Assignment 2 (A2) - Stephen Butler

The Digital Divide

The digital divide is a term used to describe the separation between those in the world who have access to information communication technologies (#bubblec('ICTs', 'Not a problem but unusual that you never actually use the abbreviation you introduce here :)')) and those who don't. Although it is often mistakenly used to describe that separation between first-world societies and third-world societies, it can also describe the gap between individuals within a society. As technology becomes more ubiquitous having access and an understanding on how to use it will become increasingly important. Technology has the power to provide information, education, commerce, and communication. Those who have access, understand its potential, and understand how to use it have a competitive advantage. Their world is opened up to more job opportunities, communities of interest, connection to the global economy, timely information, and a wealth of learning materials all of which can be used to improve themselves or their situation. Those who don't have access are left to struggle.

There are no easy solutions to the digital divide. While many companies have tried to donate technology, connect communities to the Internet, and provide training - their success has been limited by the situational issues of those communities. Issues of geography have hindered wireless network connections. Issues of finances have hindered repairs and staying up-to-date with the technology. Issues of literacy and language have made adoption difficult if not impossible. Issues of gender and culture have only increased the gap in areas. Issues of priorities and living conditions, such as no electricity, running water, or roads have eliminated entire communities from participation. And individuals living in famished communities are hard pressed to understand how a computer can benefit them when they are simply searching for their next meal. This divide, if left alone, will only increase the societal gap between the rich and the poor. In societies where this social gap is large there is typically more crime, disease, and suffering. Due to the global nature of our world, this impact will be felt everywhere. Unfortunately addressing the issue of the digital divide is difficult and can not be approached from a single direction or solution.


Education and the Digital Divide

Education is one of the areas often highlighted as a reason why it is important to provide technology to all individuals and communities. With a computer and access to the Internet the wealth of human knowledge is essentially at their fingertips. This could open up doors for job opportunities, health improvements, strengthening of community, improvements to efficiency, and/or quality of life. Nicholas Negroponte, former director of the MIT Media Lab founded a non-profit organization called One Laptop Per Child (http://www.laptop.org/) whose goal is to provide all children of the world access to information technologies through a durable laptop. His program has focused on the design of a rugged laptop and a new user interface for the laptop. By typical standards, the laptop is small, underpowered, and feels more like a toy. Even so, it includes some impressive features such as: flash hard drive (1GB), display viewable in direct sunlight (7.5" Dual Mode), low power consumption (0.5 - 5.0 watts), game pad controls, touchpad, audio, wireless networking (b/g and mesh), video camera (640x480), USB, water and dust resistance, and a rotating display that can fold down into tablet form. While the vision was for the computer to cost $100 and to only sell to countries in orders over 1 million, the realities have not led up to that vision. To date, the computer costs around $180 and the program has only be deployed in Peru (260k), Uruguay (300k), Mexico (50k), and the US state of Alabama (15k).

One of the large issues with Negroponte's approach is that he is trying to make one device that works for everyone. He has also focused too much time and energy on the hardware and not enough on the educational pedagogy and realities of the communities he is working with. His communities include many illiterate individuals and while the user interface uses icons, those representations can mean different things to different cultures and ultimately a lot of the programs require typing on a keyboard; a few african languages do not even have a written language, their language is only spoken. The software included on the device also lacks a serious educational approach. While the tools can certainly be used for educational purposes, the motivation in these communities might not exist when issues like food, water, and sanitation are higher priorities.


CLeaver project and the Digital Divide

Technology changes at a fast pace and with economies of scale it is often designed and marketed to the majority of the population. Individuals with cognitive disability are often not considered when tools are designed and thus those technology tools become difficult, if not impossible for them to use. This creates a gap between those that have access and those that do not; thus another digital divide is created. The CLeaver project movie showed an example of using the technology tools to aide cognitively disadvantaged individuals so that they can gain more independence. The movie example was focused on helping a woman with mild cognitive disabilities use public transportation as a way to be more self-sufficient. The technology tools took this woman's disability into consideration and helped provide reminders, visual feedback, and directions. This helps to increase the activities this individual can do on a daily basis and helps to reduce the gap.