Chasing the Dragon's Tale

From a now archived article in the Chicago Tribune | Digi-dunce, Technology you can't live without, consider your current position in the ever advancing stream of technology and technology applications. While you are at it, consider what this list means on a global scale for countries who are still struggling to adopt ICT from the 1990's.

ELECTRONIC BILL PAYMENT Not convinced? PayTrust, for example, will scan all your bills and send you e-mail alerts when it's time to pay up. At the end of the year, you're sent a CD with all your bills scanned and organized into folders.

ONLINE GROCERY SHOPPING With Peapod, your bill might be 20 percent higher than if you shopped yourself, but time is money.

TiVo New legislation will make it legal to share TV shows with other users.

iPODs AND MP3s Music is more customized and portable than ever.

VOIP The telecom giants don't like VOIP, or voice over Internet protocol. The Internet phone service is cheaper and you don't have to be in front of the computer to use it.

CELL PHONES Phones with cameras are the prelude to phones with PDA and MP3 players.

BROADBAND Web developers are targeting the high-end user, and slower computers have a hard time with many sites.

WIRELESS CARDS The cards let you access the Web and your e-mail just about anywhere.

Source: Mike Carruth, Digital Bootcamp

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 06:07 PM | Permalink

In previous posts on Chasing the Dragon's Tale, numerous cases of weak strategies for implementing instructional technologies have been identified...In most cases one or more of three basic components needed for success are missing: Hardware, Training, and/or Curriculum. Australia is a case where a national strategy is working and is progressing toward defining the curriculum portion of the formula as an appropriate use curriculum: The Australian: Motherboard beats blackboard [September 06, 2004] Over the last 4 years Schools in Austrailia are linked to the Internet as a result of nearly 14 million dollars worth of investment from the Computer Technologies for Schools Project. "Nearly all schools are now linked to the internet by a connection at least 64 kilobytes in capacity – Western Australia has advanced to 10 megabyte connection." With the technology in place in the schools, Australia is tackling the teacher support side of the formula. "What we're really focusing on now is supporting teachers to use the technology to enhance and extend learning in the classroom," The most encouraging part of this article is the apparent understanding of what technology in the classroom means..."it's not word processing, it's about accessing and creating information, and collaborating with other learners, teachers, adults, and mentors on the other side of the world".

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 06:12 PM | Permalink

From www.mysanantionio.com: Digital divide and rural America (you may have to do an artice search to find the story in the archives). Not everyone is Chasing the Technology Dragon...and for certain, not every one is running the race with the same level of enthusiasm.

Some rural communities have used the Internet as an economic development strategy but other rural residents just want to keep in touch with friends and relatives living far away, said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 04:53 AM | Permalink

Great statistics are included in this article: KoreaTimes: Korea Committed to Bridging Digital Divide. In this instance, penetration of internet usage is among the highest in the world, however, generational differences in technology use are emphasized over socio-economic issues as serious challenges to conquering the digital divide.

"The digital index of age groups over 40 and 50 is painfully low, standing at 58.3 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively. What makes us worry more is that the informatization index among those in their 40s and 50s is struggling to find their feet in terms of Korean national competence, considering they are supposed to play a pivotal role in our society. It shows they are lacking the competence in informatization even though they are in the position to lead society with brisker activities than other age group members. Considering the characteristics of the age group, the fact that over half of those over 40 years old are ignorant of Internet usage gathers dark clouds on the nation's future. Worse still is the informatization level in the impoverished classes such as low-income families and the disabled."

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 06:02 AM | Permalink

Earlier this month, The StarOnline ran the following, TechCentral: Story. The phrases Digital Divide and Technology Gap are used frequently to describe similar conditions, although the latter is probaby a subset of the former. For example, this article offers a clear definition of the digital divide, but adds elements of technology gaps that are not part of the basic definition.

"The digital divide refers to the socioeconomic gap between those who can afford to get connected to the Internet and those who cannot. Malaysia's broadband penetration rate -- amongst the lowest in the region -- stands at less than 1%, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. ..Malaysia also needed to increase the number of knowledge workers, experts and researchers in the country. We are currently addressing this through our 'brain gain' initiative...there must also be an increase in the number of local ICT companies that have the ability to compete globally."

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 04:39 AM | Permalink

Kevin Gee writes a thoughtful OpEd piece, Wireless Traffic, in The Shorthorn Online (University of Texas Arlington) regarding someone's proposal/opinion that UTA become a laptop university. The bandwagon argument pro moving to laptops at UTA includes: improved student productivity, enhance education and learning through better collaboration, and reducing the digital divide.

Gee makes his case and concludes "I should stress: I’m not anti-laptops. I think that they are a useful tool, if used appropriately, and my experience is that most university students really don’t need one. Those who find they need one can buy one for about the price of a three-hour graduate course."

The battle lines are forming with schools looking like early adopters...but the arguments seem to fall within four basic categories: economic issues for student, economic issues for the institution, security of networks, managing connectivity in the classroom, and impact on learning.

There are certainly issues in moving to a wireless and laptop campus:
• Virus protection - the potential that someone at a Starbucks picks up a computer virus and later infects the campus network
• Hardware Costs - even with increasingly lower priced laptops, the devices are still more expensive than traditional desktop PC's
• Labs - there is an undercurrent of thought running around that argues a move to laptops will eliminate the need for computer labs... specialized propriety software with per seat licenses may be a serious problem in that regard
• Connectivity - just how connected do our students need to be? Is there an expectation that with a laptop in hand that a professor will welcome after hours Instant Messages...or the use of IM's during class? Will a laptop replace the cell phone on campus?
• Damage and Theft - arguably, any computer can be stolen or damaged... but a small, portable, and expensive device makes for a good target... and Desktop PC's are rarely dropped or stepped on in a backpack.
• Laptop Business - Is there an expectation that the university will support a laptop program (maintenance, software support, replacement, loaners)?

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 07:43 AM | Permalink

Rolling wheat fields are also Wi-Fi country

"Huge it is. The network is 10 times larger than a proposed citywide Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) network in Philadelphia -- one that media reports last week inaccurately said would be the largest in the world. Covering parts of Walla Walla, Columbia, Franklin, Benton and Umatilla counties, Columbia Energy's 1,500-square-mile Wi-Fi hot spot is bigger than the state of Rhode Island."

With as much as 75% of rural America still isolated from broadband access, this may become a model for agricultural areas who can benefit greatly from remote access and monitoring of equipment and conditions.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 05:53 AM | Permalink