Video

Although I found the video kind of interesting, my initial reaction was I felt that a lot of the ideas and problems they posed were outdated. I feel like most of the problems they discussed are not as prevalent as they used to be. The idea that a high school could not have any computers or the internet nowadays seems completely absurd to me. I think trying to compare the type of digital divide that is happening today isn't very related to the digital divide that was shown in the movie. Computers are no longer a luxury for high schools but are accepted as an easy access tool to aid your education.
Also, I didn’t like the idea of New Tech High or whatever it was called. I understand the idea was to give students opportunities they wouldn’t normally have however it seemed to extreme to me, it was like the movie showed two opposite ends of the spectrum. I feel like students that went there yea obviously learned how to use a computer but they missed out on so much extracurricular activities and general education that they lacked in all other areas. I think in our world today, it’s not enough to be really good at one thing; you have to be a much more well rounded person to succeed.
In the video we saw the lives of four different students Kep, Luisa, Travis, and Cedra. They all came from different backgrounds which aided some and hindered others. Obviously Kep who came to the country from a very poor background and barely spoke English but had a tremendous work ethic and got a good job straight out of high school was one of the more successful stories. On the opposite end of backgrounds though is Cedra who came from a more wealthy family and was accepted into Brown. I believe those two used computers as a tool rather than a sole way of success, where as Luisa who also came from a less fortunate background and Travis placed too much emphasis on computers as their scapegoat. Luisa actually is worse off in school because of everything she’s tried to add to her plate and relied too much on her computer.

Video

Although it has been stated in almost every post, the fact that the video is extremely outdated is still an important fact. The way technology affected the digital divide in 1993 is mildly interesting, but irrelevant. The idea of having computer labs in a high school is no longer a strange concept. Presently, access to computers and the internet is not a luxury for college and high school students, but a necessity.

As for the technology driven high school, I think the past 15 years gives us an idea of how well they worked. The idea of high schools that prepare you for actual technology jobs never really caught on. Part of this is because the technology you learn in high school is almost guaranteed to be outdated by the time you get in the workforce. The other aspect of these high schools that makes them unsuccessful is the lacking social element and lack of a rounded education. Kids don't want to travel to neighboring high schools to play football. Even students who intend on getting technology based jobs need both the social atmosphere of a normal high school and to be educated in the subjects of English as well as a foreign language. It is unclear whether or not the students actually benefited from their unique college experiences. The reason Kep was so successful may have had nothing to do with his high school, but his individual intelligence and dedication. Although he was able to find a good job, their is no telling how his lack of education in other areas could end up affecting his productivity.

The idea that this movie most reinforced to me was that fact that fair distribution of information technology is not a panacea for the divides we see in society. This movie followed the stories of multiple teenagers in a time period right before the tech bubble burst. In this time period, there was a lot of opportunity for people that had even basic tech knowledge to make a good living (50k+ per year) in graphic and webpage design. 

The system in which internet startups were often purchased by larger internet startups at a usually inflated price created a window where intelligent, hardworking, creative people could make a good living in tech jobs. We saw this at the end of the movie when Kep ended up with the job for the internet company. However, it seems the fact that he was hardworking, ambitious, and extremely eager to learn new things were more valuable assets in him getting the job that just his tech education alone. The girl going to Brown also seemed to have not only intelligence, but wealthy parents going for her.

While a tech education is a valuable thing have access to, it is not a concrete indicator of success in future life. Even a video that is pro-tech education could only produce a one- half success rate. Kep and the girl who went to Brown were the only two real success stories. Travis and Louisa still had to work low-tech jobs even with the education in technology they received. The point of all this, I think, is that tech-education is a great thing for high school kids to have access to, however, calling this the solution to the racial divide in this country is perhaps a little too optimistic of thinking.

Video Response

My initial response to the video was a bit critical. First of all, it seemed extremely outdated. How is it even possible to be even part of a digital divide when the technology is not available to most people anyways? Al Gore's appearance in the video emphasized how outdated this video was, and during the early and mid 90s was when the internet age was just starting to boom, therefore not everyone had access to it because of the fact not enough time had passed. In that regards, i felt that the video fell way short of explaining the digital divide with the student and high school examples it gave.

Louisa saved up for nearly 3 years or so to buy a computer working at Long John Silvers. This is way too antiquated because even with minimum wage, computers nowadays are not that expensive. Thus, I believe only a privileged few had access to personal computers during this time, but does that really mean a digital divide was occurring? It may have been a start to the digital divide, but the video explains it as if it were in full blown effect already which is definitely not the case. Even though Louisa got access to computers and it was her way out of a gang, it did not necessarily help her succeed in her education. She failed to graduate with her class, therefore attributing success to computers and computers only is a big claim which should be taken with a grain of salt. There are other factors that attribute to one's success, and the video seemed to contradict itself in that manner.

Travis went to New Tech High thinking it would create new opportunities for him in the future. He compared his friends and said how they didnt have goals in mind for their future just because they werent that tech savy with computers. I feel that is a load of crap. Lets be honest, even though Travis graduated with his class, just like the overwhelming majority of other students from other high schools do, he was still unable to go to college due to his financial situation. New Tech High, even with all its glory and computers and visits from Al Gore could not educate Travis enough or give him an extraordinary skill set which could allow him to get a scholarship. Therefore I think its a leap to blame an education system on the basis that if it does not provide enough computers or high speed internet access, it will fail to create opportunities for its students. Travis found no opportunity, either in the work force or for college, after graduating from such a "Tech savy" school.

