Effective ICT use for Social Inclusion

Wolske, Martin; Williams, Noelle Sheree; Noble, Safiya; Johnson, Eric O.; Duple, Robin Yoerger

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/14952 Copy

Description

Title

Effective ICT use for Social Inclusion

Author(s)

• Wolske, Martin
• Williams, Noelle Sheree
• Noble, Safiya
• Johnson, Eric O.
• Duple, Robin Yoerger

Issue Date

2010-02-03

Keyword(s)

• Community Technology Center (CTC)
• Community Informatics
• Citizen Professional
• Mass Amateurization
• Public Computing Space Design Aesthetics

Abstract

Access to information and communications technology (ICT) is considered important for individuals to fully achieve educational and economic development goals. In fact, ICT access has become so important that the lack of it has been termed the digital divide. To combat the digital divide, community-based computing centers were created as a vital first step to provide physical access to ICT. Commonly known as Community Technology Centers (CTCs) or Telecentres, these publicly accessible labs are providing a valuable means for the diffusion of technology in underserved communities. The meaningful digital divide, however, is whether individuals can fully participate in society. Access to tools like computers and the Internet are only the first step toward effective social inclusion. Furthermore, if the tools become the focus, and we look exclusively at diffusion of technology to address the digital divide, then we make compromises in implementation that never address other, equally important, issues. If public computing facilities such as CTCs are to make the transition from facilities fostering diffusion of technology to community centers empowering citizens through effective use of ICT as citizen professionals such as citizen scientists, citizen planners, and citizen journalists, it is necessary to revisit implementations of technology within these spaces; this may mean creating a new framework for how computers and other ICTs are set up for use in CTCs and Telecentres. Techniques used by African-American marketing agencies as well as successful non-profit organizations that implement grassroots campaigns can teach us a lot about designing compelling experiences that attract audiences.

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/14952

Owning Collections