Effects of E-Learning on Girls' Presence and Empowerment to Access Education

Introduction

Women's empowerment is the most significant concept acknowledging women's contributions as active, indispensable elements for societal growth and development. An institution like the United Nations and other economies emphasise on promoting women's skills and abilities, develop their social relationships, and support their ability to enjoy stability and equilibrium. Many organisations have prioritised women's empowerment in their development programs and projects for example; Women's Global Empowerment Fund in 2007 was established for the women of Uganda, Centre for Productive Rights, Women for Women International, Saudi Vision 2030 for Women Empowerment and many more (Rossen, 2018; Topal, 2019).

In a speech at the 72^nd regular session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 72) in September 2017, the female representative of Saudi Arabia confirmed the country's deep belief in women's critical role in society's power. Her words confirmed that acknowledging women's social, economic, and political empowerment; providing them with safe atmospheres and services facilitating their participation in their national duties; and ensuring they benefit from the full enjoyment of their rights would contribute to increasing development along with accomplishing the country's sustainable development Vision 2030.

Education particularly promotes women's empowerment because academic achievements enable the pursuit of women's desired, effective roles in society. Notably, information and communication technology (ICT) provides tools to empower women's access to lifelong learning, continuing education, and training resources, being a basic, indispensable mechanism fostering social and economic growth and development. Lack of access to ICT denies women and their families growth opportunities and increased income; reduces communities' skill levels and limits their productivity; and hinders competitiveness in global markets (Dlodlo, 2009).

Saudi Arabia has reiterated its commitment to women's empowerment and their social, scientific, and economic advancement. The country has facilitated access to advanced technologies, e.g., e-learning environments are widely available in public schools; thus, female students have enhanced communication and exposure to the world.

Alahmari and Kyei-Blankson (2016) explained that the Classera e-learning system, an educational network providing teachers and students with a safe learning environment suitable for all educational purposes, has been adapted to various learning environments in Saudi Arabia's K–12 schools and can be integrated into online, blended, or traditional settings to improve teaching and learning; connect students with lesson content, teachers, and peers; and connect teachers with parents. Classera integrates e-learning tools and face-to-face teaching to create teacher-led learning environments and has been implemented in blended learning at selected K–12 schools. Students can interact with delivered learning content, teachers, and peers either face-to-face or online and include most features available in learning management systems (LMSs) (e.g., online grade books, assessment tools, and e-textbooks).

Yang, Yeh, and Wong (2010) regard students' educational interaction with technology as vital because it enables teachers to monitor and follow-up on students' activities. The educational literature has repeatedly emphasised that teachers who ignore technological media interactions usually induce a negative effect, hindering learning. Sharples, Taylor, and Vavoula (2007) observed interaction as a dynamic process possibly influenced by continual interactions with others.

From Garrison and Cleveland-Innes's (2005) perspective, besides participant interaction in e-learning environments, facilitating certain types of presence in learning environments (e.g., a social, cognitive, and teaching presence) is also possible. These factors contribute to fostering e-learning experiences and maximise their significance and long-term sustainability.

Several models and conceptual frameworks in the literature have attempted to manage interaction patterns and e-learning environment activities, e.g., the community of inquiry framework (CoIF) in Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, (2000). This significant educational model is used to measure student participation, interaction, and satisfaction levels, and student–e-learning environment interactions are considered the main influencing factors in promoting students' academic achievement, success, and learning (Akyol, Vaughan, & Garrison, 2011; Boston et al., 2009; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2010; Ke, 2010; Shea et al., 2010a, 2011).