Who has had positive experience volunteering internet education to those with limited resources?
December 6, 2006 8:52 PM Subscribe
Lately I've been reading a series of books on the 'digital divide' between certain world cultures. I'd like to do my share of narrowing the gap, but I'm not sure what route to take. Does anyone have experience going abroad to teach basic internet and computer applications, OR has anyone stayed in their native country and taught recent immigrants? What was your experience like?
jessamyn's eloquent and detailed answer sums up why i'm studying to become a librarian. it's interesting that when people usually talk about the "digital divide" it seems to be paralell to talking about developed/third world nations, when really the divide is all too local as well.
posted by kendrak at 9:54 PM on December 6, 2006
posted by kendrak at 9:54 PM on December 6, 2006
I agree with the above comments that the digital divide is great within the USA. However, I can talk a little bit about going abroad to teach basic computer skills. A friend helped start a foundation in a mountain village in Guatemala and invited me to teach an adult introductory computer course (I used to work part-time for my university's IT department as a student lab consultant). I taught about 18 Mayan adults in Spanish (their second language) and sometimes they translate explanations to one another Chuj (their first language). This experience has taught me about the language barriers that exist with computers and certain populations-- for instance, everything is in either Spanish or English and I wish there was more available in Chuj. I was able to encounter a number of tutorials online in Spanish, especially through the GCF Global Learning site (and a good mouse tutorial through the Ocean County, NJ library site). To answer your question, I have found this experience rewarding. Helping the director of a local school to set up an email account so that he can communicate with the Ministry of Education more easily or explaining how to create spreadsheets so that my students don't have to make them on typewriters are concrete steps that make me very glad to have taught this course.
I hope to learn more about the issues surrounding the digital divide in the future because I don't feel that I know very much about it now.
posted by val5a at 10:21 PM on December 6, 2006
I hope to learn more about the issues surrounding the digital divide in the future because I don't feel that I know very much about it now.
posted by val5a at 10:21 PM on December 6, 2006
The Peace Corps also has an IT program. The experience is incredibly rewarding, of course, but also fascinating.
This is the coolest job in the world. I help people connect to each other and feed their families by just sharing the things I love.
My work ranges from teaching introductory classes (this is a computer, this is how you turn it on, when you move the mouse, the arrow on the screen moves) to teaching university level web development courses. I also do a lot of web design and knowledge management-type stiuff. And of course, there's the whole physical aspect, like making sure our equiptment is protected from unreliable and irregular power, etc.
Keep in mind that the digital divide doesn't have to refer just to computers, per se, but also information and communications technology in general. Illiteracy can be an enormous barrier to getting connected to the Internet, but it doesn't automatically preclude the use of technologies to teach. For example, "toys" like playstations can be used to teach about HIV/ AIDS. The controller is relatively easy to handle, and a combination of pictures and local language can be used to effectively communicate. There's also a lot of work being done in Kenya and Senegal (and elsewhere) hooking people up with price data via SMS.
In addition to jessamyn's links, check out Geek Corps and of course, the Peace Corps, which are both int'l programs. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
posted by asnowballschance at 1:57 AM on December 7, 2006
This is the coolest job in the world. I help people connect to each other and feed their families by just sharing the things I love.
My work ranges from teaching introductory classes (this is a computer, this is how you turn it on, when you move the mouse, the arrow on the screen moves) to teaching university level web development courses. I also do a lot of web design and knowledge management-type stiuff. And of course, there's the whole physical aspect, like making sure our equiptment is protected from unreliable and irregular power, etc.
Keep in mind that the digital divide doesn't have to refer just to computers, per se, but also information and communications technology in general. Illiteracy can be an enormous barrier to getting connected to the Internet, but it doesn't automatically preclude the use of technologies to teach. For example, "toys" like playstations can be used to teach about HIV/ AIDS. The controller is relatively easy to handle, and a combination of pictures and local language can be used to effectively communicate. There's also a lot of work being done in Kenya and Senegal (and elsewhere) hooking people up with price data via SMS.
In addition to jessamyn's links, check out Geek Corps and of course, the Peace Corps, which are both int'l programs. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
posted by asnowballschance at 1:57 AM on December 7, 2006
VSO is roughly the equivalent of the Peace Corps in the UK - but it recruits volunteers from all over the EU and several other countries. They have several IT related vacancies in a range of countries right now. I have a friend who went on one of these to rural Nigeria. He returned 2 years later much happier, much thinner and married to a local.
posted by rongorongo at 2:15 AM on December 7, 2006
posted by rongorongo at 2:15 AM on December 7, 2006
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I go on the road talking about the digital divide a lot in terms of public libraries, what the expectations are and what libraries are able to provide. What surprised me the most is that it's often not recent immigrants who have the biggest problem with technology, it's people with low literacy skills and people who grew up in an "information poor" environment. So, if you're a recent immigrant but someone in your family has an internet connection, you're better off than someone who lives in rural noplace and doesn't read very well even if they speak English.
For non-native English speakers, once they can get online in their own language, a lot of the initial barriers are taken care of. However people with cognitive or motor skills deficits are finding it difficult both to figure out how to get online and how to get the appropriate tools to help them with whatever their disability is. For a simple example consider senior citizens with arthritis. A lot of times mastering the "double click" required to open programs or do other tasks is hellish -- it's hard to move just the one finger without moving the mouse or clicking the other button. With something not even very adaptive, like a trackball, their problems are almost solved, and yet most public libraries don't have this sort of adaptive technology, much less tutorials in spanish (outside of big cities, that is) or written at a very low reading level.
If you want to stay in the US and are newish in the job market, you might want to consider doing something like I did and working with AmeriCorps or some sort of Tech Corps program there. They spend a lot of time working on digital divide issues by finding ways toprovide direct services to people who need assistnace learning and using technology. I started out at my job as an AmeriCorps volunteer and I was able to get the local high school to let me use their computer labs after hours in order to be able to have community members get practice using a comptuer and high speed internet access without having to make the huge investment to buy a computer themselves. Often for people on the other edge of the digital divide, just having someone to ask questions of when stuff goes wrong is a huge huge help.
Here are a few links to get you started, email is in my profile if you want to chat more.
- TechCorps
- one of my digita diide talks (go to the end and click "printable" to see all the notes &c)
- Steve Cisler, Apple's former librarian took some time off and travelled around the country talking to people on the other side of the digital divide with the MIRA project, lots of great stuff to read
- Pew Internet Digital Divisions report - some hard numbers, really worth reading.
And, to answer your main question: I love doing this. Every day I go to work I feel that I help people use technology to solve problems in their lives that make a difference to them. In my case I mainly work with senior citizens and just seeing folks master eBay, mailing lists, sending email to family, and helping solve their own information needs is really gratifying.
posted by jessamyn at 9:14 PM on December 6, 2006 [7 favorites]