This week in discussion we watched a movie called Digital Divides. This movie focused our attention on youth, computers, education, and employment. I'd like you to post your initial reactions to the movie as well as provide more analysis about what this film adds to our overall class discussions. Please provide several paragraphs so that we can get a good idea of the point you'd like to make.
Some good starting points would be to compare and contrast the differing stories. We witnessed four different stories--those of Luisa, Cedra, Travis, and Kep. How do issues that we've been discussing in class relate to their stories? How can we think about their narratives in terms of racial ravines, 4Cs, or social capital? What sorts of differences allow some of them to do well but not others?
I'd also like everyone to reply to one of the responses. In particular, I'd like you to respond to a classmate that noticed something you hadn't. Was there any reason you didn't notice that particular point? Do you think about labor and race differently now because of that post?
Video Reflection
14 years ago
I liked the video because it was real life stories of people actually experiencing the technological divide. It surprised me how much the technology high school focused on technology and that they didn't have any extra curriculars like gym class etc to participate in.
ReplyDeleteI think that Luisa showed us that income really does play a role in our access to technology and it not only affects her ability to buy it but her job kept her from focusing on school and learning that adobe program. She wasnt from a poverished family so that showed us that denied access isn't just from poverished families but middle class homes as well
I thought the movie showed how a lot of people who aren't able to use computers well will have a very hard time functioning in society today. The four people that were focused in the movie all came from very different backgrounds and they each had their own struggles. I think the way that Travis, Kep, and Luisa worked in a group together was a perfect example of social capitol in the form of bridging. They were of different ethnicity and races, with very different situations at home. Luisa had to work long hours to support her and her family, which eventually lead to her not succeeding in school. Travis was the only man in his house and said he felt like he had many roles that he had to play. Then Kep came from a family who had to adjust to living in America.
ReplyDeleteI think Luisa's home situation affected her the most than anyone else. Because she came from a lower income family, it set her apart from her fellow students because she was forced to support herself by working almost 40 hours a week. Though she was enthusiastic about going to school, she wasn't able to do it all.
Personally I think that the students in the movie would benefit if their schools offered more education in the arts(Ex.music, Foreign language, or literature). Though the computer and technological capabilities of the schools are incredibly beneficial, the students are missing out on an important aspect of education.
The movie we watched in discussion surprised me. I didn't know that there were such nontraditional styles high schools. Initially, I agreed with the psychiatrist. I don't think high school should be used strictly to prepare kids for the work force. High school should be utilized to teach kids a variety of information and introduce them to many fields of interest. I think it is too early for high school students to have a set career plan for the rest of their life. They will miss out on many opportunities. It is obviously beneficial to introduce technology to students especially to those who might not have it at home, but I think the purpose of high school is to become well rounded. There is still a lot to learn about the world aside from technology. I understand that the world is coming to depend more and more on technology, and it is important to prepare the youth for this, but I still feel the other aspects of a traditional high school have value, too.
ReplyDeletein the movie, those witnesses were well educated in new technology and they are using their educational knowledge to their life.thus they can get more experiences and have education to teach others how to do things with new technologies, such as computer in according to their experiences. as we all know that human capital (college education) increases productivity. those witness's have high productivity on computer technology so they are much different from others, who does not really have enough knowledge in computer technology.
ReplyDeleteThis movie told the stories of four very different students. They all went to the same high school, yet all had very different experiences, as well as outcomes after high school. In the beginning of the movie I was intrigued by this technology high school. I thought it was a cool idea that they did everything on computers and learned through a more "real world" setting rather than just reading books and memorizing information. However, the more I watched the more I realized they were not receiving a very well rounded education. I think the school focused entirely too much on technology, internships & business. There is much more to education, especially at the high school level, than getting a job. Not to mention, the jobs they were preparing these students for were limited to those involving computers and technology. There are plenty of high schools that teach students hot to utilize computers in a "normal" school setting. And these high schools do not exclude extracurricular activities, which play a huge part in creating well rounded individuals.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, the two students that ended up graduating and going on to college are pursuing careers in computers or computer engineering. SO for them, the high school was probably very beneficial. However, they might run into trouble because even in college you have to take a number of general education courses which they probably did not receive a proper basis of knowledge in, due to the different way of learning they were taught in their technology high school.
In response to Caitlin's post, she brings up another good point about this high school preparing kids for a set career path too early in life. It is really more of a technical college than a high school, which could be very beneficial for students who are planning on entering the workforce right out of high school. But students planning on going onto college are not receiving an adequate education, both socially and academically.
In response to orgil_mgl's post, I agree that most of the kids from Technology High School were very well educated in the technology they use at school. In contrast though, I noticed that some of them were lacking expertise at other common things taught at standard high schools such as language and grammar. While I do see the importance of a proficient knowledge of technology, basic education of language and grammar, among many other things, are also important. The kids on the video did not come off nearly as smart as they actually are because of this.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to all previous comments, the video highlighted how the use of computers impacted and changed the four lives documented.
