Instructor Feedback

Hey gang,

First off, from Nick and I, let me say that this looks like a great start. I can see you have done some very productive brainstorming as a group and in general have been fairly successful in making sure all the major topics involved get touched upon. So really our comments have to do with specific ways you might consider refining your focus, and some issues you might want to think a bit more seriously about as you proceed with the first draft.

• 1 The History of the Digital/Access Divide:
  • 1.1 When/what caused the divide?
  • 1.2 When was the divide recognized and by whom?
  • 1.3 Definitions of the Digital/Access Divide.
  • 1.4 What types of digital divide exist today, describe?
    • 1.4.1 Socioeconomic
    • 1.4.2 Race
    • 1.4.3 Gender
    • 1.4.4 Age
    • 1.4.5 Global
    • 1.4.6 Language

We aren't not doing the research - you are - but we're thinking 1.4 can be seen as an extended definition and that these very different senses of the digital divide - which can be observed both nationally and internationally - might in a sense frame the discussions that follow - for instance that each divide - say, the class divide in the US and the gender divide internationally - are in some ways similar and in some ways different. It might be a useful exercise to think about what divides and issues around divides are more universal than others. As I look over the other other areas, I wonder which divides are you talking about? Don't views differ when we're talking about solutions, conditions, and effects nationally versus internationally, linguistically versus socioeconomic? There are no obvious answers to these but you might find it worthwhile to think through the answers to these questions as you consider the tasks you have in completing this wiki.

Also, what about ability divides?

• 2 What are the social and cultural contexts of the Digital/Access Divide:
  • 2.1 How does the United States compare to other countries?
  • 2.2 Why is closing the gap important?
    • 2.2.1 How does the Digital Divide affect the United States?
    • 2.2.2 How does the Digital Divide affect the world?
• 3 Are there any opposing/different views of the Digital Divide?
  • 3.1 Does a Digital Divide actually exist?
• 4 What does the Digital Divide look like from our group's perspective?
  • 4.1 Each group member’s perspective

Nick and I quite weren't sure what the purpose of section 4 is how - what does this contribute to the project overall?

• 5 The role of technology, human resources and social resources – how do new technologies, human resources and social resources affect and how are they affected by these trends?
  • 5.1 How can technology help?
  • 5.2 How does technology enable the gaps to exist?
  • 5.3 What do human and social resources have to do with the Digital Divide?

This is good, but what about how technolgoy doesn't just enable gaps but exascerbate gaps, or create new gaps?

• 6 Educational opportunities and challenges – how does the Digital Divide affect education?
  • 6.1 Test scores
  • 6.2 Parents
  • 6.3 Preparing for the workplace -21st century skills
  • 6.4 NCLB
  • 6.5 Infrastructure
  • 6.6 Training
  • 6.7 E-Rate
  • 6.8 ETC

We're not entirely certain how this is going to look and how it ties in, so be careful in thinking through this section and how you articulate the connections with others elements of the wiki.

• 7 How are others closing the gap? (Examples)
• 8 Why were they successful or unsuccessful?

It might very well be that you are planning to develop 7-8 more. We would really like to see the page ultimately focused on these, which should be backed up, balanced arguments about what could/should be done about this issue (to the extent it is an issue, in terms of how you define it). The concept itself has a pretty negative connotation so this is really the heart of the matter, isn't it - what's bad about it (however it should be defined), how bad, why, and what to do?

Hopefully I've given you some food for thought here and also an indications of areas that you should be careful in thinking through and those you might want to focus more heavily on. As you proceed then, as a group, please be aware of how you want to tie this into one discussion. If you look on wikipedia you see a variety of discussions, some of which flow logically in a comprehensive and thorough discussion and others which are less helpful. Wikis by nature have a challenge in being focused since they are collective projects. Think about how you want to frame your discussion, what's central versus periphery.

Let me know if any of this doesn't make sense - I'll be checking the comments on this blog - and I hope you have a productive week!