Inspired

So I'm about 90% sure that I'm going to stick with this summer course. The hesitancy has NOTHING to do with the course itself, though. The topic is amazing and incredibly relevant to me and well...to all of us. We had our first online class meeting through Elluminate, which is a technology that I've only just used. So far I've only used Blackboard/WebCT and Laulima (Sakai). The main difficulty with Elluminate was that not everyone had the capacity to use a mic online so it was difficult to keep up with our small group discussions when some people were typing while others were speaking.

Our discussion was on Chapter I of our text which really provided a nice philosophical foundation to ideas such as the difference between information, knowledge, and wisdom, as well as the ethics of information technology. I was most intrigued by ideas regarding global wisdom, democracy, and power. While the chapter was from a global perspective, I couldn't help but draw parallels from the readings to what I hope will be a shift here in the US in our transition from Bush to Obama.

When Obama has been vocal in his desire to make government information available online to all, as well as making the internet available to all. Yes, I am biased, but I do believe the Bush administration was governing by trying to instill fear in its citizens and keep them (us) powerless as a means to control. Now, what Obama actually will do remains to be seen, but it is clear to me that Obama does desire to strive toward a democratic ideal by trying to promote the internet as a means of enlightening the citizens. This move would not just promote democracy through (hopefully) morally responsible citizens, but also opens doors to different perspectives and debate - a necessity for democracy.

Chapter 6 discussed the idea of digital disempowerment - including trends, political theory, and ethical considerations. This chapter also provided a solid framework from which to work, particularly in the history of democracy (from Greece to Europe to the US, to global ideals) as well as the role and ethical considerations of technology in the political arena. This article pointed out the way the Bush administrations' leader of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Michael Powell said that internet access was a "luxury rather than a necessity." -I think it's important to note that this is a good example of the way an ethical decision of one in power can be used to influence political policy (by saying it's morally acceptable to exclude people from online social networking). By the end of this article, it became clear to me that the key to overcoming the digital divide is through political will. --Which brings us back to a central question - how do we create political will? How do we engage citizens? How do we enable moral development?

My inspiration after these two readings ties in with one of my main research interests, access to higher education. In previous classes, I've researched reasons for access issues, as well as the role of the high school counselor in providing social capital for high school students and enabling college enrollment. As the internet becomes more and more mainstream, a necessity if you will, I am now thinking maybe I should study on the internet as it relates to college admissions. On one had, the internet can provide a certain level of social capital for underpriviliged students. On the other hand many admissions offices are going "digital," requiring that applications be submitted online, which indicates another aspect of the digital divide, and yet another way underpriviliged students are disempowered.