V.I.C.E.(VisionInnovationCreationErudtion) Annotated Bibliography

Cooper, Mark (2004), Expanding the Digital Divide and Falling Behind on Broadband, (Consumer Federation of America, Benton Foundation)
Being disconnected means being disadvantaged.
The percentage of household with internet access is around 60 percent. Over 80 percent of households that lack internet access have incomes below $50,000. Over half of household with incomes above 75,000 have internet. Almost 70 percent of households making below 10,000 do not have access to the internet. The internet is not just a communication tool, a means of commerce, or an entertainment medium, it also enhance productivity and in many aspects of life increases the standard of living. The “have-nots” in the digital divide may find themselves disadvantaged for life because they lack the skills and tools to participate in our globalized, knowledge-based economy. The needs of the group will never be well represented in cyberspace, if the group itself is growing up without internet access. Penetration of the internet into households has stagnated around 60 percent for the past decade. Monthly internet service fees hover around $50-$60 which is an unreasonable expectation for low and middle income households.

Morino Institute, (July 2001), From Access to Outcomes, Raising the Aspirations for Technology Initiatives in Low- Income Communities
The digital divides creates a permanent underclass in our society.
To date, most initiatives aimed at closing the digital dived have focused on providing low-income communities with access to computers and internet connections. The real opportunity before us is to focus on applying technology to seek meaningful improvements in the standard of living and eventual closing the social divide. Technology can be applied to help meet fundamental needs such as health care, effective schools, safe streets, and good jobs. Closing the digital divide has less to do with the quantity of internet access and computers and has everything to do with how well we can enable those who are less fortunate to elevate there lives with implementation of technology. Low income communities can become empowered to make financial and social contributions to society and will become less dependent on entitlement payments as well as other social payments. These are large challenged with larger opportunities and gains for the most hard-press citizens of this country.

Pinkett, Randell (2000), Bridging the Digital Divide: Sociocultural Constructionism and an Asset-Based Approach to Community Technology and Community Building
Teach technology from the inside-out.
Studies have found that the gender gap in computer and internet use is closing, although the socioeconomic and racial gap is growing. According to the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA), with respect to computer ownership, minorities continue to lag behind Whites even at the same level of income. Social Constructionism involves participants as active change agents rather than beneficiaries, and act as the producers of information and content, rather than passive consumers. Social and Cultural Constructionism can lead to self-motivated learning. “Better learning will not come from finding better ways for the teacher to instruct, but from giving the learner better opportunities to construct”


Valadez, James R. (2007), Redefining the Digital Divide: Beyond Access to Computers
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime
The likelihood of household computer ownership still varies as a function of socioeconomic status and race. Teachers are more likely to assign computer and internet work when their students have ready access to computers. Integration of technology into the classroom is essential in gaining the experience and practice necessary for using the Internet as an educational resource. Low-income backgrounds often find their access is restricted to computer labs where they are limited to instructional software that emphasizes low-level drill and practice routines. There are two types of technology participation “interacting” and the “interacted.” The “interacting” includes those who can take advantage of sophisticated applications and research possibilities available on the Internet, while the “interacted” are those individuals who must settle for the most simplistic offerings designed for lower level users. The key to closing the digital divide is to allow more “interacting” which will provide a knowledge-base for advanced uses of the internet and new emerging technologies.

Hann, Leslie Werstein, (April 2008), Profit and Loss in School- Business Partnerships
You can’t buy this kind of publicity.
There are many motives that influence a corporation to get involved with schools and the community, mainly marketing. Whatever the motive, the donations made by these corporations are immensely improving the lives and education of many. According to the article, 95% of schools have business partnerships. IBM says improving public schools is its top social priority and a strategic business investment. Refurbished computers can end up costing a lot to maintain. These corporations are essential to getting the most out of technology. HP provided 45 teachers with new laptops as well as 400 students with new laptops in Ravenswood City School District in California. They also donated a 3-1 match of any employee donation. Newark in particular has received great assistance from corporations. A CEO of an upholstery company reupholstered a schools entire auditorium. Panasonic installed 100,000 worth of surveillance cameras into Newark schools. Burlington Coat Factory has donated coats for a coat drive. And last, but certainly not least Prudential has donated 3.6 million to buy land for a new charter middle school as well as 1.6 million to pay for tuition for teaching licenses for 45 new math and science teacher in Newark. There are corporations that would like to help, just have to make the effort and have the motivation.