Last DD posting of the night...promise :-)
JWJ
Chalk and Technology Talk..Creating Learning Landscapes: Bridging the Digital Divide... In the US? People have forgotten minorities...
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Due to my changing job responsibilities and numerous serious personal
issues (I’ve been out of work for a month on medical leave) this blog has
run its cou...
14 years ago
4 comments:
At a lib'y meeting on distance learning, we talked about how some of our students don't have DSL. Some of the librarians from richer universities seemed shocked by this. One of the librarians finally said, look, I live 5 miles away from here (Ashland, OH) and I'm never going to have DSL because I live in a predominantly Amish area. I'm lucky to have dial-up. There are others in remote areas of the state who don't have it either. I had to add, not to mention the folks we get at community colleges who can't AFFORD to get DSL. Again, this seemed to be a big shock to some people. What?! You can't afford DSL?
I'm tired, and I'm rambling, but you get the point :-)
The different stand that are taken and the fights for causes are interesting... so much has happened as far as progress this last century.. it is amazing... in Ethics today, we watched this movie about two women in the fight for abolition and women's right to vote. It was interesting... people quickly forget it wasn't long ago women were considered "stupid" and had no rights... we were considered property. When a couple got divorced for the longest time a woman was lucky if she only got the clothes on her back... they never got the kids... the two women the movie was about fought long and hard rallying for women's rights and died long before women were given the right to vote in the US. These women fed and housed slaves that were trying to get up to Canada before the civil war happened. It was interesting and your comments about the dd made me think of it. Thanks for sharing your convictions with us!
Ok maybe I am missing the point or maybe it is the population that I work with. I know that there is a goal to have everyone have the same advantages of everyone else and I respect that but we live in a world where there are people who are truly stupid and deserve the lot they get in life. Here is a prime example. I have a client who has to drive by a beautiful public library every time he comes and sees me. We were working toward getting him some employment and some help with his skills and the library offers a reading and typing class for free. Great right. This man doesn't know where it is.
I am tired about people bitching about how they got a bum hand in life yet they sit on their ass and don't do anything to change it. I have seen people down on their luck work 2 jobs and turn their lives around b/c they wanted to. They took every piece of info and every resource they could get their hands on. It is not a matter of money it is a matter of desire. If people want it they will demand it or will find a way to get it. If they don't let them rot away and stop giving them the funding to keep popping out kids.
Yeah, the problem with this Digital Divide article is it comes across as whiny. I'm learning, the more I research the DD and information poverty, the more I realize that there is a huge difference in perception as to why we provide aid to certain groups.
I disagree with the author's stance that the rural and the poor are being ignored in favor of developing nations. Americans actually provide less per capita in aid to the Third World than Luxenburg.
The problem is Americans and Westerners percieve the solution to ending the digital divide in terms of gifts. As if "Dude, the government gave me a Dell" works.
Technology must be shared, but we shouldn't necessarily create a Digital Welfare State, either - especially at home.
While the author does point out some valid points (there's a perception that everyone in the States is online, when only 64% have internet access), her arguements are relegated to a "Where's my Handout?" rhetoric.
Ms. Monkeythong makes a better argument with her example. The problem with the Digital Divde in the US is a lack of understanding that technology is not the great equalizer in society. It comes down to the distribution of wealth. Some can afford it, some can't.
In the developing world, the problem is so much more complex. There are few telephones to even use dial-up service. Governments like China and Nepal censor web content and read e-mail to control the flow of information. And there's bigger fish to fry, like real-world poverty, hunger, and AIDS.
Christ, I really think too much about this shit.
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