In one of our conference postings this last week there was mention of a fellow student's challenge in managing the interaction between a Palestinian and Israeli participant. This post caused me to be reminded of an earlier OMDE classmate who had been a recent expatriate from Iran. This expatriate and I started to build a cyber-based friendship and as a part of our discussions she described the repression of women in Iran. She went on to talk about some of her challenges as a female in that country, including her difficulty in gaining an education. E-learning was her only source of education while living in the country and it gave her at least a limited opportunity to learn. As a white, middle-income white male who grew up in a rather protected suburb of Washington, D.C., I found the challenges she faced both disconcerting and yet also gratifying that should could have at least partially met her learning goals through e-learning programs. E-learning has both positive and negative attributes, and certainly one of its greatest strengths is its ability to reach many who are underprivileged in our world. While she provided a powerful testament to the value of e-learning, I recognize its applicability to a far broader range of learners throughout the world.
In conclusion, I provide here a short video of the challenges Iranian women face today.
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