Re: [DDN] What does it mean to be a technology activist?
Do we have enough for a Wikipedia entry yet? Is this more of a demeanor, a leaning, or, is it a 'career,' or perhaps a bent. On 3/30/06, Taran Rampersad [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Peter Jones just left a really great comment on this - it deserves mention. The crux of his comment is below; you can read the comment by following the link after it. Back in the 1980s management and IT lit. used to espouse the need for and existence of hybrid managers. Traditional management skills PLUS knowledge and skills in IT. These people were the champions within their organisations and sectors. Perhaps a tech activist CAN BE a 'hybrid citizen' a person who can use their ICT skills to initiate change at various levels and in various roles, for example: * formal community informatics projects * local youth club * older people's community project * and so on ... http://www.knowprose.com/node/11473#comment-6172 -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago [EMAIL PROTECTED] Looking for contracts/work! http://www.knowprose.com/node/9786 New!: http://www.OpenDepth.com http://www.knowprose.com http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/ Criticize by creating. — Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] Re: What does it mean to be a technology activist?
I'd go along with Andy and perhaps further. Is anyone a technology activist, in the sense of an activist for technology for its own worth? I know for my colleague and I, it's meant some difficult situations. For him these include stand-offs with corrupt government, arrest and detention at gunpoint, being excluded from 2 countries, homeless, excluded from parenthood and a frugal and solitary existence . It's involved lobbying goverments for reform, challenging unjust laws and their enforcers, engaging civil rights activists and exposing economic hit-men. It's part of the quest for civilisation, a stand against the world that might exist if we were activists for technology alone. Jeff ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] virtual usiness support for home workers
Hello I have been reading digital divide with interest. We are a community enterprise innovation centre with both physical and virtual businesses. We have developed a project which supports disadvantaged groups who cannot follow traditional work patterns,such as carers, people with disabilities, older people and those living in remote areas, to set up their businesses from home. One of the identified disadvantages of home working is the feeling of isolation and lack of the rich social interaction that is inherent in workplaces. The package we have developed uses the ubiquitous technologies that are present on all computers plus the free programmes such as VoIP; messenger and desktop video conferencing. We provide the webcam and a whole package of support which emulates the social and business networking in our Innovation Centre. This provides the face-to-face interaction which addresses the isolation of homeworkers and provides a structure of support round their work patterns. Key to the success of this is not so much the technology but its use in enabling this human social interaction. You can read more on our website www.devicesproject.org.uk [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
RE: [DDN] What does it mean to be a technology activist?
This is a great thread and enough to bring another lurker to the surface. Thinking back to the people I have worked with over the years on Telecentre, ISP and other ICT com-dev initiatives, very few of those who truly made a difference had a technical background nor could they be termed 'technocrats' under anything but loosest of definition - Many had problems even turning a computer on, yet with vision and drive did much to bridge this global technical divide. 'Hybrid Citizen' certainly seems an apt descriptor for 'Technology Activists', although IMO the 'technology' component has much less influence than the 'activist' component. Rgds, Don ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
Re: [DDN] What does it mean to be a technology activist?