Kep's reason for success was not due to which high school he attended, it was because of his work ethic, intelligence, and ambition that made him stand out and succeed. But this is the case with any individual, whether they are going to New Tech High or any other high school in the country. Therefore I feel that the video attempting to explain the digital divide did an extremely horrible job trying to do so, with the use of bad examples, antiquated film, and narrow focus on computer education.

Video Response

I thought the video was... interesting. It actually scared me a little bit. There was so much emphasis on technology that it seemed like subjects that weren't particularly helpful to a career in technology weren't given their due. The schools these kids went to (especially the one with the RIDICULOUS amount of computers) reminded me of vocational schools. That's fine, but I think that in high school subjects like English, History, Math, Science, etc. can't be forgotten. And the fact that there were very few extracurriculars. Part of being in high school is being a kid, you should be able to have fun and goof around. A computer screws up and you can't show your final project so it's possible you won't graduate? That's way too much pressure. It seems like the computer school (I totally can't remember what it's called) was just churning out little techie drones, and, hey, it's a booming market, but can they hold a reasonably intelligent conversation about literature or history? Are they aware of the all the implications of the education they have chosen for themselves? You don't need to know how to use a computer to be intelligent... and you don't necessarily need to be intelligent to use a computer.

As for their individual stories: kinda blew my mind. I knew the girl who use to be in a gang wasn't going to get the job she wanted. She was working at Long John Silver's too much and she was on a time crunch. But now what's going to happen to her? She let her grades slide at school because she was so focused on this elusive chance that kids all over the states are going for the same thing and she failed. Now what? Is she going to work at Long John Silver's for the rest of her life? Now Kep restored my faith in humanity a little bit. His family immigrated and so they probably weren't very well off and he gets some fancy job straight out of high school. Cool. He was a smart guy and this'll work for him. But his friend with the bad haircut is screwed, even though he did manage to graduate. He was mediocre, even if he does really like computers, he doesn't have that great of skill and he doesn't have the work ethic. So, this, conjoined with the fact that nearly EVERYBODY in America wants to do something with computers means he's not going to be all the successful. The one girl that lived in silicon valley... well she's already well off and she's going to a good school... no surprises there.

So, Kep and the silicon girl had all 4 c's, I believe, Louisa barely had context and had to work really hard for it, she didn't have much connectivity unless I miss my guess, she didn't really have the capability (she didn't get the job,) and the content is probably somewhat relative to her so she would've made use of the internet. The dude with the bad haircut had at least 3 c's but personally, I think capability was a little sketch.

video response

For starters, this movie, probably vhs.. was made in 1997! Considering that technology is rapidly improving and the digital divide has changed vastly over the past 12 years the information seems outdated.

The concept of a high school with an emphasis or foundation on technology initially seemed beneficial. It would provide all 4 C’s; context, connectivity, capability, and content to all students. The tech high school seemed as if it would narrow the digital divide or racial ravine within this community of students because it created equal access, capability, and accepted students of all race and income level. The classes provided guest speakers and contacts with business moguls that increased the student’s social capital. With all of these obvious benefits and preparing students for a career with technology, the tech high school was still obviously a failure.

The video analyzed typical tech high school students, two are Luisa and Travis. Luisa was a part of the digital divide, prior to enrolling in the school and purchasing her own computer. She showed determination and willingness to learn; yet, she did not graduate. She fell behind in classes because she was working full time to support her family. Luisa is stuck in the divide, even though it would seem the tech school provided her with an opportunity to surpass this ravine. Another student, Travis, admitted to procrastinating his final project. His final project was a disaster and yet he still graduated? In my opinion he’s not a student I would have given a diploma to…

Ah the video

I think most of us can agree that the video was a bit painful. It was, as already mentioned, quite old and as technology played a major part in the subject it was hard for me to take it seriously. Technology changes so much in a year let alone almost 20. For most of the film I felt like I was watching some 80's corporate training video for a new kind of high school. It was also boring.

Putting aside my problems with the video, it was obviously relevant to the subjects we have been discussing and learning about in class. The digital divide was easily seen just by the fact that the students at the school had so much time with computers and were able to learn how to use "current" technologies that would help them excell for the rest of their lives. The advantage that all the students at tech high school recieved by gaining technology fluency versus the typical high school student of the time is the digital divide. The digital divide was also evident within the school as the girl who worked at Long John Silver's had trouble graduating with her class because she had to work to make money where many students there simply had money and were able to focus on their schoolwork. I thought her case was especially interesting because it was kind of paradoxical how she was an example of the digital divide in tech high but her even getting into tech high was an example of narrowing the digital divide. Tech high encouraged her to drop out of gang life and focus on her love of computers but she was still part of a lower income group and didnt do as well at school because of it.

I liked the parts of the video concerning the first community technology centers. It was interesting to see how the LA urban league worked to train people to use technology and help them become competitive in the job market. It helped me understand how important community technology centers could be to any community by benefitting those who need it most and gradually benefitting the community as a whole.