Developing world needs knowledge more than hardware, speakers say
In my field--Computers and Writing, a subdiscipline of Rhetoric and Composition--there is much concern and scholarship about the digital divide and how limited access to computer technology will continue to wide the gap between the have and have not's. I don't disagree with that at all, but I am concerned about the fact that there is almost no concern about the digitial "knowledge divide" created by lack of access to information, a result of protectionist IP policies, practices, and legislation. Thus it was great to hear that speakers at Santa Clara University pointed out that access to computer technology may be of less importance than access to knowledge:
Speakers at the event, attended by about 200, talked about the importance of creating a ``digital commons'' -- a public, online space for knowledge that would help alleviate social and economic problems in poor countries, as well as inequities between the developed and developing worlds.
I would add that this digital knowledge divide is not just a problem for developing countries. Access to culture is locked up behind DRM and pay-for/pay-per use services: i.e., community colleges and private 4-year schools who cannot afford access to the expensive academic journal databases.
So I hope Computers and Writing will soon realize that lack of attention to OA and IP issues is not achieving their goals for promoting literacy. It's only through attention to both computer technology and knowledge access that we can increase opportunities for everyone. It's time to "pay attention."
this is very interesting
I run the USACLALS website, which basically hosts photos and programs of events but our Sri Lankan and South African chapters don't have websites. But again, we have TAs at Purdue that don't know how to start up a website. If I hadn't been introduced to this and trained by both you and dr.b., I probably wouldn't know either. But then we stumble into the resistance that claims we should not have to integrate technology into the classroom. We should just sit around and complain about it. I wonder how other countries are currently resisting/going to resist?
it's definitely important
I think one of the main points here is that there is lots of talk about whether or not people have access to technology, but very little concern of what they can access with that technology. For instance, the open access movement. Digital divide literacy advocates need to realize that the digital divide is not created solely by who has access to technology, but what knowledge they can access when they do have technology. For instance, in education, if you are lucky enough to go to a major university, you have incredible access to the world's scholarship through electronic databases. If you go to a small school or are a school in a developing country, you mostly likely are denied access to the same resources. This creates huge differences in educational opportunities. The sad thing is that the cost of distributing such scholarship over the Internet is minimal; the academia just happens to be held hostage by academic journal publishers.