Alex Rollin wrote: Do we have enough for a Wikipedia entry yet? Is this more of a demeanor, a leaning, or, is it a 'career,' or perhaps a bent. I believe that we could say that it's a general descriptor, sort of like 'concerned citizen'. I think we can break technology activism away from 'technological activism' - activism centered around technology. The human-centric perspective is the way I see technology activism (and appears to be the consensus so far). As Jeff Mowatt pointed out, being such an activist can come with a heavy price tag. I wouldn't say that it's been horribly disfiguring for me, but being who I am and speaking my mind as I do definitely rubs a lot of the 'powers that be' the wrong way and has (sometimes serious) repercussions. Technological activism, on the other hand (and I just made this up), is more of the activism for specific technologies. A technology activist might take part in technological activism - in saying that technology X would be useful in country Z because of Y. But being a technological activist doesn't mean that one is a technology activist - in the Venn diagram, it's a merge point with mainly business. For example, I vocally support Digicel in Trinidad and Tobago for providing competition to what is still presently a legal monopoly for telecommunications, so that's a form of technological activism. But the reason I am doing it is because it gives people more options, not that I particularly like Digicel - so it's technology activism. If I worked for Digicel, it could still be technology activism, I suppose, but not as credible because of the direct financial benefit. I don't know about other people who call themselves technology activists, or are called technology activists, but I think largely it's a matter of making things better for people. Were we in a period where fire was invented, we'd be the people handing out burning twigs to other tribes. A technological activist might sell them for dinosaur eggs, shells, or so forth... and that's clearly not technology activism. When we figured out how to make fire, we'd share that too... but a technological activist might not, instead using it to barter. I think at the end of the day... technology activism could be seen as a selfish act. In a way it is for me. I don't get progress unless the people around me get progress... and one of the principles of this is that we want a better world, we're dissatisfied with the one we see, and we don't believe in advancing by pushing others down so we can stand on them. But all of this is just a tip of the iceberg on my perspective... someone commented on my blog that as a phrase, 'technology activism' doesn't mean too much... and yet, it's the ambiguity of the phrase that gained my acceptance... it doesn't limit what I do. It defines HOW I do things pretty well. If I had a lot of money, I'd probably still be doing what I am doing. It's a theory worth testing. Someone give me lots of money and let's see what happens! :-) -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago [EMAIL PROTECTED] Looking for contracts/work! http://www.knowprose.com/node/9786 New!: http://www.OpenDepth.com http://www.knowprose.com http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/ Criticize by creating. — Michelangelo ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] video - telling your multimedia story using free software
hi DDN community - for those who might be interested, i've posted on the web a video of a presentation i gave about telling your multimedia story on the web using free software tools. i used the free web hosting at the internet archive to distribute this video. (http://www.archive.org) see http://digg.com/technology/ Telling_Your_Multimedia_Story_Using_Free_Software_Tools or http://tinyurl.com/zxy6r - phil -- Phil Shapiro [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/pshapiro http://digg.com/users/pshapiro/submitted http://www.his.com/pshapiro/stories.menu.html Wisdom starts with wonder. - Socrates Learning happens through gentleness. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
RE: [DDN] What does it mean to be a technology activist?
This is very true, several of my colleagues and our organization has been using this term in programs and civic engagement. We have a program that we call Techno Activism Project which we do in partnership with SALSA as an ongoing training series www.hotsalsa.org. We've been doing programs like this for over five years. We work with social activists to become techno activists. Many are and don't know it. Peace and Blessings Shireen Mitchell ~~~ Executive Officer - Digital Sisters, Inc. VP Community Technology Centers' Network Main Office 202.722.6881 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.digital-sistas.org www.ctcnet.org CFC# 5630 -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Andy Carvin Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 10:52 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] What does it mean to be a technology activist? Technology activist isn't really a new term; I've been hearing it for at least a decade. Do a Google search for it and you'll get at least 500 hits. I also searched google groups and found Phil Agre using it in a CPSR newsletter in August 1994. So it's more of an oldie-but-goodie than anything else... -andy Many thanks to you Taran for the term technology activist Actually, a lot of people don't realize it... but I believe that it's actually Andy who coined the term, at least in describing me. - I anticipate that those words will save me - and many other technology activists - lots of long complicated descriptions. Now we can simply say what we *are* - instead of having to describe what we are trying to do. Brilliant. Andy deserves a bow on that one. -- -- Andy Carvin acarvin (at) edc . org andycarvin (at) yahoo . com http://www.digitaldivide.net http://www.andycarvin.com -- ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] Planning Help Needed
