EMFA: T2C2 - Univ Internet Comments 2

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Universal Internet - Comments and Responses #1 
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As you catch up with the essays feel free to send your brief 
comments in over the weekend. Send your general comments and 
essay responses to: emfa@publicus.net

Thanks.


The following messages are included in this digest:
(Titles written by event host.)

1. Ann Wrixon - SeniorNet Learning Centers
2. Jon Bernstein - Save the E-Rate
3. Alfonso Gumucio Dagron - Digital Divide - Who is Right?
4. Shahidul Alam - Internet in the "South"
5. Bruce O. Young - Rural Access and E-mail 


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 [1]

From:             Ann Wrixon <AnnWrixon@aol.com>
Subject:          Comments

Mr. Paulson's essay "Health Information and 55+ People on the
Internet" is satire at its best. Hilarious yet with an extremely
serious message. His comparison of computer illiteracy to deadly
viruses could not be more apt given that our economy is
increasingly being driven by information, and that much, if not
most, of this information is delivered and processed by computer
technology, so computer literacy is clearly an economic
necessity.

Although it is obvious to most people that in an
information-based economy people need computer skills to be
employable, it is not as obvious that information and computer
technology are having a much more far reaching impact on our
society. As a result I have often been questioned about why older
adults need computer skills as most are near the end of the
careers or retired. Clearly, many older adults cannot afford to
retire, do not wish to retire or are interested in second careers
and need these skills, but the issue that I want to address is
that this technology is fundamentally changing our society,
including how we purchase goods and services, access information
and form communties, so that the ability to use this technology
becomes a requirement for full participation in society.

My thesis is that the changes taking place are so fundamental to
the fabric of our society that access to technology will become
one of the most important human rights issues of the next
century. Clearly, access does not only affect those over 55 but
this segment of the population is the one most often overlooked
in the public policy debates about computer literacy.

Although more and more people over the age of 55 will be computer
literate as the current group of baby boomers, many of whom are
becoming computer literate in the workplace, become elders.
Nevertheless, the current group of 70 million people over the age
of 55 will need special assistance in becoming computer literate.
It is helpful to remember that many of these people will live
another 20 to 40 years so this is not a problem that will
disappear in the near future.

In dealing with teaching older adults computer technology Mr.
Paulson also identifies the key obstacle which is
"computer-phobia." SeniorNet has developed a model of teaching
older adults about computer technology which effectively deals
with this issue. SeniorNet's computer Learning Centers have a
peer-based model of teaching technology that has successfully
taught 100,000 older adults. SeniorNet currently has 126 Learning
Centers in 35 states, and is expanding rapidly. It is clear,
however, that there is a need for a much larger program to reach
all of the people who need it.

I agree with Mr. Paulson that, "it [would] be great if a
collaborative venture in which organization such as the AARP,
National Council on Aging, Centers on Aging at state
universities, SeniorNet Learning Centers, and APCUG  could work
together to produce a model that could be replicated at
one-computerlabs in the lobbies of community centers, small
branch libraries, retirement homes, and other places where
underserved older people could easily congregate."

SeniorNet currently collaborates with dozens of local site
sponsors to host Learning Centers, including sites in community
centers, libraries, retirement homes, shopping malls and other
places where underserved older people congregate. The obstacle
that I see in expanding this model is the financial support
needed. I think the most effective collaboration would be a
concerted effort I would call "bringing wisdom to the information
age" that would teach our elders to participate in the new
information age by teaching them technology skills using the
model that SeniorNet has developed since we know it is effective
in dealing with the "computer-phobia" afflicting many older
adults. This effort would need the support of  national, and
local non-profits in conjunction with corporate, philantrophic
and government entities to be successful.

I believe this is a doable project. The financial support to
establish 1,800 addtional Learning Centers could come to about
$50 million. These centers could train between 10 and 20 million
people over 10 years which would have a significant impact on the
computer literact level of our elders.

