Mr. William Sullivan is a 5th grade teacher at Kamehameha Schools Hawai`i, who is writing a paper for his masters course titled: “What is Kamehameha Schools doing to close up the gap in the Digital Divide?” This got me thinking about my son who has fantastic design ideas. Ideas that could add to the functionality of products making them better for consumers. My son who is 14 years old, has grown up with computers. He knows how to do research on the internet, can communicate using email, and is part of an online social network. Yet, his ideas are still in the wrong hands (his own). He has computer skills and is hedging towards 21st century skills; however he is not there yet. When his skills allow him to be a productive part of his community, participate in an international arena, and compete in a global economy then he will have acquired the 21st century skills he needs to prosper.
I can personally remember having ideas when I was a child, and wondering what to do with them… who do I call, where do I write, and who can I share this with? Not knowing who to contact, I wasn’t able to share my ideas with anyone. Many of us, at one time or another, has had an idea that others would benefit from, but had no one to tell the idea to. No one that is that could take that idea and put it into production. This is one of the areas that business are seeing as a gap between themselves and their community that can be “closed up” with the use of modern technology and 21st century skills.
We can take a look at our local news stations, or at a national news station like CNN, who ask the community to become on-the-spot reporters, photographers and videographers, capturing the news as it happens.
Encyclopedia Britannica is also looking at “closing the gap” on information literacy, by asking experts and individuals in the community to become a part of their knowledge base. In the School Library Journal released on June 11, 2008 Encyclopedia Britannica announced the launch of their new Britannica site which is about to go the Wikipedia route with personalized modifications that allow experts and the public to create, document and share knowledge on its site.
“The main thrust of this initiative is to promote greater participation by both our expert contributors and readers,” says Britannica. The hope is that the new Britannica site will create an online community that will engage thousands of scholars and experts, as well as regular users.1
Hardware and Software companies have been piloting this model for years, as they roll out “beta” versions of their software and ask a select group of volunteers to use their product and provide feedback. They receive feedback on what is not working and what they would like to have in future versions. Beta testers are valuable to these developers because each of the users have different computer hardware, use different platforms and versions, and can offer a wide range of testing.
The internet has allowed for a myriad of social networks to form and collaborate. Today each of us are able to become a digital citizen, build meaningful mentor, student relationships, and provide a community service, at our convenience, using online productivity tools. We are able to become part of a community and improve the conditions of that community with our participation.
The “digital divide” comes into play if we don’t know how to participate. The same problems I experienced as a child, exist today for those who do not have 21st century skills. Many people are isolated and do not have access to computers, the internet, and proper training. What are schools doing? What are teachers doing? What are families doing? What are districts doing? What is our country doing? What are you doing to help close the gap that is being created by the “digital divide”?
Do you have 21st century skills? Are you are part of a social network? Do you contribute to the knowledge base of a community with your skills? Are you a mentor for someone who is new in your field? Are you a student who is looking to gain knowledge from a social network? Are you using the internet to collaborate world-wide? Are you using internet productivity tools to participate in or manage a project or a team? These are just a few of the skills we will need to close the gap on the digital divide in the 21st century.
For the first time in our history, big cities and small rural communities are on level playing fields. Will the United States be the for-runners of the global economy a year from now?
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Footnotes:
- By Debra Lau Whelan — School Library Journal, 6/11/2008 2:00:00 PM http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/index.asp?layout=articlePrint&articleID=CA6569492 (062708)
January 8th, 2009 by 
Chandell Asuncion 
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