Hello Everyone, I am normally a lurker here on the list, mainly because of my lack of knowledge. My father always told me it is better to be thought an idiot and remain silent than to open your mouth and remove all doubt, so I try to live by that rule (LOL). We are beginning to work on a project with the government that involves making a Mobile Command Center for first responders using excess equipment from first responders and the government. This is all in the experimental and planning stage, and there is a lot to figure out. One thing that has come up, and the reason I am writing this letter, is that Microsoft will supposedly be releasing Vista soon. From what I am told this will make older operating systems obsolete, and possibly incompatible. Considering the Mobile Command Vehicle will be for long term use, and we are using computers 1-2 years old (recycled) we are curious if; 1) It is true older computers will soon become totally obsolete 2) Will there be interoperability issues 3) What is the best avenue to take to ensure that the network in the command center will not be a headache for the staff. The way we envision it, the Mobile Command Center will have it's own network, as well as having the ability for someone to plug in their laptop in the center and share files with the command staff. Any and all help with this planning part of this phase is appreciated, ... Mark Retired Asst. Chief Mark S. Warnick (Founder) Chief of Operations Helping Our Own (TM) Firefighter helping Firefighter http://www.helpingourown.org e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: 877-446-6435 (877-4-HOO-Help) Office 517-764-0641 Helping Our Own (TM) P.O. Box 413 Michigan Center, MI, 49254 ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] Race and the US digital divide: a current snapshot
Hi everyone, Today's New York Times has a feature story on the state of the digital divide in relation to African Americans and Latinos, emphasizing the progress that's been made in recent years. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/us/31divide.html The article notes recent data from the Pew Internet American Life project that suggests a stunning 79% of English-speaking Latinos have Internet access. This inspired me to blog about the issue, examining statistics from both Pew and the US Department of Commerce, which has tracked at-home Internet access for over a decade. http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2006/03/race_and_the_digital.html Some samples of what I wrote in response to the article: As I note above, the article mentions recent data from the Pew Internet American Life Project that suggests a surge of access, particularly by Latinos. According to their data, a whopping 79% of English-speaking Latinos access the Internet, beating out African Americans and whites - and perhaps even the Nordic countries, which generally have the highest Internet access rates in the world. However, it's worth noting that this 79% represents English-speaking Latinos only. According to the US Census Bureau, there are around 41.3 million Latinos in the US. Of these, nearly 14 million don't speak English well or at all. It's vital we collect better statistics about this community; otherwise, policymakers and philanthropists might hear a soundbyte that says four out of five Latinos are online and assume the problem is solved. Unless we address those who are most marginalized in our society - those that don't speak English - we're not tackling the problem adequately. Moreover, it's worth noting that the Pew data looks broadly at Internet access, asking respondents if they use the Internet at all, whether at home, school, work or elsewhere. These numbers are generally higher than the numbers of people who have Internet access at home. The US Department of Commerce's NTIA office has collected digital divide data for over a decade. In their surveys, the most recent of which was almost three years ago, they researched the percentages of households that had Internet access. According to their data, white households were far and away more likely to be online than African Americans or Latinos. For much of the 1990s, Latinos fared better than African Americans, but that pattern appeared to reverse in the year 2000, when African Americans surpassed Latinos. Why does any of this matter? As I suggested in the NY Times story, people may have Internet access, but if it's not at home, that access may be inadequate. Nearly 100% of US schools are online today, which would suggest that nearly all students would at some point or another have Internet access. But if some of them don't have access at home, they're at a severe disadvantaged when compared to their wired peers. Access through libraries and community technology centers are very important, but they don't solve all our problems, given the fact they tend to have limited operating hours and limited capacity. Some libraries are only open one or two days a week, and for a few hours at a time; imagine asking every kid in that community without home Internet access to complete an online course using such limited infrastructure. Read more here: http://www.andycarvin.com permalink: http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2006/03/race_and_the_digital.html -- -- Andy Carvin acarvin (at) edc . org andycarvin (at) yahoo . com http://www.digitaldivide.net http://www.andycarvin.com -- ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] Talkr: Creating Automated Audio Podcasts of Your Text Blog Entries
