DigDivSum2011

A two part (second part here: http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/06/what-exactly-can-you-learn-on-a-mobile-phone-part-ii/) interview with Mimi Ito, an anthropologist focused on children and new media, about whether or not mobile internet is a valid tool in bridging the digital divide when it comes to learning/school. 

One aspect of the digital divide includes urban-rural connectivity disparity. Jessamyn West is a rural librarian and advocate of bridging the urban-rural digital divide. The above link is to the audio recording of Jessamyn's facilitation of the "Offline America" session at last year's SXSW (South by Southwest) conference. You can get the lecture notes, slides and more here: http://librarian.net/talks/sxsw2011/.

Looks like she just published a book, too! http://www.amazon.com/Without-Net-Librarians-Bridging-Digital/dp/1598844539?tag=hotthour-20

Follow along with five videos about life without the internet in rural North Carolina towns.  in 2007, about 30% of rural NC was without internet. Unfortunately, there hasn't been an update, but it's still a powerful case study

PDF of a book by Mark Warschauer looking at how access to technology contributes to social divides in both developed and developing countries.  

life /without/ a digital divide -- this case study takes a look at several groups of Japanese people in different age brackets and how they use - and are attached to - their mobile phones

This article discusses the "broadband divide" in Washington D.C., which relates to the idea that high-speed internet access should be how we measure the digital divide, since anything less seriously impedes an individual's ability to engage with the Internet on the level that those with high-speed access are able to

This blog post links digital fact sheets compiled by the Children's Partnership that provide statistics on a number of issues relating to the digital divide, by state.

This article describes an FCC report about Americans' connection to broadband net, which many still don't have. Hard for many of us, in our privileged positions, to believe. Dial-up seems like a long time ago.

BBC news story about the age gap in the UK in terms of technology, mentions the need for increased government programs to help.

A blog post that describes social media use by the elderly. Pulls in several examples of individuals: a man who posts videos on youTube chronicling his life story and a woman who has a "cooking show" on youTube

Referenced on the WordPress site..the promotion of an awareness effort to encourage the elderly to go online, known as "Silver Surfers' Day." Free tech workshops provided.

Another approach...using the digital divide to gain political support. Promising access for all in Thailand, as a campaign promise.

This article, from the news center of UC Berkeley, describes Schradie's study of the production gap based on her published work and an interview with her. The voices that tend to dominate the online sphere come from the middle to upper-class, not a representative sampling of the population in terms of online user-generated content.

"In a society where knowledge-intensive activities are an increasingly important component of the economy, the distribution of knowledge across the population is increasingly linked to stratification. Much attention among both academic researchers and in policy circles has been paid to what segments of the population have access to the Internet or are Internet users. Although the medium has seen high rates of diffusion, its spread has been unequal both within and across nations. In this chapter, I look at (a) individual-level inequality in Internet access and use in the United States, (b) cross-national variation in connectedness, and (c) inequality from the side of content producers in gaining audiences for their material online."

"Debates over the digital divide have been dogged by disagreements over how the gap is defined, and therefore quantified, as a report that [International Society for Technology in Education] released at the summit suggested. 'Though an exact definition remains elusive, the term 'digital divide' generally refers to the disconnect that occurs between those with access to technology and those without, while recognizing the myriad factors that can have an impact on that inequity,' the report says." (2007)