Video Response

My initial reation to the video was that I had mixed feelings about Tech high school. On one hand, it's a good thing to educated high schoolers in technology. This helps students get an understanding of how to use technology to better their situation. With their skills, they are able to go into better technological jobs. They probably have more skills entering their chosen careers then other people who went to a regular high school. It's definitely a good thing that they are being taught about computers and how to use them, because it opens many doors to other forms of communication (social capitol) and information. Because much information is on the internet, including job openings, these students will have resources that they can use to better themselves and their situation. However, I personally would not have liked to attend that high school. I felt that the education seemed very narrow. Of course, the students were trained in technology, but what about the arts, literature, music, or even basic science and math? I feel like the video showed the technical side of the school as being a huge sucess, but I wonder how well-rounded the education at that high school really is. I also felt like the school was a manufacturing line of kids who would immediately step into the business world. What ever happened to exploring options or different subjects to find ones passion? It seemed to me like every person at that high school would have to go into computers. It was slightly disturbing that even at such a young age, they were already working with corporations and business leaders. I think that high school should be the place to explore a variety of subjects, instead of focusing on only one.

The digital divide was very evident in this video. Luisa, coming a Hispanic culture, seemed to have fewer opportunities, than Cedra, who was from a much wealthier community. Cedra in particular had many more advantages. First, she could afford a computer at home. This allowed her to access the internet and work on homework faster and more efficiently than Luisa. In addition, Cedra most likely didn't have to work many hours outside of school just to earn money for basic things. This allowed her more time to study and work on projects. If she needed to, I'm sure she could have accessed the library for more information, since she had the free time to do so.

Luisa is a different story. Luisa, a former gang member, is clearly trying to improve her life. She is a hardworking person, more hardworking than anyone else in the video, in my opinion, however her circumstances are against her. For one thing, working at Long John Silvers for countless hours definitely contributed to her falling behind in school. Since her family didn't have enough money, she had to work around the clock to buy herself a personal computer. Howver, all those hours most definitely took a toll on her schoolwork. Luisa is an example of someone, who to me seems stuck. I believe that she is intelligent and that she could suceed in the business world, however her financial problems keep holding her back.

People like to say that in America, we all get equal opportunites, but this video clearly demonstrates that this isn't the case. Luisa worked just as hard as Cedra in the video, yet she fell behind. I believe its mostly due to her financial status. If someone is born into a poor family, they simply do not have access to the resources that richer children do. Now it is possible to work from the bottom to the top of society, but it is unlikely to happen for most people of low economic status. Less money means more work hours at dead end jobs. More work hours means less time for education and less education generally means less money. It's a cycle that must be broken in order to overcome the digital divide.

Video Response

My initial reaction to the video was that it was an interesting portrayal of the change in our economy that was brought about by computers. It talked about how the advent of computers in the business world led to a loss of blue collar jobs and the potential to make a community poor because the workers did not have the proper skills for the new computer age. It was also interesting how the different kids had such different experiences with their exposure to computers and with their expectations of their computer use in their adult lives depending on where they were from.

Teaching computer skills to kids was shown as a way to build social capital. It was both individual social capital for the kid and community social capital in some cases. The girl from the rich community noted that nearly everyone in her community worked for a computer company. The wealth of that community was built on computers and those skills were being passed on to the children who had computer access both at home and at school. The girl from the poorer community took the skills she had learned and hoped to use to better her life and taught them to younger children, allowing them a head start she never had in gaining computer skills and thus trying to better her community.

I was especially interested in the relationship between the tech high school and the businesses. The children were building their own social capital by learning skills that would help them in the increasingly computer based business world while the businesses were making an investment so that high school graduates would have the skills that they now needed in employees. They no longer needed factory workers that could work by the bell and do their assigned job with no interaction. They now needed creative people who could work in groups and had computer skills. The businesses were building their own capital by sponsoring a school that taught young people what they needed for the new work environment.