Hi everyone, I've just started experimenting with a rather funky tool called Talkr (http://www.talkr.com). Essentially, Talkr is a podcast generator for text blogs, and it has enormous implications for people with visual impairments and limited literacy. When you look at a typical blog, it's mostly text. This may be no problem for many people, but if you're reading skills aren't strong or you don't see well, text blogs can be quite a challenge. Meanwhile, thousands of Internet users create their own podcasts, which are basically blogs containing audio files. Apart from being really cool for everyone, podcasts are particularly useful for people who can't read or see well. But they're not exactly practical for the hard of hearing, either, who would benefit more from reading a text blog. Theoretically, it would be great if every person who wrote a text blog would record a podcast of it as well, but very few, if any bloggers bother to do this. Enter Talkr. Talkr is a Web-based speech synthesizer that takes the texts of blogs and generates and MP3 file, with a computer voice speaking the text. For people who just want to visit their favorite text blogs and listens to them, Talkr works as blog management tool; you simply add your favorite blogs to your account, and it will create a computer-generated voice mp3 for each entry. Meanwhile, for all of you bloggers out there, Talkr lets you embed a computer-generatd mp3 into each of your blog entries, and supplies you with an RSS feed for them. This means that users can either come to your blog and click a link to listen to the mp3, or they can use iTunes or another podcast management tool to subscribe to the feed and receive each new mp3 file automatically. Talkr is still a work in progress, but it's fascinated me to the point that I've decided to take a shot at integrating it into my blog. Each of my blog entries will now have a link at the bottom that says Listen to a computer-generated podcast of this article. Clickling the link will bring you to the mp3 file where you can hear the text being read aloud. (Note: I've noticed that the mp3 files don't work immediatley when you've posted a new blog entry; it takes at least a few minutes to generate the file.) For example, here's the MP3 file that was generated by my last blog entry, about race and the digital divide: http://www.talkr.com/audio/a/n/d/y/710679.mp3 Meanwhile, I've also added a new RSS feed that allows you to subscribe directly to the mp3 via iTunes or another podcast manager: http://feeds.feedburner.com/carvin-audiotext I will be very curious to hear what all of you think of this tool. The computer voice takes some getting used to - it's also a woman's voice, so don't expect to hear a radio-friendly baritone or anything like that. In practice, though, this tool could be used to help people who experience limited literacy skills or visual impairments, giving them a whole new way to participate in the blogosphere. Please let me know what you think. -andy http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2006/03/talkr_creating_audio.html -- -- Andy Carvin acarvin (at) edc . org andycarvin (at) yahoo . com http://www.digitaldivide.net http://www.andycarvin.com -- ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] FW: 2006 Vancouver Community Networking Summit POST Website
Take a look particularly at the Digital Tapestry... MG -Original Message- From: Bev [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: March 31, 2006 1:37 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [delegates] 2006 Summit POST Website Greetings everyone, Thank you again for attending the 2006 Summit and making it such a great success. Please visit www.2006summit.ca/post.htm to see pictures, the digital tapestry, read the final report and order your own Infinity @ Zero 2006 Summit t-shirt. We look forward to seeing you at the 2007 Summit. Thanks! Bev ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] bogus new york times article
hi DDN community members - the new york times botched it on this article covering the digital divide. although they include a quote from andy carvin, the whole tenor of the article is off. they're asking the wrong question. they don't get it at all. http://digg.com/technology/Digital_Divide_Closing_as_Blacks_Turn_to_Internet http://tinyurl.com/g4ern - phil -- Phil Shapiro [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/pshapiro http://digg.com/users/pshapiro/submitted http://www.his.com/pshapiro/stories.menu.html Wisdom starts with wonder. - Socrates Learning happens through gentleness. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] Re: What does it mean to be a technology activist?
New Orleans Voices For Peace is looking for media teams to volunteer to create Digital media for and about the grassroots efforts on The Gulf Coast. These teams will be provided a list of organizations and subjects to cover. How they cover those stories will be up to them and the gear they bring. New Orleans Voices For Peace will assist the teams with training and critique with demos on camera and editing and techniques in interviewing and story development. New Orleans Voices For Peace will also provide space on it's website, (http://www.neworleansvfp.org) to share the stories you create. To sign up to be apart of NOVFP, go to the website and sign up, its free! but, it also works! (http://www.neworleansvfp.org/user/register) Who can sign up? Anyone who has been living on the gulf coast areas effected by Katrina and Rita Hurricanes and has a personal story hey want to share about their experiences or someone whom has participated in an anti war event or volunteered for the gulf coast relief effort. If you have a computer, digital still or video camera Ipod or other digital audio recording device and want to participate in telling the real stories of survival, relief, peace and redemption, please get involved. If you have been to the Gulf Coast and are now back in the world, please consider joining as your stories and pictures are as important as new content. Teams that are planing to come to help document the grassroots culture, services and historical relevance should have their content gathering equipment. New Orleans Voices For pEace will provide space to host finished works and will look at anyones content to determine if it could be used in the New Orleans Voices For Peace productions. The money raised from New Orleans Voices For Peace DVDs and other products will be used to keep the media we make independent. Independent dose not mean with out a goal or mission. When we say we are independent, we mean it! We do not edit our stories to fit any party lines. Our organization's goals are to speak our minds, voice our concerns, and to share our opinions with others and we seek to earn support by assisting others in doing the same. Who's' in control? Our only control is that we do not allow anyone to promote hate, violence of any type, property damage, psychological, physical abuse or neglect. Gordon Soderberg (504) 419-0601 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.neworleansvfp.org Please contribute to this valued project: New Orleans Voices For Peace in care of: Plenty International PO Box 394 Summertown, TN 38483 (931) 964-4323 or 964-4864 http://www.plenty.org ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
Re: [DDN] bogus new york times article
Hi Phil, My blog post earlier today is a response to some of the issues raised in the article. I was surprised by the tone myself; when I talked to the author about a month ago, I got the impression he'd be writing it somewhat differently. http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2006/03/race_and_the_digital.html Phil Shapiro wrote: hi DDN community members - the new york times botched it on this article covering the digital divide. although they include a quote from andy carvin, the whole tenor of the article is off. they're asking the wrong question. they don't get it at all. http://digg.com/technology/Digital_Divide_Closing_as_Blacks_Turn_to_Internet http://tinyurl.com/g4ern - phil -- -- Andy Carvin acarvin (at) edc . org andycarvin (at) yahoo . com http://www.digitaldivide.net http://www.andycarvin.com -- ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
RE: [DDN] Race and the US digital divide: a current snapshot
I saw that article and made similar comments to my colleagues this morning. My point was that the digital divide community here in the US tends to move the goalpost, so to speak, over time - from access to computers in general to access in the home, then to Internet access, then home Internet access, and later to broadband access, which is a divide with which many Americans continue to struggle. And with the onset of ever-increasing bandwidth and download speeds, the potential for some Americans to be left further behind also increases. As technology changes, so must we - I think that;s the appropriate mantra of a Digital Divide advocate (dare I say technology activist?). That said, the NYT's article seems too victorious in tone, especially with quotes from prominent African American leaders that suggest that the Digital Divide is a bit of a misnomer. I was reminded of what a former colleague told me when I was about to join the Benton Foundation back in 2002 - The Digital Divide has been bridged. That was the popular rhetoric at the time here in Washington, Everyone has access to a computer and Internet access - our work is done! They didn't understand that this work is never really done. Cheers, Charlie Meisch [EMAIL PROTECTED] Original Message Follows From: Andy Carvin [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group[EMAIL PROTECTED],[EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [DDN] Race and the US digital divide: a current snapshot Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 15:22:28 -0500 Hi everyone, Today's New York Times has a feature story on the state of the digital divide in relation to African Americans and Latinos, emphasizing the progress that's been made in recent years. