Gender and economic differences have been noted as significant factors contributing to the "Digital Divide." Marlin Morales of the Pico-Union Revitalization Team, whom I had the good fortune to interview, speaks to both of these issues. Describing his past work with the Technology Literacy Building Program which operates under the auspices of CARECEN (Central American Resource Center), Morales describes some of the challenges and rewards that have resulted as the program attempts to cross the "divide."

CM: Can you give us a brief description of the Technology Literacy Building Program?

MM: The title was Technology Literacy Building Program because in our teaching of basic reading and writing, we were also including access to technology. The students we were working with had the chance to, for our Monday through Thursday program, use the computer labs and work on what they were learning. If they were reading a story they could work on Creative Writer, for example, and type in their story and produce a little book. They could then print it out and photocopy it, basic desktop publishing. The youth also get a chance to use the digital camera to videotape themselves making presentations, to see themselves for the first time and get feedback from the group. Using the feedback, they can improve and really visually observe the differences. They liked that a lot. It helped them work on their public speaking skills.

"...if you leave it to them, the girls will have been socialized already by 10 years of age to not want to learn or be involved with computers and technology."

CM: In your work with the students, what did you observe as the "Digital Divide?"

MM: I think we still see a lot of gender divide. This is an area that we need to focus on, gender and sexuality divides in technology. Because if you leave it to them, the girls will have been socialized already by 10 years of age to not want to learn or be involved with computers and technology. Our girls like to go do the arts and crafts type of work and they’re not necessarily as exploratory. They haven’t been given license to be as exploratory as the boys. Our boys are crazy about computers and the girls are more willing to yield and to let the boys rush in first and take over. That’s an area in which we still need to do a lot more improvement.

CM: Do you find similar divides along gender lines with the adult students?

MM: It’s interesting that the adults that we see are mostly women. We can’t measure that because it’s mostly women. So we can’t compare it to men. But with roughly equal numbers of boys and girls in the student program, there’s definitely that inequality.

CM: How does your organization try to address that? Are there women teaching the computer courses? What is being done or isn’t being done to kind of pull girls in?

MM: We don’t have female role models. Unfortunately the teachers are still male, but we’re always looking for women. That’s definitely a challenge, which probably reflects the original problem of not as many girls being geared towards computer use or careers.

CM: Outside of the gender issue, what other aspects of the "Digital Divide" do you see?

MM: I think it’s not enough to have the computers and learn how to turn one on because technology is so broad. It’s also things like the ATM and it’s things like an automated phone system. It’s feeling comfortable with these things. We have laptops and we have digital cameras, scanners, and we have card entries. It’s a culture. We’re living in a transitional culture, so it’s also acculturating people to different technologies. Not being acculturated is a "Digital Divide" also. Parents who attend our workshops on how to buy a computer could take the computer home and then be surprised that the computer doesn’t come with an internet access. You have to set up an account and pay monthly and what if you bought the computer on cash and you don’t have a credit card? How do you address the economic reality that we live in a credit society? So if you haven’t established a credit record, how do you sign up for Internet? These are related issues and we try to address them as well.

CM: You spoke of the importance of being "acculturated" to technology in its many forms. Why would you say this matters for the people your organization works with, in particular?

MM: It’s going to be very important for our immigrant populations and underserved populations to form a political power. If you know where to find the information and then, how to use it to advocate, to organize, and communicate you’re in a far better position than without that knowledge. For example, with our kids using the digital camera, a project that I can totally see coming out of this is having young people document the conditions in their schools and the way the books look. Community members could create home grown documentaries about conditions. People saying "look at the prostitution I have to put up with," or "look at my textbooks, look at bathrooms in the schools" or "here’s the police beating me up." Exposing what is relevant in their lives and communicating for change are made more possible by technology.

CM: Well said.

:. tcla

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