ICT collective appropriation on childhood and its impact on the community: the 5D educational model potentials and limits

Uruguay became the first – and so far the only – country in the world to provide a laptop to each public school student and teacher since 2007. Six years after the beginning of the plan, several studies and assessment reports have highlighted the breakdown of the pattern of inequality of access to computers and the Internet thanks to the Plan. Despite this, other studies find that the community impact of the plan is almost zero in social and neighborhood organizations. This article presents the theoretical and methodological framework for research that aims to analyze how the impact of the Ceibal Plan can be improved by fostering the emergence of communities of practice through the introduction of the Fifth Dimension Educational Model (5D)2 in a context of social vulnerability in Uruguay. The methodological approach adopted to implement the research is Participatory Action Research, which focuses on a recursive process of reflection and action and is carried out with local people rather than on them. In addition, the time factor becomes a key element for understanding the processes of negotiation and rearrangement that are required in constructing Participatory Action Research

The Technology Trap: Lessons from the One Laptop Per Child Program

This thesis project was submitted to the graduate degree program in Global and International Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.Just as the industrial revolution reshaped society in much of the world during the 19th century, the rapid spread of computer technology has dramatically changed the world in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. However, just as the industrial revolution was slow to reach many parts of the world, the spread of computer technology around the globe has been anything but even. Developed countries are advancing at a faster pace than most less-developed countries, despite having started with a relative advantage, and the gap between the “global north” and the “global south” continues to grow. As a result, many efforts have been made to narrow the gap – in terms of education, health care, living standards, and more – with mixed results. In many cases, the assistance comes in the form of “boomerang aid,” which helps the donor country more than the recipient. Other cases are more benign, such as the One Laptop Per Child program explored in this paper, where well-meaning efforts fail to properly anticipate real-world challenges, leading to limited successes at best

Sociotechnical Narratives in Rural, High-Poverty Elementary Schools: Comparative Findings from East Texas and South India

The article’s purpose is to compare case studies of computer technology use at two rural elementary schools across two international settings. This study uses the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) theory to guide this comparative investigation of how elementary school teachers and students in East Texas and South India construct meaning for computer technology. Building off of SCOT theory, the article also introduces the term, “sociotechnical narratives” as part of the analysis of the meaningful descriptions of ways that social groups use tools in relationship to their wider social context. The article found that even though the two settings, East Texas and Rural Karnataka, are about as far apart geographically as they are culturally, similar sociotechnical narrative emerged. The sociotechnical narrative includes: (1) A shared hope in the opportunity and possibilities with computer technology, (2) the development of literacy skills, and (3) similarity in knowledge tasks for the future. The study’s comparative research design provides greater depth in analyzing the meaning and uses for computer technology among students and teachers in rural, high-poverty areas across international contexts

The influence of social networking, video games and general computer usage on parent-child relations

The aim of this project was to find out how parents feel about controlling the media/technology use of their adolescent children and how it influences their parent/child relations. This is important because modern entertainment technologies are easily accessible and available to the population; thus they inevitably invade family space and influence family life. A gap in the literature is identified, indicating that existing research does not explore the reasons why parents control or do not control their adolescent children’s use of social media, video games and more. Additionally, there was no literature concerning how parents feel about such control and whether it was part of emotional labour; that being any activities that are performed with a child’s well-being in mind. The project was carried out as the part of an undergraduate degree course by the final year student in sociology. The data was collected through face-to-face and telephone semi-structured interviews with mothers and fathers of adolescents. It was observed that both mothers and fathers felt their control over children’s use of media and technologies influenced their relations. Also the findings show a variety of reasons why parents choose to exercise their control in a particular way, and how it links to parent-child relations

The One Laptop School: Equipping Rural Elementary Schools in South India through Public Private Partnerships

This articleΓÇÖs purpose is to report on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) program in South India that provides information and communication technology (ICT) to rural elementary schools. The article examines the current status of rural, government-run elementary schools in India by reviewing reports like the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) in India. Challenges like teacher absences, student drop-outs, lack of electricity, lack of separate toilets for genders, and a lack of teaching resources will be discussed. To meet these challenges, the article will describe the rise in popularity of IndiaΓÇÖs PPPs. Then the article moves to a case study investigation of a PPP, called the SSA Foundation, which implements a ΓÇ£one laptop per schoolΓÇ¥ program in rural areas in the Indian States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Using ethnographic data from field research, the case study includes a description of how the students in a rural Karnataka elementary school use their schoolΓÇÖs laptop. The school is situated in a small village where most travel is non-motorized.┬á Walking, usually without shoes, is the main form of transportation.┬á A bicycle is considered a luxury.┬á Most villagers work in the surrounding ragi and millet fields; laboring, often with only simple tool blades. Wood fires are the main source of fuel for cooking.┬á In this village, the schoolΓÇÖs laptop has become a prized possession. The case study offers a ΓÇ£thick descriptionΓÇ¥ (Geertz, 1973) of how the village schoolΓÇÖs students use the laptop for learning basic computing skills and for learning English. ┬á Keywords: elementary schooling; educational technology, Public Private Partnerships, rural India, sociotechnical narratives ┬

