Time for Change! Gendered Perceptions on the Use of Educational Technologies

2 June – 6 June 2014

Educational technologies have been used for teaching in institutions of higher learning for centuries and the revolution in digital technologies has lead to even greater uptake. However, despite these efforts little is known about the perceptions of staff on access to and the use of these technologies, especially whether gender influences the way male and female staff perceive and make use of technologies for teaching.

Makerere University in Uganda has over the years invested in the integration of educational technologies for teaching and building capacity for their use. A recent study by Dr. Ruth Nsibirano and Dr. Consolata Kabonesa among staff at the Makerere University sheds some light on the gendered use of technology by lecturers. Their findings suggested that male and female staff found educational technologies equally useful however they differed in their perceptions of the role of educational technologies and in how they used technology in their teaching. During this seminar Dr. Ruth Nsibirano and Dr. Consolata Kabonesa will share the findings of their study and open a discussion on how gendered technology use by university teachers should be taken into account by higher educational institutions in their strategies for educational technology integration.

Join this seminar to discuss gendered uses of educational technologies by university teachers and to share views and experiences from your own work. The asynchronous conversation starts on 2nd June. On 6 June at 12 (SAST/GMT +2) Ruth Nsibirano and Consolata Kabonesa will host a live online meeting, where they will be joined by Dr. Nicola Pallitt from the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Dr. Ruth Nsibirano is a Documentalist with the School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University. Dr. Nsibirano has an Hons degree in Library and Information Science, an MA in Women Studies (Makerere University) and a PhD in Gender Studies. She has been interested in the issues of gender and ICT use, integration of technology in teaching and learning for more than nine years. Besides lecturing on the undergraduate program, Ruth has participated in several Professional Level courses, national and regional research projects as well as in international conferences on ICT, and in application of educational technologies in university teaching, learning and research.
Dr. Consolata Kabonesa is a Senior Lecturer and Dean of the School of Women and Gender Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda. She has over 20 years of experience as a gender analyst, researcher and trainer and facilitator in areas of gender, land, health, employment, human rights, gender and Information Communication Technology.
She attained a Ph.D. in Human and Community Development with a minor in Gender Relations in International Development, and MS in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA; MA in English and American Literature and Higher Diploma in Education from University College Dublin, Ireland; and BA in Liberal Arts from Stonehill College, Massachusetts, USA.

There is no charge for participation. To sign up, please use the form below:

 

Share the joy

8 thoughts on “Time for Change! Gendered Perceptions on the Use of Educational Technologies

  1. Hi Tony,
    I would be so much interested by how Ruth as a PhD student, tapped into anonymous technology-mediated human discourses and artefacts, to discover gender disparities! (My quick reading of their abstract for this seminar’s presentation presumes that they might have done this at one stage, it their study was qualitative). I should not want to miss their presentation!
    David Kabugo
    Makerere University
    (Currently at University of Cape Town, SA)

    • Hi David, come to the seminar to find out 😉 What I can tell you about Ruth Nsibirano’s doctoral research is that she used a mixed methods approach combining elements of qualitative and quantitative research.

  2. This seminar will be interesting. I look forward to it. Especially interesting will be what we need to do as practitioners in Educational ICTs to be gender-sensitive and gender-inclusive.

  3. We need to look at e-learning as a tool for home-schooling;with over strained resources and weaknesses in the education system we need to explore home schooling in Uganda

  4. Dear David, Jerome, Tony, Dennis and all of you out there, it is exciting knowing that we are ready for practical discussions. we need to move on from the notions that women cannot make it, that they are scared, that they do not have the skills. It is such unfounded stereotypes that explain the technical exclusion and maginalisation of whoever is found not to be on the “greener” side of ICT. Many times, the majority of these are women. Jerome, you will soon agree with me that the more you interact and use, you gain the experience and get integrated. So practical solutions should provide more opportunities to interact with-through access and use. Consolata will join us soon.

Leave a Reply to Ruth Nsibirano Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *