I am very good with computers and usually do not have problems getting things done. However many of my friends and classmates do not know a whole lot about technology and how to use it correctly. In this case, it is only is a small problem, but for many people the issue is huge. In my digital story, I plan to talk how many experiences helping people in and out of school with computers relates to the much larger problem of the digital divide. Many people have the misconception that the digital divide is only a problem about people having access to computers, but it much bigger than that. It is not enough to just given some one new technology, but you must also show them how to use it. I have seen firsthand how a computer is useless to someone who does not know how to use it.
I think the digital divide should be expanded to include the concepts of education and digital literacy. Everyone deserves access to a computers and a high speed internet connection, but they also need the knowledge to use it. I will provide specific instants when just giving people access was not enough. It has been shown that people must be taught how to use technology for them to get all they can out of it. I believe for my main theme in my story I will discuss how many of my classmates got new laptops for college but do not have the knowledge to use them in all the ways they need. For example, most students in my chemistry lab class did not know how to use Excel well enough to do a project. I think high schools should offer more classes in computers and software. My high school only offered one, and it was not very detailed. Besides students the elderly also lack many skills in technology. My family recently got my grandmother a computer for Christmas, and I have been teaching her how to use it. There are no library or community center classes available to help her learn. I plan to relate my friend’s and family’s problems to those on a much bigger scale. The digital divide is a large problem in the United States and all over the world.
I have only experienced a very small side of this problem. I plan to explore and present how this issue is affecting the lives of so many people. I think this topic fits in with our class because there are minority groups that are mainly affected by this issue. The same groups such as blacks and Latinos are the most impacted. That is just in this country alone, and there are many other countries affected much worse. Computers and skills have the potential to help people greatly improve their lives. They can help provide an education, employment, and many other goods and services. I believe that this a social justice issue because it is a way that people of minority race and status, among other reasons, are missing out on everything today’s world has to offer.
I have not completely decided on the exact format and programs I would like to use to tell my digital story, but I believe I will be using Animoto, Atranormal, and Prezi. I found these programs on the Cogdogroo site. I plan to use Prezi as my main format and import in pictures and videos from the other two. I think Prezi looked like the best way to tie everything together and to provide the text. I like that you can make like a moving power point that keeps everything more exciting. I have never seen a program that allows you so much freedom in making a presentation. I would like to make a short movie in Xtranormal. It allows you to make an animated movie. I would like to write a short script and create short films of the situations I will be discussing. This should keep the presentation entertaining and enforce the ideas. I really like the photo editing and affects in the Animoto program. You can make really cool slideshows and make dynamic displays.
I have been playing with these three sites and learning how to use them. Presi has very helpful tutorial videos on their website. I have also been watching videos and projects that people have made to show me the different features I could use. I have worked with video making software before, but none of these programs. They do not seem too complicated and I have learned a lot from playing around with them. My only concern right now is that I have not tried to put videos from Animoto and Extranormal into Presi. I believe the file types will be supported and it should work. I would like to use the other two to add some extra to the project. I plan on trying to put together a short one just using files already on my computer to make sure it works before I begin my project. I plan on continuing to practice with the different programs so I can get used to them before I need to make my digital story.
Annotated Bibliography
Warschauer, Mark. "Reconceptializing the Digital Divide." First Monday 7.7-1 (2002). First Monday. July 2002. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. <http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/967/888>.
This article describes many specific situations in which social justice projects were done in various cities. It proves my point that access to technology is not enough.
Jenkins, Henry, Ravi Purushotma, Katherine Clinton, Margaret Weigel, and Alice Robison. "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture:Media Education for the 21st Century." New Media Literacies. MacAurthur Foundation. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. <http://www.newmedialiteracies.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf>.
This article discusses digital literacy and education. It shows the need for new skills and ways to obtain them.
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