5 research outputs found
Gender issues in computerâsupported learning
Contemporary research identifies significant genderârelated differences in performance and interaction style in computerâsupported learning (CSL) environments. Evidence suggests that initial perceptions of these environments as democratic and offering equal opportunities to all students were flawed because interactions that take place through electronic channels lose none of the sociocultural complexity or gender imbalance that already exists within society. This paper presents a summary of genderârelated issues identified by international research and academic practice together with the opinions expressed by participants in a discussion forum staged at AltâC in 2001. Two main questions were addressed during the conference forum. Firstly, if computer access and literacy levels are assumed to be equalizing as the literature suggests, how can educational designers using CSL technologies best serve all student groups? Secondly, does the existence of genderâbased differences in behaviour and interaction style in CSL environments mean that any student group is disadvantaged? The paper concludes with suggestions about how educational designers might increase the flexibility of CSL courses to offer equal opportunities to all students. A number of issues for further research are also identified
Letting the winter in: myth revision and the winter solstice in fantasy fiction
This is a Creative Writing thesis, which incorporates both critical writing and my own novel, Cold City.
The thesis explores âmyth-revisionâ in selected works of Fantasy fiction. Myth-revision is defined as the retelling of traditional legends, folk-tales and other familiar stories in such as way as to change the storyâs implied ideology. (For example, Angela Carterâs âThe Company of Wolvesâ revises âRed Riding Hoodâ into a feminist tale of female sexuality and empowerment.) Myth-revision, the thesis argues, has become a significant trend in Fantasy fiction in the last three decades, and is notable in the works of Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman. Despite its incorporation of supernatural elements, myth-revision is an agnostic or even atheistic phenomenon, which takes power from deities and gives it to moral humans instead. As such it represents a rebellion against the âFounding Fathersâ of Fantasy, writers such as Tolkien or CS Lewis, whose works stress the rightful superiority of divine figures. The thesis pays particular attention to how the myths surrounding the Winter Solstice are revised in this kind of fiction.
Part One consists of my novel Cold City, with appropriate annotations.
In Part Two, Chapter One compares and contrasts Philip Pullmanâs His Dark Materials with CS Lewisâs The Chronicles of Narnia. It argues that Pullmanâs sequence of childrenâs novels is an anti-Narnia, which revises CS Lewisâs conservative Christian allegory into one supporting Pullmanâs secular humanist viewpoint.
Chapter Two explores myth-revision in Elizabeth Handâs novel of adult Fantasy Winterlong. It examines how Hand ârevisesâ the Hellenic myth of the god Dionysos, especially as it is related to Euripidesâ tragedy The Bacchae.
Chapter Three examines the use of âRagnarokâ â the ancient Norse myth of the end of the world â in Cold City
A response to the critique of gender issues in computerâsupported learning
We find the critique of our paper both interesting and informative. The author raises a number of points as a caution against oversimplification of the issues surrounding gender and computer-supported learning. We fully acknowledge the difficulty of reporting findings from a number of studies and of attempting to define or analyse the complex interaction of already complex concepts such as gender, identity and behaviour within computer-supported learning environments