I would like to add something about participatory action research here: You go to the people. You ask them what they want, what they need. You don't tell them what they need.
You teach them about participatory action research methods of choosing goals: everyone's voice is important, and if you don't feel heard, you have the right to the floor to speak your piece. You show them mistakes others have made (giving up cultural treasures held in common for an ill-conceived industry, giving up their own culture to take on a new one instead of taking a third stance that includes both - there are plenty of pitfalls to be avoided.) In participatory action research, the group sets goals, after studying pitfalls and advantages; in an ideal situation, the group reaches the goals and is so strong that it can go on without the original researcher. The researcher is said to be "emancipated" because she or he is no longer necessary. To me, basic is not just about basic technology. It is about basic methods, empowering people and educating people so that they can make their own decisions about what basic means to them. - Sandy, a teacher at heart and a member of a participatory action group that seeks to bring tools to those least likely to have them On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 10:01:26 +0000 (GMT), Cindy Lemcke-Hoong <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is the hear-say "story" about China in the 70s after Nixon (have I got > the history bit right?) paid a visit to China ... > > Selling and buying began ... some of the end stories of this era ... brand > new and huge farming equipment abandoned and rusted on rural farming grounds > --- farmland once belongs to the 'greedy' landlords were divided into small > plots for each individuals ... Caterpilar can only moves few steps in any > directions on their new tiny homes ... > > Or the story I was told not 6 months ago by an Indian journalist of the Meena > Girls in India. This was in the 80s ???. Money spent on developing the > training programs and these were put on video tapes. When volunteers armed > with the training materials arrived at small villages, not only they could > not find VCR, some of these villages did not even have electricity. > > So, here I am looking at the world trying to solve digital divide for the > poor developing world. Are we going to ship thousands of PC and install > hot-spots for WIFI access, and then BINGO .. the local, perhaps, cannot read > the language adequately enough to benefit from the wealth of information > online? Therefore how can 'they' sustain their interest on 'learning' and > benift from those wonderful information they could access to? > > Guessed what I saw at two village Internet Cafes in Malaysia? I was the only > one there retrieving and sending emails. The rest of the 10 or so customers > were young kids the age of 10 to 15 playing digital games. I do agree we can > gain some skills playing games, but what skills can one gain from playing all > these internet war games??? > > Or some NGOs in the rush of showing 'I also have a website', spent millions > and millions on developing some ultra First world site, then discovered the > end result qua usage from their 'target audiences' is way, way below what it > should be ... and then they wondery why ??? > > And this is not a joke ... when I was tech instructor for Motorola 1994-6, I > had engineers that did not know what is 'delete' on a key-board. They never > saw, up-closed, or used a key-board in their life. The gap is not so much the > wireless technologies, the gap is day-to-day operations. > > Assuming eventually I can access the same information the finance minister > could. What am I suppose to do with it? Run the country? I know it is just > figure of speech, but it is this type of statement from person that is so > high-up with so much advantages, such as World Bank or IMF or the US > president, that scares me. They are setting the goals for the Frist world, > not the Third world. And we call them 'have visions'. > > Let's get down to the basic. BUILD the basic, give them the basic, teach them > the basic, teach them how to use the tools. Don't give them bubbles. Most of > all identify other stakeholders that can give their shares of valuable input > to this 'digital divide' DREAMS. > > Cindy > > Andy Carvin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I just saw this quote in the report book distributed here at the Baramati > conference: > > "We must work towards the day when through the Internet, through distance > learning, through cellular phones and wind-up radios, the village elder or > the aspiring student will have access to the same information as the > finance minister. Communications technology gives us the tool for true > participation. This is leveling the playing field. This is real equity." > > -World Bank President James Wolfensohn, Prague Annual Meetings, September > 2000 > > I wonder if the Reuters reporter who produced the story last week saying > that the World Bank believes the digital divide is being bridged "rapidly" > and that we shouldn't worry about the issue so much would reconsider his > story based on this statement. Because if this situation hasn't been > realized, then the digital divide is nowhere close to being bridged. -ac > > ------------------------------------------------- > Andy Carvin > Program Director > EDC Center for Media & Community > acarvin @ edc . org > http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org > http://www.edwebproject.org/andy/blog/ > ------------------------------------------------- > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE > in the body of the message. > > Men know what is happening now. > The gods know the things of the future, > the full and sole possessors of all lights. > Of the future things, wise men perceive > approaching things. Their hearing > > is sometimes, during serious studies, > disturbed. The mystical clamor > of approaching events reaches them. > And they heed it with reverence. While outside > on the street, the peoples hear nothing at all. > > Constantine P. Cavafy (1915) > > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE > in the body of the message. > -- Sandra Sutton Andrews, PhD [EMAIL PROTECTED] Instruction and Research Director The Floaters Organization _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
