Assignment 2: Janusz Strzepek
Last modified by Hal Eden on 2010/08/20 11:06
I understand the "Digital Divide" as the difference in people's ability to use information technology and hence (more importantly) information. The difference could be caused by lack of knowledge. For example, and elderly person who has never used a computer will likely have problems. The "Divide" can also be because of cost and lack of infrastructure, as with people from poorer countries. Because of this difference, whole sections of society are left out of the community, news, and opportunities technology can provide.
A specific opportunity missed because of the "Digital Devide" is Education. Throughout my own education, I have been using computers to and learning how to use computers. In places the school system cannot afford such tools, the children are put at a significant disadvantage. They won't have the learning tools computers provide and (in my opinion more importantly) they will not gain experience using computers. Without this educational experience they will not have access to the growing job market for computer trained people. Thus, their regions will continue to be poor.
One attempt to overcome this part of the Divide is the One Laptop per Child project. By producing and donating low cost, network-able laptops to schools in poorer countries, children can receive the modern education they need. I heard of this project from a couple of news sources over the past few years, so that I why I chose to focus on this aspect of the Divide.
I see the CLever project working to close the Digital Divide by making it easy for people without much tech skill to use technology. Both the mother and the daughter were able to use easy IT interfaces to help them solve their problems.
