New Digital Inequality Presentation-final

Digital Inequality: 

Digital Inequality Presentation Created by: S. Ganapathi, S. Johnson, D. Kilback, E. Lybbert

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Digital Divide: The gap between those who have access to digital technologies and those who do not; or the gap between those who use digital technologies and those who do not understood in binary terms distinguishing the “haves” from the “have nots” Digital Inequality: A refined understanding of the “digital divide” that emphasizes a spectrum of inequality across segments of the population depending on differences along several dimensions of technology access and use

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"Digital Inequality "...one of the most important social equity issues facing the information society" "..has been conceptualized in terms of patterns of race and class discrimination that are reflected in unequal access to computers and the internet".

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As members of a Digital Inequality Task Force hired by the California Superintendent of Public Instruction, we have been given a special allocation of $50M to address digital inequalities in the state of California considering seven options.

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Install computers in all public libraries in the state and expand the hours when the computers are available. Expand staffing and other resources so that public schools can be open to the public after normal school hours, on weekends, and during the summer months. Provide individuals in disadvantaged communities with computers. Provide high-speed Internet and mobile access for all state residents. Subsidize Internet Service Providers to provide low-cost Internet to all state residents. Provide information literacy courses to enhance computer skills and enable knowledgeable use of digital technologies. Develop free online educational content, giving first priority to content most relevant to lower socio-economic groups before content that is relevant to the rest of the public.

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Option 1 Install computers in all public libraries in the state and expand the hours when the computers are available. Benefits Potential for libraries to become community gathering places Expanded hours and access Potential for involving volunteers to staff Concerns Concern about overspending

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Option 2 Expand staffing and other resources so that public schools can be open to the public after normal school hours, on weekends, and during the summer months. Benefits Potential for schools to become community gathering places Potential for involving volunteers to staff Concerns Beyond our budget Shorter life-span for hardware due to increased use Security issues

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Option 3 Provide individuals in disadvantaged communities with computers. Benefits Narrow the digital divide Make them competitive for the 22nd century Concerns Limited internet access due to financial constraints Computers might get sold instead of used Training will need to be provided

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Option 4 Provide high-speed Internet and mobile access for all state residents. Benefits Everyone would have access to the internet Concerns Way beyond budget Only people with computers or mobile devices will have access

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Option 5 Subsidize Internet Service Providers to provide low-cost Internet to all state residents. Benefits Everybody could afford access to the internet Concerns With the current state of the economy the government cannot afford to subsidize Way beyond $50 Million dollar budget

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Option 6 Provide information literacy courses to enhance computer skills and enable knowledgeable use of digital technologies. Benefits This will optimize the use of provided computers Concerns Paying for training

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Option 7 Develop free online educational content, giving first priority to content most relevant to lower socio-economic groups before content that is relevant to the rest of the public. Benefits Will cut training expenses in the long run More people will get trained Concerns Everyone doesn't have a computer Everyone is not computer literate to access the content

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Rather than choose just one option, we propose to combine options 1, 3, and 6. We feel that by using several of the options in conjunction with one another we will best use our funds and help the most people. We recommend installing additional computers in public libraries by having businesses donate their old computers - we will use some of our budgeted money for upgrades. We will have students in computer science programs upgrade the computers as class projects so that we only have to pay for the software and hardware costs associated with the upgrades. We would like to have civic groups within the local communities donate their time to keep the libraries open longer . Additionally, we will have Educational Technology students create information literacy courses to be installed on the donated computers

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California QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. (2012, June 7). census.gov. Government. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06000.html Eastin, M. S., & LaRose, R. (2000). Internet self-efficacy and the psychology of the digital divide. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication , 6 (1), 0–0. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2000.tb00110.x Hargittai, E. (2003). The digital divide and what to do about it. New Economy Handbook , 821-839. Retrieved from http://www.eszter.com/research/pubs/hargittai-digitaldivide.pdf RFID Implementations in California Libraries:Costs and Benefits. Elena Engel, July, 2006 Semuels, A., & Helfand, D. (2011, September 13). California poverty rate rises in 2010 for fourth year in a row. Los Angeles Times . Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/13/business/la-fi-poverty-california-20110914