhi and Alochana from Pune joined in as partners. We
set our objectives as:
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To
give our e-learners a comprehensive course combining theory,
practice and skills. To engage the students in a
dialogue/discussion on the emergence of the women’s
movement, theoretical perspectives on feminism and other
issues confronting the women’s movement.
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To
introduce our e-learners to the fascinating world of the
Internet and e-learning by surfing, using different web-sites,
search engines and become proficient in the use of the Net.
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Through
the Net, promote collaborations/networking amongst activists
on issues related to the women’s movement.
Each
city was asked to select learners after circulating a brochure
announcing the course and its modules. The criteria were very
simple and basically needed basic knowledge of the Net and the
Word programme. They also had to be working in an organisation for
a year. Each city selected between 12 and 15 learners. Finally,
the total number of learners who actually registered for the
course was 56 from four cities, all working in non-government
organisations. Each city had its applicants come to an initial
meeting at which the course and its requirements were explained.
It gave the learners time and information to make up their minds
to join. This was the easiest part. We had to make sure that our
three objectives would be realised in the three parts, namely the
selection of the software, its implementation and the learning
modules. We tapped a number of experts for advice on software,
course design and format but did not realise the close
co-operation between technology, academics and training
methodology.
We
choose an indigenous Learning Management System, which gave the
possibility of implementing the ‘classroom model’ with an
interactive format for our learners, who we categorised as
‘activists’ learners. Interactive formats are difficult to
design, as they require graphic inputs, games designers and
language editors. Unfortunately, each is a specific area and
requires bringing specific technicians or people together in a
team. The software company also provided the technical support for
integrating the learning module into the system. As our software
partners were not familiar with our course material, they could
not directly design and execute it. It turned out to be a great
learning experience for us. We had to involve ourselves at every
stage including selecting visuals. It was an effort to bring
together knowledge of technology and clarity on course material.
The learning system problems continued in the form of bugs, small
failures, and forgotten commands all through the course. On our
side, one person who was not Internet savvy and had no training,
educated herself to handle the functionalities and took over the
role of the central systems administrator, which involved co-ordinating
with the learners and liaison with the software persons.
Given the context of documentation centres, we were all familiar
with the academic format and classroom teaching. But such a format
would be inadequate to exploit the potential of the Internet and
online learning. The modules needed to be structured in a way that
gave the gist of the training material and at the same time
provoked the learner to do offline reading to complement it. Our
three modules consisted of Understanding Feminism, The Indian
Women’s Movement and Globalisation and Women. The online course
was not open but time-bound and for a period of six months. We
interspersed assignments and self-assessments between module
sections. This gave learners the motivation to read the resource
kit of articles and books from the recommended reading list.
Deadlines are a double-edged tool. They motivate learners to keep
on track but most of them appeal for extensions or even drop out,
as they do not finish assignments. In order to achieve our last
objective we introduced monthly meetings in each city amongst
learners and a mid-course meeting between different city learners.
Meetings facilitated learners getting to know each other and
helped sort out their questions and doubts, which were aired in
the Discussion Forums and Chats.
Lessons
learnt
The
online course is not over but we can point out some of the lessons
we have learnt from it.
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Academic
institutions and documentation centres would like to have
their own online course. It is a good objective, as we need as
many as possible. However, we usually underestimate the
technical and financial constraints. Manufactured or
custom-made software costs are high. We need high-speed
computers and cable connections.
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Technical
support is needed at our end in order to implement it. We do
not need software engineers but interested people who will
undertake training.
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Course
design also needs technical and graphic support. Interactive
modules require images and games, which require time and
money. We had to delay the launch of the course, as we had to
continually check the modules.
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The
main ‘selling’ aspect of online courses is easy access,
anyplace and anytime. Women activists like us had assumed that
they could fit the online course into their busy schedules.
But learning requires a place and time free of distractions.
For women, neither the workplace nor the home provides such a
place.
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Initially
a lot of time is needed in ‘hand-holding’ as women are
resistant and unfamiliar with the medium. A sympathetic co-ordinator
with loads of time is essential.
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The
number of dropouts increased with each assignment and as the
novelty of the course disappeared. Time was one factor. We
believe that women need support from their organisations and
co-workers to provide them on-the-job time to spend on the
course. Most learning courses try to retain the interest by
using varied means of presentation and through graphics.
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Every
course needs a few dedicated tutors or trainers. In our case,
we expected activists of the documentation centres to
participate as trainers given their normal load of work.
Learners need more time and involvement from trainers to goad
them to overcome their resistance to technology and keep them
interested in the course.
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