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/us/31divide.html The article notes recent data from the Pew Internet American Life project that suggests a stunning 79% of English-speaking Latinos have Internet access. This inspired me to blog about the issue, examining statistics from both Pew and the US Department of Commerce, which has tracked at-home Internet access for over a decade. http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2006/03/race_and_the_digital.html Some samples of what I wrote in response to the article: As I note above, the article mentions recent data from the Pew Internet American Life Project that suggests a surge of access, particularly by Latinos. According to their data, a whopping 79% of English-speaking Latinos access the Internet, beating out African Americans and whites - and perhaps even the Nordic countries, which generally have the highest Internet access rates in the world. However, it's worth noting that this 79% represents English-speaking Latinos only. According to the US Census Bureau, there are around 41.3 million Latinos in the US. Of these, nearly 14 million don't speak English well or at all. It's vital we collect better statistics about this community; otherwise, policymakers and philanthropists might hear a soundbyte that says four out of five Latinos are online and assume the problem is solved. Unless we address those who are most marginalized in our society - those that don't speak English - we're not tackling the problem adequately. Moreover, it's worth noting that the Pew data looks broadly at Internet access, asking respondents if they use the Internet at all, whether at home, school, work or elsewhere. These numbers are generally higher than the numbers of people who have Internet access at home. The US Department of Commerce's NTIA office has collected digital divide data for over a decade. In their surveys, the most recent of which was almost three years ago, they researched the percentages of households that had Internet access. According to their data, white households were far and away more likely to be online than African Americans or Latinos. For much of the 1990s, Latinos fared better than African Americans, but that pattern appeared to reverse in the year 2000, when African Americans surpassed Latinos. Why does any of this matter? As I suggested in the NY Times story, people may have Internet access, but if it's not at home, that access may be inadequate. Nearly 100% of US schools are online today, which would suggest that nearly all students would at some point or another have Internet access. But if some of them don't have access at home, they're at a severe disadvantaged when compared to their wired peers. Access through libraries and community technology centers are very important, but they don't solve all our problems, given the fact they tend to have limited operating hours and limited capacity. Some libraries are only open one or two days a week, and for a few hours at a time; imagine asking every kid in that community without home Internet access to complete an online course using such limited
RE: [DDN] Planning Help Needed
Considering the Mobile Command Vehicle will be for long term use, and we are using computers 1-2 years old (recycled) we are curious if; 1) It is true older computers will soon become totally obsolete 2) Will there be interoperability issues 3) What is the best avenue to take to ensure that the network in the command center will not be a headache for the staff. What you want is solid, not state of the art. Much of the federal government runs on Windows NT not Server 2003 and credit card transactions run at 300 bps not 56k. Entry level Vista machines will be 2.4 GHz and the current CTB runs badly, in my view, on a 2.8 dual core. Vista is delayed and is an unknown at this point. Think solid and dependable. Mike * Michael F. Pitsch [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Warnick Sent: Friday, March 31, 2006 9:35 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: [DDN] Planning Help Needed Hello Everyone, I am normally a lurker here on the list, mainly because of my lack of knowledge. My father always told me it is better to be thought an idiot and remain silent than to open your mouth and remove all doubt, so I try to live by that rule (LOL). We are beginning to work on a project with the government that involves making a Mobile Command Center for first responders using excess equipment from first responders and the government. This is all in the experimental and planning stage, and there is a lot to figure out. One thing that has come up, and the reason I am writing this letter, is that Microsoft will supposedly be releasing Vista soon. From what I am told this will make older operating systems obsolete, and possibly incompatible. Considering the Mobile Command Vehicle will be for long term use, and we are using computers 1-2 years old (recycled) we are curious if; 1) It is true older computers will soon become totally obsolete 2) Will there be interoperability issues 3) What is the best avenue to take to ensure that the network in the command center will not be a headache for the staff. The way we envision it, the Mobile Command Center will have it's own network, as well as having the ability for someone to plug in their laptop in the center and share files with the command staff. Any and all help with this planning part of this phase is appreciated, ... Mark Retired Asst. Chief Mark S. Warnick (Founder) Chief of Operations Helping Our Own (TM) Firefighter helping Firefighter http://www.helpingourown.org e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Phone: 877-446-6435 (877-4-HOO-Help) Office 517-764-0641 Helping Our Own (TM) P.O. Box 413 Michigan Center, MI, 49254 ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org 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.
