http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/education/edlife/demystifying-the-mooc.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3As%2C%7B%222%22%3A%22RI%3A17%22%7D&_r=0

In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, writer Jeffrey Selingo argues that MOOCs have not lived up to their hype, largely because of significant drop-out rates of members. It can be difficult to motivate-oneself, particularly in areas of the world where online courses have the most potential, i.e. regions rampant with strife and lacking formal educational services. For this reason I believe it's important to weave MOOCs with a structured "traditional" educational experience to increase student learning and potential.

http://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/bridging-digital-divide-one-e-centre-time

Years after the end of apartheid, South Africa is still plagued by racial, economic, and increasingly, digital, inequality. The accompanying article highlights efforts taken by local governments to increase peoples' access to the internet with E-Centres. Although ideally infrastructure would be developed so everyone could access the web in their homes and at work, such centers are a starting point that help bridge the gap.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/09/so-was-facebook-responsible-for-the-arab-spring-after-all/244314/

How does social media effect demonstrations and uprisings? This article examines how Facebook and other websites may have aided protesters in the Middle East that began in 2010. Despite the ability of people to connect, however, governments appear to be catching up. During the student protests in Hong Kong just recently, news of the event was heavily blocked in China by the so call "Great Firewall." This leads me to wonder whether this new technology actually aids dissenters or is simply another tool for governments to monitor and sometimes suppress the people.