The Digital Divide

By: Ka Wai Cheung, Myong Joon Cha

ng & Kevin Ma

able of Contents• Issues & Background

-What is digital divide?-Why is this issue a global one?-How is this issue affecting the world?-What is being done?

• Case Study-GuangXi Province-Why did we choose this topic?-Youtubes-OLPC-What is OLPC doing to fix the issue?-What do we like about the program?

• Activities

• Action Plan-Working with OLPC-Our organization and aim-Our message-Short-term plan & Long-term Plan-Wiki-Get involved in the issue

• Conclusion-Why is digital divide important?-What can we do?-The world isn’t fair

ISSUES & BACKGROUND

STAGE 1

ISSUES AND

BACKGROUND

What is “The Digital Divide”?

People with the

ability to have technology benefit more than people who don’t, which creates an inequity.

"It is dangerously destabilizing to have half the world on the cutting edge of technology while the other half struggles on the bare edge of survival."

-Bill Clinton (former US President)

Why did we choose this topic

• It is a broad topic

• It is a top priority in the world.

• It links to many other global issues

• It affects a lot of people, so we want to know more about it

• We want to understand the effects technology brings.

Why is this issue a global one?

Digital divide is the branch of many problems. If we don’t take care of it, it is likely that these problems will have a less chance of being solved.

Digital Divide

International Labor

Healthcare

TerrorismEmployment

Poverty

Education

Economy

How is this issue affecting the world?

Digital divide affects everyone by…

• Separating the rich and the poor

• Splitting the unities of countries

• Causing many other problems

RICH POOR

KNOWLE

DGEABLE

HEALTHY UNHEALTHY

LESS KNOWLEDGABLE

What is being done?

• OLPC (One Laptop Per Child)-Hundred Dollars Laptop• UK charity Computer Aid

International-Computer Donations• UNICEF-Increase communications through

technology in Guangxi Province• Other various fundraisers

Case StudySTAGE 2

CASE STUDY

GuangXi Province• Poverty Stricken

• Cell phones cannot be used far from cities

• No more than 15 schools in the GuangXi Province have access to internet.

“In order to type a telephone, the mountain path where villagers have to walk for several hours sometimes.”

-Huang Shan Closest Telephone

You are here

Would you walk that far?

What do you think this can cause?

Youtube Videos1. What is digital divide? Kate's Digital Divide Project http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs0k2WZDLfE

2. What is being done? OLPC-Digital Divide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp9xjeon8c4

3. Digital Divide in UgandaBridging the Digital Divide in Uganda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt1rdqf6mHA

OLPC (One Laptop Per Child)• $100 each unit.

• Provides the poor children a chance to enhance their thinking capabilities and opportunities

• Allows children to communicate through the Internet

• Sold to governments only

“This is not a laptop project, it is an education project”

-Nicholas Negroponte

What is OLPC doing to combat or change digital divide?

Sell the $100 laptops to schools in developing countries such as China, Nigeria, Thailand, Egypt, India, Brazil, Argentina, Uganda, and Kenya.

What do we like about OLPC?

• Laptop design-water-proof-sand-proof-dust-proof

-shock-proof

• Cheap

• Fair-sold to governments only-gives everyone a chance

ACTIVITYSTAGE 3

ACTIVITY

What do you think this picture is?

“Computers aren’t magic…Teachers are magic.”

-Craig Barret

What does this quote mean? Get back into your groups and discuss for 2 minutes.

Experience The Unfairness

• All of you should have your cell phone numbers written on the paper

• Now check your inboxes for our message to you!

Action PlanSTAGE 4

OUR ACTION PLAN

Goals • Raise awareness to the issue at

school

• Raise at least 1000rmb and donate it to OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) to help bridge the digital divideClick here to see our donation plans

Our Purpose

• Raise awareness

• Improve people’s life conditions through technology

• Give them the chances of having access to computers

• Bridge the gap of digital divide to equalize the world

Our Message• People are taking many things for granted: • water, • electricity, • food, and • digital technology.

• The digital divide is as important as the other global issues such as poverty, education, and even terrorism because it links to all of them

• Closing the gap of digital divide will not solve all the other global issues, but it will lessen them greatly, which helps everyone out.

• If more people know about this issue, people and organizations of all nations will take action to help bridge this gap and to help improve the way of life of people who aren’t as fortunate as we may be.

Short Term Plan:• Put up posters around the school to raise awarenes

s to the issue. By doing this, we can balance the world to lessen many other existing issues such as terrorism and poverty to make the world a better place to live.

• Raise money: 1. Buy an Ipod touch and nano video to use for a raffle to collect money, 100 RMB for one ticket and 250 RMB for three ticket

2. Accept donations from generous people

3. Have a donation contest, awards for the people that donate the most

:Long Term Plan • Digital technology develops extremely q

uickly.• Our long-term plan must be edited every

time new. Newer technology is released.• Repeat our short term plan which is to r

aise awareness and money from donations, and continue donating money to OLPC

Our Wiki• Our wiki contains…

-General information about digital divide

-Organizations that are helping to bridge the issue

-A more detailed action plan

-Related Links

Click here to enter our wiki site.

Want to get involved?

Here is a list of organizations you can join to help bridge digital divide:

• Bridgethedigitaldivide.org• UNICEF• Digital Divide Network• Digitaldivide.org• Changing The Present• Crossing The Digital Divide

Of course you do!

Conclusion

STAGE 5

OUR CONCLUSION

Why is digital divide

important?• People will suffer from things they

don’t deserve such as:-Diseases-Terrorist attacks

• Economy will collapse-countries corrupt-leads to digital divide

What can we do?

• Donate old or unused computers• Join organizations that are helping to

bridge digital divide• Donate money to us, which will be sent to

OLPC• Help spread awareness through posters,

Internet blogs/forums, and

( ( (TALK) ) )

• Teach people to use technology

• Is this the way the world is going to be?• Are people just going to see the poor suffer?• Will you do something to help bridge the

digital divide?

The World Isn’t Fair.

Everything

You

Do

Is

One

Brick

On

The

Bridge

•"The number one benefit of

information technology is that it empowers people to do what they want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people be productive. It lets people learn things they didn't think they could learn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential."

---Steve Ballmer

Bibliography• http://www.unicef.org/china/reallives_3517.html• http://eng.gxny.gov.cn/2005/1204/003607-1.html• http://www.bridgethedigitaldivide.com/digital_divide.htm• http://www.bridgethedigitaldivide.com• http://www.changingthepresent.org/technology_and_digital

_divide• http://digitaldivide.org/dd/digitaldivide.html• http://digitaldivide.org/dd/digitaldivide.html• http://www.ed.gov/Technology/digdiv.html • http://eng.gxny.gov.cn/2005/1204/003607-1.html• http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/factsheets/

racial-divide.htm• http://www.useit.com/alertbox/digital-divide.html

• For more visit our Wiki.

Pictures came from…• www.theage.com.au/.../05/26/1179601735120.htm

l • www.itmonline.org/arts/kudingcha.htm • http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/• http://blogs.techrepublic.com • http://edu.blogs.com • http://eppsnet.com/images/digital-divide.jpg• http://www.deviantart.com/

hank

ou