I also believe that the in-person teaching and community that
develops at Learning Center sites has an important impact on the
on-line communities of older adults that are currently
developing, but since this is so long already I will develop
those ideas in a separate post. In a later post I would also like
to expand on the idea of using other medium (ie, television) to
promote computer literacy.

Ann Wrixon
Executive Director
SeniorNet
1 Kearny Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 352-1210
annwrixon@seniornet.org

[Check out SeniorNet at:  http://www.seniornet.org ]

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 [2]

From:             JBernstein@nea.org
Subject:          E-rate

Further to your discussion about the schools and library fund, I
wanted to pass along an alert that the National Education
Association and other school groups are sending out to interested
parties. We are very interested in having people communicate
their support for the E-rate to Congress, the FCC and local and
long distance telephone providers.  Please help us if you can.
Our alert follows: 

We need your help to Save the E-Rate Now!

As you know, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 calls for schools
and libraries to receive discounted access -- known as the E-Rate
-- to the Internet and to a wide range of telecommunications
services and internal connections. This historic program will
provide up to $2.25 billion per year in discounts to enable
school children and library users across America to access the
Internet and other information technology.  But now, critics of
the E-Rate discounts are trying to pull the plug on the program:

*Some local phone companies have filed a lawsuit that could gut
the E-Rate program. *Some long-distance carriers are threatening
to pass their costs along to consumers by adding a line-item to
residential customers' bills. *Some Members of Congress are
threatening to reduce key services and funding under the E-Rate
program. *The Federal Communications Commission is considering
reducing E-Rate services and funding in response to these
threats.

You can help save the E-Rate program for your schools and
libraries today. Pass this alert on to others who care about
getting kids connected and click here to reach Save the E-Rate
Campaign's automated e-mail action center.  From there, you can
send a message to Congress, the FCC, and telecommunications
companies in support of the E-Rate program.  Or, point your Web
browser to http://congress.nw.dc.us/e-rate.

Thank you for helping us to Save the E-Rate Now!  

Jon Bernstein
Senior Professional Associate
National Education Association
*****************************************************************
* Only the individual sender is responsible for the content of
this message, and the message does not necessarily reflect the
position or policy of the National Education Association or its
affiliates.


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 [3]

From:             Alfonso Gumucio Dagron <agumucio@guate.net> 
Subject:        RE: EMFA: T2E2 & T2E3 

Somebody is not being very serious...
"We see no significant differences in basic access (to Internet)
among racial groups in the United States." - David S. Birdsell

"The recently released Vanderbilt study on Internet and Race
suggests that, relative to the Internet, the glass is half empty
for Blacks.  The authors see the "digital divide" widening and
that race is pivotal in explaining this phenomenon." - Anthony
Wilhelm So, how "universal" is e-mail within de United States?

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 [4]


From:             Shahidul Alam <shahidul@drik.net>
Subject:          Text version of article 

The Wild Flowers of the Internet

The beauty of the Internet, they all tell us, is that nobody owns
it. Of all the hype about the Internet, this perhaps is the
biggest lie of all. The Internet is no ethereal medium that flows
ubiquitously through our universe. Physically it consists of
computers, telephone sets, satellites, and cables. All things
that somebody owns. It is peopled by providers, users and
regulators. The users are mainly wealthy, white and male. After
all, it was the US military that set it up, and the US that
propagated it. The etiquette developed for the Internet is an
entirely western construct, and the lingua franca for the net is
English. The ownership of the information content on the net is
almost exclusively Northern, and even the few web sites that are
developed by southern organisations are mostly located physically
in servers in the USA. Information flow on the net, is almost
entirely North to South. For all effective purposes, it is
largely the North that owns the net.

Activists in the South, however, have found innovative ways of
fighting this hegemony. In Bangladesh, the first Email network
was setup using Fidonet technology, with a 286 machine as a
server. End users worked on simple DOS based machines, analog
telephone lines and 2400 BPS modems. The main telephone line was
used for data, fax and voice.  But the system worked, and for
those in remote areas, who had no options of international calls,
this provided the only practical method for global communication.
Operating on low costs and tons of goodwill, the local networks
also setup bulletin boards which were used for community work and
for activism. In times of danger, the Email provided an essential
link, for sending out vital information, and for garnering
support.

