Communities, Learning and Democracy in the Digital Age

o      Context: The authors describe the Internet as a “socio-technical network.” What does this mean?

§       According to the article “By conceptualizing the Internet as a pluralistic domain that includes the broader context in which the technical components are embedded, we explicitly connect social with technical to form the intimate interdependency of the Internet as a socio-technical network.”  So a socio-technical network is a network in which social and technical aspects are combined in a way that’s interdependent of one another.

o      Connectivity: What are some of the nuances of connectivity the authors describe?  Is it enough just to be plugged in?

§       The main nuance of connectivity the authors describe is the discrepancy that certain areas receive in their broadband signal strength.  The telecommunications act of 1996 labels high speed internet as “connection speeds above 256 kbps.”  Yet “higher connection speeds are required to effectively utilize many WWW applications in use today.”  This creates a digital divide in underserved communities because their broadband strength is insufficient to connect to programs or sites that require faster connection rates.

Capability: What is defined as “skill” in this article? Is it simply computer skills?  Or are there more needs to be addressed?

“The utility of any technology derives directly from the skill of the user as well as the delivery capacity of the local institutions, capability gauges the ability to deliever or acquire the service.”  So there is more to skills than just ability with computers because you need to consider ones capability to learn and elevate their skill set as they acquire more skills than they initially had.

o      Content: What if they built an Internet and no one came?  In other words, once we have the first three Cs, what else is necessary to get the groups the authors identified into a participatory mode in an increasingly Internet-dependent society?

§       “Relevant content is necessary because it provides a forum for interacting within local communities as well as a window to the outside world.” “If content that is relevant to individuals and members of the community is not available, it will be difficult to encourage and sustain use.”