DIGITAL DIVIDE

I felt that the movie did an adequate job highlighting the digital divide yet I feel their "technologically advanced schools" are not necessarily an adequate of addressing the problems of this divide.  The video is obviously outdated, as the majority of schools now have computer labs with internet, so I'll leave that factor out in assessing the video.

  

The first issue I had with the film is the fact that the students at the high tech school seem to assume an advantage over those that attend normal high schools.  I think this is shown best through the male student at the "high-tech school" who comes in to present a powerpoint presentation and doesn't know how to load his project.  The student has been talking throughout the film about the advantages he's provided and yet he doesn't finish his work.  This is also seen as Lucia fails her software test as she applies for her job, while this is different (she didn't attend the high-tech school), it again shows that having access to the internet isn't necessarily going to mean you'll be good enough with computers to follow them for your career path.

Another issue with high-tech schools is the narrowness of their curriculum.  The fact that one goes to a technologically advanced school gives a leg up in technological fields but also creates a disadvantage in terms of how well-rounded ones education is.  Students aren't necessarily going to want to pursue a career with computers or internet and if they have little background in other subjects this could be a big disadvantage.

All in all I feel the integration of internet to schools is good to an extent.  Teaching students how to use the internet and computers as a tool is important but shouldn't be the focus of a whole four years of high school education.