Diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness - Reflective Post #8

This week's readings and videos again surround the topic of the "Digital Divide" that has been discussed at some length in Modules 2, 3, and 4. However this week we're reading about some of the historical context of the digital divide as well as the idea of the "Participative Divide."

The New Literacy: Scenes from the Digital Divide 2.0

This somewhat dated article gives you a glimpse into the past about what the future was set to look like, much like we get to experience now in 2015 when we watch Back to the Future II. The article talks about new technologies and terms that are now memories (e.g. Second Life, Social Bookmarking, MySpace). This article is broken down into five parts with the first discussing how students collaborate online to learn and create content. The next three sections are the heart of the content where individuals (part two - Connie Yowell; part three - Howard Rheingold; part four - Mike Wesch) voice their opinion on learning. The last section explains some of the recent moments that defined technology (e.g. The High Performance Computing Act of 1991) in America.

In 2009 when this article was written it cited a study from the MacArthur Foundation that reads, "each day, 80% of American Teenagers use a computer. Half of them are creating digital-media content, and a third of them are sharing that content on the internet." While some of the predictions that were discussed in the article did not come true, it did make an accurate claim that the classroom is no longer the learning place for digital natives. Connie Yowell also stated that she believes we are in, "a time of networked learning, kids are communicating and collaborating with each other in ways that fundamentally shift the role of the teacher and adult." Mike Wesch also explained Web 2.0 technology where users don't need to know complex code to create websites or high end video editors to upload content to YouTube or be a professional photographer to upload popular photos to Flickr. Howard Rheingold believes social media will revolutionize the world of learning as students will be, "[engaged] in learning how to get facts themselves."

The Participation Divide: Content Creation and Sharing in the Digital Age

This article addresses the idea that men and women may not be equally participating in creating and sharing online content. The article provides data to support that assumption; nearly two out of three men (63.3%) create and share content online compared to one out of every two women (50.6%). While there is no noticeable skill difference between men and women, the article suggests that women are "significantly less likely to share their creations on the web." The concern here is that women may be under-represented online and forfeit the, "ability to set the agenda of public discussions and debates."

Finding a Place in Cyberspace: Black Women, Technology, and Identity

The next article gets even more granular with it's topic in that black women are even more likely to be under-represented online and in technology in general. The article points to the digital divide as a theory for under-representation for African American Internet and computer users at least as of 2005 when the article was written. The article also states that the number of African American computer users has, "grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years, and most studies note that this jump coincides with the rapid decrease in hardware prices." The article also offers other opinions for the digital divide such as Henry Louis Gates, Jr. mentions a lack of initiative on the part of African American working class and Anthony Walton shared his belief that technology has been a historical enemy of African Americans. The article also interviewed three black women who are technology professionals to gain insight into the digital divide issue. These women explained their thoughts that also align with a lack of resources, not enthusiasm or curiosity, promoted computer illiteracy.

Slamming the Closet Door and Taking Control

This article was a bit elementary in nature. The author takes a lot of time to explain the basics of podcasting throughout the article. The main theme here is that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population is under-represented in podcasts. From there the author goes on to explain how LGBT podcasts came to be as individuals stepped up to be a voice for this community. Some of these users were able to share their thoughts and opinions somewhat anonymously which empowers them to do so without the fear of face-to-face confrontation and backlash.

One Laptop Per Child Mission

One Laptop Per Child's mission is, "provide each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop." This organization creates laptops for harsh conditions as well as durable enough for kids to use and abuse. They also strive to keep the cost low so they can make a large quantity or very little money. Since these computers go to harsh, third-world environments, they want to ensure that the laptops will stay powered. To do so, these laptops have the ability to recharge using alternative energy, such as solar power, for places that don't have electricity. There are five principles that the program prides itself on:

1. The children keep the laptops. They can take them home and use whenever they want.
2. The focus is on early education, 6 to 12 year olds.
3. No one gets left out. The whole classroom and school get computers.
4. Connection to the internet. Students need to be able to access the internet since there are a lot of ways to learn and share online.
5. Free to grow and adapt. Open source software is free and adaptable for students that way they can continue to use it as they grow and learn.

Giving a laptop to a child changes the world by closing the digital divide so everyone has the opportunity to participate in learning and creating.

Can One Laptop per Child Reduce the Digital Divide and Educational Gap?

This article was written based on the research to, "assess the effectiveness of OLPC in narrowing the digital divide between poor and rich children in China." The article was also concerned with developing technological skills of the "disadvantaged children" in China. The results show that test scores improved. The OLPC program may have contributed to the higher test scores but the article suggests that it is more important to, "provide [students] with a carefully designed package...that can help them continue to learn at home." The author also realizes that if students do not have access to the internet, their computer skills are more likely to be undeveloped and the OLPC program also serves that need.

Summary

As stated before, this week's readings are strongly tied to the concept of the digital divide which is a great concern in educational technology. Not everyone has access to the same resources leaving them at a disadvantage. However, some of those who have access to these resources may not be participating in online collaboration and content sharing for whatever reason. As the cost of technology decreases, more users particularly from under-represented groups may become involved in online communities. Creating content is certainly becoming easier, professionals are not the only ones creating high-end content for consumption, instead we can learn something from almost anyone who chooses to share content online. Thankfully there are organizations such as One Laptop Per Child that allow disadvantaged children the opportunity to become involved in the global online learning communities we find all over the world wide web. One Laptop Per Child has only been around since 2005 so we have to wait a few more years to hear about the success stories that these laptops have created.