De los portátiles a las competencias: Superación de la brecha digital en la educación

La majoria de la literatura existent que tracta de la bretxa digital en el sistema educatiu se centra en les escoles o universitats, encara que poques vegades veiem un enfocament vertical en què es tingui en compte el sistema en conjunt. En aquest article, identifiquem les iniciatives que intenten estendre un pont sobre la bretxa digital en la situació actual de l'educació superior. Tractem per què les polítiques que se centren en les infraestructures (p. ex., portàtils) no són la resposta, ja que principalment deixen les competències digitals desateses, cosa que condueix al (o no contribueix a corregir el) buit digital a les universitats en matèria d'habilitats. Finalitzem amb la proposta d'un marc de referència general per a definir les capacitats digitals de manera que s'incloguin en els programes d'estudis en totes les etapes del recorregut educatiu.Most of the existing literature that deals with the digital divide in the educational system focuses either on schools or universities, but rarely do we see a vertical approach where the system is considered as a whole. In this paper we relate initiatives that aim to bridge the digital divide in the current situation in higher education. We discuss why policies that focus on infrastructures (e.g. laptops) are not the answer, as they mostly leave digital competences unattended, leading to (or not helping to amend) the digital void in universities in matters of skills. We end by proposing a general framework to define digital skills so that they are included in syllabuses at all stages of the educational path.La mayoría de la literatura existente que trata de la brecha digital en el sistema educativo se centra en las escuelas o universidades, aunque pocas veces vemos un enfoque vertical donde se tenga en cuenta el sistema en conjunto. En este artículo, identificamos las iniciativas que intentan tender un puente sobre la brecha digital en la situación actual de la educación superior. Tratamos por qué las políticas que se centran en las infraestructuras (p. ej., portátiles) no son la respuesta, puesto que principalmente dejan las competencias digitales desatendidas, conduciendo a (o no contribuyendo a corregir) el vacío digital en las universidades en materia de habilidades. Finalizamos con la propuesta de un marco de referencia general para definir las capacidades digitales de forma que se incluyan en los programas de estudios en todas las etapas del recorrido educativo

Code, space and everyday life

In this paper we examine the role of code (software) in the spatial formation of collective life. Taking the view that human life and coded technology are folded into one another, we theorise space as ontogenesis. Space, we posit, is constantly being bought into being through a process of transduction – the constant making anew of a domain in reiterative and transformative practices - as an incomplete solution to a relational problem. The relational problem we examine is the ongoing encounter between individuals and environment where the solution, to a greater or lesser extent, is code. Code, we posit, is diversely embedded in collectives as coded objects, coded infrastructure, coded processes and coded assemblages. These objects, infrastructure, processes and assemblages possess technicity, that is, unfolding or evolutive power to make things happen; the ability to mediate, supplement, augment, monitor, regulate, operate, facilitate, produce collective life. We contend that when the technicity of code is operationalised it transduces one of three forms of hybrid spatial formations: code/space, coded space and backgrounded coded space. These formations are contingent, relational, extensible and scaleless, often stretched out across networks of greater or shorter length. We demonstrate the coded transduction of space through three vignettes – each a day in the life of three people living in London, UK, tracing the technical mediation of their interactions, transactions and mobilities. We then discuss how code becomes the relational solution to five different classes of problems – domestic living, travelling, working, communicating, and consuming

The Portuguese programme ‘one laptop per child’ and its impact on families: a study on parents’ and children’s perspectives

This paper intends to present and reflect upon some of the findings emerging from a research project entitled “Navigating with ‘Magalhães’: Study on the Impact of Digital Media on Schoolchildren” that was conducted at the Communication and Society Research Centre at the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. The project focused on the politics of the governmental programme “One Laptop per Child” part of the Portuguese Technological Plan for Education, and the uses of the “Magalhães” computer, and other media, by children aged 8-10 years. This paper analyses the impact of this particular public policy on digital literacy of young children based mostly on the perspectives of parents and their modes of mediation. It also debates parents’ and children’s perspectives on parental rules on computer and Internet usage. It ends by concluding that the impact of this programme occurred mainly at the level of access rather than the social and educational uses and practices. It also highlights the importance of family in the way children access and use ICT.The project, conducted at the Communication and Society Research Centre at the University of Minho, Portugal, was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under Grant number PTDC/CCI-COM/101381/2008 and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund [COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009056]