Week 4 Topic: Participation and the Digital Divide, who misses out?

This is the final topic in Module 1 and its all about participation. You would think that in a digital world everyone would have a chance to participate, but that’s not true. There is a digital divide a gap between those who can buy and use digital technologies easily and those who cannot. This isn’t just a case of poorer countries and richer countries, the digital divide exists here in Australia. So this week we will explore this issue – if you cannot participate what are you missing out on? How will it effect your life? Will you have the same opportunities to succeed? There are a few different companies who are trying to bridge the divide and we will look at some of the programs they run. Interestingly it mobile technologies such as phones that are playing a really important role in this divide.

This week you need to re-visit chapter 4 of the textbook and there is an inspirational video from TedTalks to watch.

Reading:

The reading from the textbook (Howell, 2012) is Chapter 4.

Vodcast:

The lecture video
http://echo.ilecture.curtin.edu.au:8080/ess/echo/presentation/daff1472-9ce5-4535-a2b1-74fdb4bf6d47

Simple image editing
https://lms.curtin.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-2872541-dt-content-rid-12528178_1/xid-12528178_1

Learning Activities (Discussion Board)

This week your tasks are:

• Create an infographic that visually represents the issue of a digital divide. Include images and data that you collect from the internet and a Wordle. Use an appropriate search tool to find the information. Save your infographic as an image file (e.g. gif, jpeg). Upload it to your group discussion board for feedback prior to including it in your Blog. Offer feedback on at least 2 other student infographics.

• Blog Entry #2 – Write a 200 word entry about your infographic in your blog and comment on any differences or similarities. Consider the feedback given on your infographic. Don’t forget to include your infographic on your blog!

Review

This week you have explored several new topics. Review these experiences and see if you can answer these questions:

What is the digital divide?

What role can mobile technologies play in bridging the digital divide?

How are philanthropic organisations trying to help?

What is a Wordle?

How can we use digital posters in the classroom?