The digital divide was seen most readily in the girl from the poorer family. The very fact that she was poor made her have to work while she was in high school and she spent so much time working that she eventually fell behind in school. This perpetuated her difficult living conditions because she was not able to finish high school when she should have and she continued to work a low paying job instead of moving up in the world as she had planned to by using her computer skills.

Video Response

I initially thought that this movie was obsolete but had some good goals/points driving it. There's really only two things I want to comment on about this story: computers/technology will not make a failing education system better and that yes, a technological divide does exist but so what?

As someone who is living in this country, i do care about the general welfare of the population as a whole and hence, feel that school systems could and should be improved. However, computers will not do that and the movie proved this. Take Travis for example; his entire story centered around that he "felt" that he was more comfortable with computers than his friends. Now that didn't say much for Travis or his friends and the fact that he couldn't transfer his computer "skills" into a job any better than the other kids meant that him "feeling" comfortable with computers meant nothing. I remember reading an article about this country's education system with regards to funding. They took an inner city kansas school and trippled their operational budget for a peroid of several years. Their results: the same low test scores and high drop out rates. This craze over computer is just another extention of that concept: no amount of goods are going to make kids smarter or school better. It takes people and a willingness to work for one's goals.

Luisa and Travis both came from disadvantaged backgrounds; were introduced to computers and still came up with the same unfortunate endings. Cedra came from a high socioeconmic status, probably a supportive family, had computers and ended up in a good college; no suprise there. To be honest, the only success story that this movie produced was Kep, and I didn't so much feel that it was computers that made it possible for him but rather his willingness to work hard and his supportive family.

A technological divide exists (that i'm not contesting) but its mostly of socioeconomical status and education level rather than race. The library study that we read about new york libraries indicated that the most consistant predictor of library use was not RACE but EDUCATION. It just so happens that the lower socioeconmic status people are primarily black and latino. And as such, I don't think it is so much as "racial Ravine" as much as an idiot-proof line where people - who would rather spend 100's of dollars on shoes and "bling" and then complain about not having opportunities - fall short.

America is regarded as a land of opportunities and despite what one might hear today, it is still true. If it was easy getting rich and succeeding (legally) then everyone would be rich. No its not easy to succeed in America but honestly, i would much rather be pulling myself up the rungs of society in America than in ANY other country. Those that fail and dont succeed like travis and luisa should be thankful that their life expectancy and income is still going to be higher than a HUGE percent of the world.

Respond to the vedio

Is it that important to have the good accessibility to computer and internet?

I use computer around 2 hours a day, and I think a lot of people do the same thing. However, I personally think computer is not something neccessary in my life. I can probably survive with out internet and still live happily everyday, and I am guessing many people have the similar feeling.

For the case of myself, I live in a relatively good community and middle-high class area, there is no difficulty for me access up-to-date information and gain knowledge. However, in some poor communities and minority areas, schools teach badly and kids cannot obtain the knowledge they need. Computer becomes an important source and really help some people to stay competitive. Just like what the kids in the vedio said, "computer gave me a goal."

I think what the vedio really wants to tell us is that some people do not have the good accessbility to computer while they need them. And when we are very lucky to live in this nice community, we should be thinking there are some kids/people need help for their future.

Richard Huang

"Digital Divides" Movie Response

The first thing that struck me from this movie was how outdated it felt. Hearing about Al Gore congratulating the first school to implement internet connections seemed outrageous to me, as they have been an extremely important part of my education and I can't think of a time when I've learned without them. The part of the movie where they talked about how it was controversial to implement internet access in all schools also baffled me.

Another topic that the film touched on only briefly that interested me was the shift from blue- to white- collar work in the American workforce. LIS 201 discussed this shift at length. Basically they found that with labor overseas becomming cheaper, outsourcing became more and more attractive. Companies shifted their needs for physical labor and assembly line workers was diminishing. but at the same time the demand for internet fluent information workers was increasing. America had gone through a transition from being an industrial society to a postindutrail (network, information) society.

