Introduction

Communications, Education and Employment for Women through Information Technology - CEEWIT is a project with the aim of developing methodology and teaching material for the instruction of women in rural areas in the use of IT technology and the Internet and to run test courses. CEEWIT is a project supported under the Leonardo da Vinci Programme of the European Commission with four partner countries involved who share common concern about rural women´s access to IT. These lead partners are Norway – Austreim Vidaregaande Skule, Iceland – IceTech, Ireland – Greenfield Coordinators and Slovakia – Prospecta.

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The background of the project was the frequently stated gender gap in computer proficiency as well as the geographical and social isolation of women in rural areas. Several surveys and research show that males and females report different attitudes to computers and experience computers differently. Unless this problem is overcome there is a danger that ODL using IT will exclude many women from continuing vocational training, lifelong learning and participation in the IT society.

All four partners have identified the need for developing effective training materials to enhance the IT – related skills of rural women, based on preliminary work in the field. The methodologies for the development is built on:

Practical use of technology, catering to women´s interests, provision of an easy access to technology and extensive help, creation of a friendly environment and provision of psychological preparation to diminish computer anxiety.

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The methodology and the teaching material have been developed directly on the Web and are now ready for translation and the first test run. Several experts from all participating countries have contributed to the work but the Icelandic experts designed the web-site.

A very important part of the project is the evaluation, which is intended to be conducted throughout the entire project. The success of the implementation of the project will be evaluated by whether the courses have been introduced successfully in each participating country, whether the methodology is likely to be adopted by non-participants and by the feedback from the test groups and the national partners.