[DDN] Race and the US digital divide: a current snapshot
Dear Charlie,( thank you) I thought according to our government that there was no problem with the digital divide. Some gurus or policy wonks decided that because cable wired all schools, that there was not a problem. I think many reporters have not been to rural, urban, or distant areas. I think a lot of people have not looked at the solutions to the digital divide or education that are so boring and dull that they put the light out in kids eyes and thinking. We can deal with boring, but we can't deal with the dullness in the classroom that is a drone of memorize this and test this. Well some of us can, but this is a new generation of kids who have all kinds of stimulation, except perhaps, in lots of classrooms that are .. well, state of the art, for 1980. In the meantime the real world goes on. Don't reporter ever visit schools, or is the problem that they don't understand what they see and the machine and the wires or wireless are it? The reporter had access to Andy.. but I think they don't listen. So sad. So terrible. Is this one of those stories planted to get our attention, as in media.. and how insulting to Blacks. Please... Navajo children are getting access only at school, but as Andy says, what's that. I worked as a teacher and then as a technology teachers. Can you say interruptions, can you say two kids on a computer, if they all are working? Can you say that the stuff people wanted me to use , was junk. I can. Can you say drill, drill, drill, and kill all interest in learning? I can. I always remember a teacher, a male who hated the technology, as I was able to get a child interested that he could not control, he would storm into the tech room and grab him by the ear. No technology until you do as I say!! He never even let him come after school. ( I fixed it.. I found an old computer, much as Phil might have understanding the situation. I taught him to read but in a church not one I belonged to but just because it was safe from that teacher. There are children who only have access at school. I know, because like many dedicated technology activists, or teachers who are desperate for kids to love learning as I do, I would stay until seven at school every day except Friday. None of my students had a computer at home. Many had only that half an hour in the school, well 40 minutes sometimes.. but there were constant interruptions, there were teachers who didn't think the technology period was sacred and so they took kids out of technology even with two kids per computer, to finish their homework or as a punishment. I could write a book on the interruptions, fire drills, community candy sales, practice for the test time, PE helpers to roll up the maps. You should laugh because if you don't you may begin to see the gravity of the problem when it is just school as access. Then, then.. there are the teachers who restrict computer access because the kids want it so much. That's why I add to Marc Prensky's groups the digitally deficit. The fun thing about learning technology is that it is always changing . The frustrating thing about learning technology is that it is always changing. Phil has to remind me or someone to do the newest thing, to look at it, to think about it, and sometimes I balk and I have time. How can we say that the digital divide is over? Hello? Content is still one heck of a problem for minorities. Ideational scaffolding for the construction of websites is a problem as there are those who do not make the computer sites user friendly or accessible to many populations. Content is a big problem. There are some outstanding sites that are jewels, but.. one has to e-learn to be understanding of what constitutes a great place to learn. The content for inclusivity still has a broken key for minority information, hello! The skills of people teaching children with technology are ever changing. As we access the most common types of technology, there are new and wonderful things coming. i am so excited about one I saw today, but if I tell you, I would have to shoot you... the ideas that people have are ever changing the use of technology in many ways. Think, Internet 2, think parallel computing, think teragrid, think , think think.. technology is often what I think is fluid.. and maybe that does make me an activist. I know that one or two people no matter what color do not have the total perspective that we have here on the list, or that people in individual occupations have. I love visualization and modeling, I love technology as media, as a tool , I love it for construction, expression, inquiry.. do you get the drift!?! Until that person who proclaimed that the digital divide can demonstate a geowall, stand inside a CAVE and other new things coming and promise me that we all will have access to it, I rest my case. Innovation will always create new and interesting applications, tools, and techniques. I go to UIUC