The story about Luisa's struggle to bridge the digital divide was very interesting to me. It seemed interesting that her desire to cross the gap was at first benificial, but later detremental. At first she was able to seperate herself from some dangerous activities that her peers were involved in, but eventually her demand for a new computer made her fall behind in school, because her job took too much of her time.

As far as the whole New Tech High School idea goes, I feel like it was an antiquated fad from the internet boom era. The students attending that school were cheated out of a "normal" high school experience, but it also put them in boxes (it makes me think of the theme song from "Weeds"). They were all expecting to go into the same feild. Perhaps that is to be expected, since they chose to attend New Tech instead of their normal school, but the whole idea seemed both foreign and stupid to me.

Video Response

After finishing watching the movie, my first reaction was that the majority of the students they interviewed, aside from Kep, seemed to be no more ahead than any other high schooler applying for college. Actually, they seemed worse off to me. Since their high school experience consisted solely on technology education, I felt as if they missed learning about other valuable information. It seems as if they would be lost if they were unable to get a job in computers--they seem very limited in their career choices. Maybe if they had a broader education, they would have a more secure future ahead of them. Furthermore, two of the individuals, Luisa and Travis, had no idea what they were going to do now. Luisa is still stuck working at her fast food job, and Travis is without a job because none in his field are available.

Also, while they all seemed to have a high work ethic and interest in their education, it was surprising how poorly they seemed to be doing. Travis wasn't sure if he would be able to get his project done and graduate, and Luisa was unable to graduate. I think it is interesting that the video would include 2 such individuals instead of more individuals from the school that graduated and moved on to be more successful.

I also agree with Nick and eemartin2 when they say that they were cheated out of a normal high school experience. The lack of sports, music, art, and other extracurricular activities, I believe, will have a negative impact on their future. It is important to be exposed to a wide variety of things, not just a specialization so early on in one's life. What if they find later that they really don't enjoy computers or their work? With their lack of other experiece, it may be very hard to break away into something new.

Video Response

I found this movie somewhat interesting. The individuals they chose to interview and showcase really brought the digital divide that does exsist. In particular, I am thinking of Louisa and Travis. On the one hand, we have Louisa who was involved with gang activity. Probably the farthest away you can get from technology in todays world. And we have Travis who attends a New Technology High School.

In Louisa case, just being in her situtaion created many disadvantages. Your friends have a lot of influence on what you do in life. By being in the gang, she wasn't exposed to computers. This already puts her at a disadvantage. While people her age are already learning how to utitlize them (capabitliy). I am very amazed how one could get out of the gang world and turn to computers. We are very lucky to have grown up with computers and our learning of it started when we were young. In her case, she needed to learn at a later age. I was also surprised by her determination. She saved money for 3 years(!) to buy a computer. I would never have guessed that. But it shows how much she wanted to learn and use a computer. At the end, I was surprised how she had a photoshop test which she did not pass. Based upon her willingness to purchase a computer and get out of the gang activity, I thought she would have passed with flying colors. However, she didn't.

On the opposite end of the realm, is Travis. He was far ahead of Louisa when it came to computers. Going to a technology based high school, he had it all at his fingertips. He had all the four C's. This gives him a distinct advantage over people who aren't around computers, like Louisa. He started at a younger age. You can only get better at something the more you are around it. After reading eemartin2's post, I never even thought about something at his high school. His h.s. didn't have music or sports. I think he got cheated out of a typical high school life. Everybody can remember the clicks in the hallways, letter men coats, prom, senior year. Its the typical life of a teenager growing up. Would you trade all that for a little advantage by going to a technology based high school?

I thought this video was very interesting. Growing up with computers all my life, I have never met somebody who never had a computer or the Internet. Watching a video like this, really makes me appreciate that I was able to have that "luxury" in my life.