That Internet, at the top end of technology, might well be
appropriate for the South requires a shift in attitude that the
development set have found hard to make. Rather than designing
creative methods of using the net to the advantage of the South,
the tendency has been to dismiss it as a tool that will only
benefit the wealthy and therefore not worth pursuing for the
majority world. But the Internet is here to stay, and with the
usage growing exponentially,  the technological benefits cannot
be ignored.

The choices are not easy. The investments necessary for
developing infrastructure are enormous, and as long as a  modem
costs more than a cow, the potentially largest democracy in the
world will be the democracy of a minority. Changes are taking
place. As long as  the Internet does allow a lone voice to be
heard, it is upto the South,  to ensure that the while the
meganetworks that control the information flow, continue to
bloom, the wild flowers of the South, through their tenacity, and
resilience and their amazing ability to survive on the most
slender of resources, continue to carve out a space for
themselves.

Shahidul Alam
Dhaka
October 1997
Abridged from the first published version in Himal Magazine,
January 1998 issue

Shahidul Alam
Photographer
Drik Picture Library Ltd.
House 58, Road 15A (New)
Dhanmondi R.A. Dhaka 1209
tel: 880-2-812954, 9120125, 823412
fax: 880-2-9115044
http://www.drik.org
http://services.toolnet.org/

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 [5]

From:             "Bruce O. Young" <byoung@spnt.com>
To:               <emfa@publicus.net>
Subject:          T1 General Comments  -  E-mail in Rural America
Date sent:        Thu, 7 May 1998 22:12:49 -0700

While the majority of us in employed in computer-related
disciplines live and work in large urban communities, the people
who have the most to gain from affordable nation-wide e-mail are
those living in the wide-open rural areas of our nation. As a
former member of the U. S. Air Force, I got to live this first
hand: although those employed on USAF bases are prone to enjoy
working with some fairly high technology, we are also prone to
find our bases situated in the most unlikely places: locations
are chosen for strong prevailing winds, not the social value of
their surroundings! People living in sparsely-populated rural
areas often feel cut off from the rest of mainstream society,
since they so seldom interact with the large urban centers that
usually have the largest influence in shaping our culture. But
even though they could see the greatest benefit from e-mail, they
have often been the last to see it!

When I was stationed in Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, this
came strongly home, particularly during the long, cold winters
when "cabin fever" sets in! In the early 1980's, long before the
Internet came into its full flower, e-mail was done via
volunteer-managed "echo mail" systems. Users would dial in to
their local Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) and download QWK mail
packets for reading off line. Replies would be uploaded on the
next "visit," and another mail packet downloaded. The local BBSs
would swap mail packets daily with BBSs that served as regional
hubs, which would each interface daily with the international
hub. It would take two or three days for your reply to their
reply to get through, but who cared? We were sitting in our ice
boxes in the middle of nowhere talking to the "real world!" Echo
mail networks like FidoNet, RelayNet, IntellecNet, and U'nINet
were active well into the 90's, and were often all rural areas
had. The big proprietary commercial e-mail systems like
Compuserve and America Online considered most rural areas to be
"not cost effective," so they would rarely provide local dial-in
numbers. So the only persons with e-mail accounts were those
whose company had a compelling business need to provide e-mail
accounts to their employees (that employees then could use for
personal messages!), or those with deep enough pockets to afford
the hefty long-distance bills required to use one of the dial-in
commercial systems. Affordable dial-in Internet accounts with
local numbers didn't appear there until 1995, a year before I
left!

So while it is indeed important to enable the urban poor with
access to e-mail, we must also remember those who live in the
hinterlands of our nation. Today, when the Internet appears to be
everywhere, there are still many rural areas in our nation
without local-call dial-in access to Internet e-mail. Something
as simple as funding "800" number access to regional Internet
Service Providers could make all the difference to people far
from the nearest small town.

- end -


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