I'm not sure the question of gender issues in VLEs is a
question of priorities. It is useful to recognize that the
issues exist; there may be no need to do anything about them.
Gender does not make a VLE unusable, but it changes the way
a VLE is used.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that women and men
learn in different ways. Since a VLE is meant to support
learning, knowing those different ways can help us to
develop better VLEs.
Disabilities are another category of problem. If a VLE is
not usable by disabled people, those people lose an
important learning tool. The first goal has to be making the
resource or tool usable by everyone that needs to use it.
Then we can spend more time adapting it to better meet the
needs of those users (whether female, unemployed, minority,
illiterate, male, ceo, add-your-own).
Eben
=====================================
> You'll find bias everywhere if you look for it (which is not to say that
> there is NO bias). Could I suggest a read of Christina Hoff Sommers "Who
> Stole Feminism?" for a sound debunking of the more extreme claims of bias
> in education (and elsewhere). Meantime making VLEs accessible for those
> with disabilities is probably a higher priority.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Danny McAtominey [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 07 April 2003 16:01
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: VLEs and gender issues
> I'm not from any camp nor do I make any claims, just amazed at the things
> people get hung up about.
> On the other hand it is interesting the things people infer or assume from a
> bland message - another gender issue?
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Eben J. Muse" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 3:42 PM
> Subject: Re: VLEs and gender issues
>> It is interesting to listen to the camp that is claiming that
>> technology has no bias. I thought that was an arguement that had been
>> lost many years ago.
>>
>> Eben
>>
>> =====================================
>> > It never ceases to amaze me that people have nothing better to spend
> their
>> > time on ...
>>
>>
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Penny Everett" <[log in to unmask]>
>> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> > Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 2:35 PM
>> > Subject: Re: VLEs and gender issues
>>
>>
>> >> I think this is a huge issue when you are considering the use of images
> in
>> >> LOs. Not only should we be avoiding images of a patronising nature, but
> it
>> >> is very noticeable that some authors have a tendency to be gender
> biased
>> >> with their images, i.e. macho images for motor vehicle, girls for
>> >> hairdressing. Because the VLE is a visual medium we should all be
> vigilant
>> >> in this regard.
>> >>
>> >> Penny Everett
>> >> Senior Learning Materials Developer
>> >> Oaklands College
>> >>
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: Katie Lips [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> >> Sent: 07 April 2003 14:03
>> >> To: [log in to unmask]
>> >> Subject: Re: VLEs and gender issues
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Even after taking into account 'equality of opportunity' issues I would
>> >> imagine that there are plenty of issues for HCI (Human Computer
>> > Interaction)
>> >> designers to examine. For example, girls may learn in different ways -
> or
>> >> they may be attracted to content or functionality through different
>> >> mechanisms.
>> >>
>> >> This is also about age. If boys and girls mature at slightly different
>> > rates
>> >> then this would need to be addressed when designing a flexible
> interface.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Katie Lips
>> >> Producer
>> >> 3T Productions Ltd
>> >> T: 0161 492 1400 F: 0161 492 1401 M: 07799797255
>> >> www.3t.co.uk
>> >>
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: Sarah Price [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> >> Sent: 07 April 2003 13:59
>> >> To: [log in to unmask]
>> >> Subject: Re: VLEs and gender issues
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> > Confused...
>> >> >
>> >> > What 'gender issues' are there in a VLE?
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> This isnt such a trivial question. Are VLEs (and information technology
>> >> in general) gender-neutral so that males and females benefit equally
>> >> from their application? If the answer to that could be 'no', the
>> >> implications would be serious and it's worth getting some answers.
>> >>
>> >> Some possible gender issues are:
>> >> - the *access* that females have to computers and technology *before*
>> >> they get to university/college and therefore the ease with which they
>> >> are likely to cope with learning delivered online. Access can refer not
>> >> only to hardware and connectivity, but also to the level of their
>> >> opportunities to access technology.
>> >> - the *levels* of IT skills of women vs men.
>> >> - the *culture* of being seen to be 'good' at computers. In some cases,
>> >> girls/women may get an easier time by actually being or pretending to
> be
>> >> technologically incapable.
>> >>
>> >> All these things (and so many more) could effect how the VLE is
> received
>> >> and used by students. It could mean that we are not offering equality
> of
>> >> provision, that the playing field is not as level as we think it is.
>> >> This short reply has not given justice to this question. I'll finish by
>> >> saying that it's worth considering that some of the issues that may
>> >> apply to female students could also be valid with respect to questions
>> >> of poverty and ethnicity.
>> >>
>> >> Sarah
>> >>
>> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>> >> Sarah Price
>> >> Manager
>> >> JISC Regional Support Centre
>> >> Scotland North & East
>> >> Tel: 0131 315 7674 Fax: 0131 315 7675
>> >> Email: [log in to unmask]
>> >> http://www.rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk/
>> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> > Megan.
>> >> > ILT Champion, City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College.
>> >> >
>> >> > -----Original Message-----
>> >> > From: Riina Vuorikari
>> >> > To: [log in to unmask]
>> >> > Sent: 07/04/03 11:51
>> >> > Subject: VLEs and gender issues
>> >> >
>> >> > All,
>> >> >
>> >> > I'm looking into gender issues and the use & development of
>> >> > VLEs. I wonder if you would know any places to look into for
>> >> > some leads?
>> >> >
>> >> > What I'm interested is to know if there are any
>> >> > recommendations for schools and communities to deal with
>> >> > this, especially in school environments? Or if you have taken
>> >> > any explicit action plans in this issue?
>> >> >
>> >> > So far, the most interesting publication that I found is
>> >> > "Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age" (2000)
>> >> > at http://www.aauw.org/2000/techsavvy.html
>> >> >
>> >> > Thanks for any additional information.
>> >> >
>> >> > Regards,
>> >> >
>> >> > Riina Vuorikari
>> >> > ================
>> >> > [log in to unmask]
>> >> > Research Analyst
>> >> >
>> >> > European Schoolnet
>> >> > http://www.eun.org
>> >> >
>> >> > INSIGHT: Knowledge base for
>> >> > New Technology and Education
>> >> > http://insight.eun.org
>> >> >
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>>
>> ===================================
>> Eben J. Muse
>> The Research Institute for Enhancing Learning
>> University of Wales, Bangor
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
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===================================
Eben J. Muse
The Research Institute for Enhancing Learning
University of Wales, Bangor
[log in to unmask]
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