CD: Good morning! My name is Chrystal Daniel and this is Erwin Ramirez. We are from Braddock Drive Elementary School in Culver City. Our fifth grade class has spent some time working on the idea of the "Digital Divide" and this is what we came up with. We made up many definitions for the Divide, but we can only share so many here today.
ER:We define the "Digital Divide" as …the imaginary line that separates people with technology, from the people without technology. We know that it divides people of different ethnicities, cultures and genders, because computers do not always include or represent everyone. We also think that it divides people by money, because those with more money have more chances to use computers, but people with less money do not.
We’ve been sharing where we think we are on the "Digital Divide". Some of us have computers at home, but most of us do not. We all have access to a computer at libraries, and our classroom has three new computers, all linked to the Internet. But we still don’t get enough time on the Internet.
CD:Crossing the "Digital Divide" is not easy, but it may not be as hard as it seems. We think that to overcome the "Digital Divide", people need to make learning about technology a priority in their lives. Some of our families have made sacrifices with money and other things to buy computers and to pay for Internet access.
ER:One way to get over that imaginary line is to go out and get access to a computer for yourself. Take advantage of every opportunity to use and learn about technology. That means that if you have a chance to learn about computers, you need to take it. For some people, crossing the "Digital Divide" could be as easy as spending extra time at the library or a friend’s house, or trying to get a job that will teach you… But it’s not always that simple.
Most of us will probably learn about technology in school. So continuing your education is also very important.
CD:If you don’t have enough computer access, get your community to support technology and demand access. Do your research. Find out everything you can about the problem in your community, and teach people about it. Then ask for help from teachers, principals, community representatives, and your elected officials.
These are just some of our ideas about the "Digital Divide". Thank you for listening.
• We define the "Digital Divide" as:
The "Digital Divide" is the imaginary line that separates people with technology, from the people without technology. We know that it divides people of different ethnicities, cultures and genders, because computers do not always include or represent everyone. We also think that it divides people by money, because those with more money have more chances to use computers, but people with less money do not
• How to bridge the divide:
Make technology a PRIORITY in your life!
1. Take advantage of every opportunity to use and learn about technology.
2. Continue your education.
3. Demand access!
a. Research
b. Educate
c. Request and Demand Help
• Questions for the panel from Braddock Elementary School:
Why is so much of the information on the Net mainly for men?
Why do you think the "Digital Divide" is such an important problem?
Why do you think men and women are often on different sides of the "Digital Divide"?
How can we better trust the information on the Net?
