Those with analogue roots have seen great changes in some areas but less than might be expected in others.<\/p>\n Catherine Cronin and Frances Bell presented a session titled \u2018A personal, feminist and critical retrospective of learning (and) technology, 1994-2018<\/a>\u2019<\/em>. \u00a0 They opened a conceptual box. Inside was a Google doc (http:\/\/bit.ly\/ALTC-Bell-Cronin<\/a>) with links to a selection of retrospectively themed blog posts. Some written over the past year and some more recently in response to an invitation issued by Catherine and Frances. All dealt with different experiences of education technology.<\/p>\n This blog post builds on that invitation.<\/p>\n Catherine and Frances described themselves as IT professionals, lecturers, community educators, PG students, researchers, feminists, social activists, and mothers. It was the word \u2018mothers\u2019 which caught my attention. I\u2018d juggled a career alongside multiple roles, but it was never the \u2018done thing\u2019 to discuss home life and I only once referred to it in public. In 2013 I wrote a post asking:\u00a0Who will clean the toilets after the revolution? <\/strong><\/a>Then the shutters came down. Now, five years later, I\u2019m reading stories of others who\u2019d also threaded and weaved the disparate elements of their lives down through the years.<\/p>\n It felt amazing!<\/p>\n The voices included Catherine, Reflecting before #ALTC: personal & political<\/strong><\/a> Frances,\u00a0Reflecting<\/strong> before #ALTC: Rear view mirror and forward vision<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>Teresa MacKinnon, Road to Nowhere<\/strong><\/a> (citing Donna Laclos, And you may find yourself\u2026<\/strong><\/a> ), and Louise Drumm,\u00a0Theatre, feminism and learning technology \u2013 a personal\u00a0story<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s many more. The google doc http:\/\/bit.ly\/ALTC-Bell-Cronin<\/a> is continually being updated with new links and content. There is great power in sharing experience.<\/p>\n Surfacing the voices of women in education technology began with #femedtech,<\/a>\u00a0an initiative aimed at creating space for those involved in \u2018\u2026a daily struggle to do the work, look for the job and be the person who is and who looks after others<\/a>\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n #femedtech passed me by. I\u2019d interpreted it as being for women who code. Then I saw the \u2018M\u2019 word in Catherine and Frances\u2019s ALT conference abstract which motivated me to write Political and critical; a personal reflection<\/strong><\/a>. I shared the post and others came forward with similar experiences. The collective voice reinforced how it\u2019s never too late to work towards change, as Teresa MacKinnon<\/a>\u00a0wrote so inspiringly \u2018I want to see the equality we were promised back in the 70\u2019s delivered to all women along with the necessary support for those who are the most vulnerable in our society\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n The 1970\u2019s were pre-internet and home computers. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t so very long ago. You could say I was there at the start and had always been concerned about digital inequality. Tim Berners Lee<\/a>\u00a0had called the internet an opportunity for digital democracy. It seemed to offer potential connections for people with disabilities who were already experiencing physical and attitudinal exclusion.<\/p>\n In 1976, the Fundamental Principles of Disability<\/a> was published (UPIAS, 1976).\u00a0This called for a social model of disability which challenged the existing medical view whereby impairment caused exclusion. Instead there were new calls to see physical barriers to equal access in the built environment. The 1970s saw increased calls for accessibility, following the principles of Universal Design<\/a>\u00a0whereby changes for some create an improved environment for all. Who hasn\u2019t benefited from this and appreciated ramps into public buildings when pushing a bike or buggy or dragging a suitcase or trolley on wheels.<\/p>\n If barriers to access are in the built environment then digital exclusion is the scandal of the 21st century. For all technology can enable people, it can disable too. Yet digital dis-ability is the great shhh\u2026…secret. Time and time again I see reference to gender, class, age, race and religion, but disability is missing.<\/p>\n Exclusion comes in many shapes and forms; it can be contextual, environmental, personal. The ALT conference keynotes addressed education technology from broader social and cultural perspectives. Three keynotes by three women, each offering their unique perspectives on education technology; looking back, looking forwards.<\/p>\n Tressie McMillan Cottom<\/a>\u00a0Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University (livestream<\/a>), stressed the contextual elements and how understanding education technology required an equal understanding of the environment. Amber Thomas, Head of Academic Technology, at the University of Warwick(livestream<\/a>) looked back over twenty years with the key message being it\u2019s not about the technology, it\u2019s about the people who use it, choose it, and are affected by it. Maren Deepwell<\/a>, CEO of ALT (livestream<\/a>), completed the triad with a timely reminder education technology is a field of practice and within that practice, equality is the responsibility of everyone.<\/p>\n While the zeitgeist mood of the conference was about the personal being political, it\u2019s practice which really matters. Our actions have the potential for disempowerment, just as making assumptions can be discriminatory. There\u2019s no better way to uncover the underlying structures of exclusion than through sharing stories. Theory matters but it emerges from narrative. So many lives bear witness to how gendered perspectives have influenced opportunities and choices and continue to do so. These lived experiences contribute so much to our understanding of seeing and being in the world.<\/p>\n Reflecting on my experience of motherhood, divorcehood, single parenthood has been cathartic. For me, reading the narratives of others is validatory and life-affirming.\u00a0 Together we are stronger. Thank you Catherine and Frances for opening the box.<\/p>\n How was it for you?<\/p>\n Please do keep the stories coming.<\/p>\n Use #ALTC<\/a>, #PersonalALTC<\/a>, #FemEdTech<\/a> to blog, tweet or contribute to the google doc http:\/\/bit.ly\/ALTC-Bell-Cronin<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s your turn now!<\/p>\n![\"Image](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1112\/2018\/10\/Tree-chain-image.jpg?resize=600%2C324&ssl=1\")
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