ReplyDeleteIn Luisa's story, the world of computers and technology aided in turning her from gang involvement to a life of substance; from negative social capital to positive social capital. However, her low-income family could not provide for her in purchasing a computer; rather, she provided for herself. This desire to own a computer to grow with society hindered her learning within school, perhaps the most important factor in also growing with a technological society.
In Kep's story, he emphasized that, coming from a different cultural background, he would never have felt connected to the American society without exposure to technology and the computer. The computer was his network to modern american society. Had Kep not been introduced to the computer through school, he would have fallen into the racial ravine, lacking, of the 4Cs, capability and connectivity. Technology impacted Kep so profoundly that he pursued a degree from a prestigious university.
In Cedra and Travis' case, technology, already a part of their lives, inspired them to pursue related technological fields.
While technology is important to the world of tomorrow, it is also important to emphasize the importance of traditional approaches to learning, as others have commented on. While high school is preparatory for life after graduation, its main function is to students a breadth of knowledge of all academic aspects, not solely computer related. While all subjects can be taught by computer (composing music online, writing, math functions, artistic creations, etc.) important aspects of academics and the arts are acquired through physical use (learning to play an instrument, writing out math equations and solutions manually, handwriting essays, drawing etc.). Therefore, I believe the computer centered school documented in the film is neglecting of fundamental academic knowledge. All ranges of students must have fair access to all forms of learning in attempt to help them shape their specific interests and future fields of study. It is important to keep in step with the evolving society, while also implementing traditional forms of learning.
I'm going to try and not repeat too much of what everyone else has said so far. I'd like to say that Lauren brought up a really good point how the students who went to the technology based high school were not as well educated in general studies as a normal high school student. I agree with the idea that while it is good to want students to succeed and do well in the future, the technology school isn't going to help them in all areas. But I had not considered the college part of it. I think it would be really difficult for them in college without that basic knowledge of literature, math and science. While it is a neat idea, high school is more then just being book smart. It is where you first start developing relationships with other students and sometimes those relationships are stronger in extra curricular activities then sitting by yourself at home. True, the students did work in groups, but working in a group setting in a business situation is a lot different than interacting with students outside of that.
ReplyDeleteI was also struck by the differences between the two high schools that Luisa went to and Cedra. Cedra's school was the first to have Internet, they had new stuff donated due to a lot of the upper class standings and living in Silicon Valley. Luisa's school had computers too, but they were older and not as up to date with everything. Just a simple thing like that shows how the digital divide is growing. While both schools had computers, the students who had better computers were able to do more and go farther in life (say Brown University).
I actually didn't see too much of the whole race ravine because all of them came from such different backgrounds and economic classes. Sure, they were different races, but Travis didn't appear any richer then Kip or vise-versa. It seemed to do more with where your family lived and where they worked then what color your skin was.
First of all i liked that the video tried to use prespectives from students of different ethnic backrounds. I dont remember specific names so i will try to relate to each one by the schools.
ReplyDeleteKep went to technology high and graduated first in his class. Kep was came to the U.S. when he was little. It may have seemed like Kep would have missed out on a lot of technology because of his ethnicity, but he got the most of all the students. He seems so be decreasing the gap of the digital divide. Kep also shows that he has great use of all the 4 c's. he has a reason to use technology, the willingnes and the ability. But his close family members probably lack a reason for use. This maybe what set Kep apart. But maybe it was because Kep had so much support that he was able to cross the digital divide.
The next person i thought was most ironic to watch was Travis. He was the stereo typical white middle class teenager. But with all the opportunities that were available to him, he still couldnt excel and find a job. The C he may have been lacking was the ability to adapt to new technology. he had the desire to learn, teachers to help, and the connectivity. But in the end Travis just couldnt hack it.
One aspect of technology high i though was strange was that they had no extra curricular activities. They had a lot of bridging social capital, but no bonding social capital.
The girl that had the sadest story was the one who wasnt able to graduate college because she had to many extra curricular activites. The had a job, school, and voulenteered. There just wansnt enough time in the day. This story is a great example of the digital divide. She came from a poor family, and had to work a full time job as a result. Therefore, she couldnt spend the needed time on learning.
The last girl, the one who was accepted to Brown, had a happy ending. She came from an diverse family, but what set her away from the digital divide was the fact that her family was wealthy. She was surrounded by technology because she lived in Silicon Valley. Her high school has a lot of new technology and she had a supportive family.
in response to sammy:
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea that the digital divide gap is widening because of a few years of new technology. I wonder if we can ever get everyone close to the same level. But, New technology is just too expensive for everyone to afford. It seems like sometimes it's just luck involved.
I think throughout the video we learned alot about different opportunities gained by members of different racial or ethnic groups. And though alot of aspects about their situations may have remained the same, I feel like technology since the video has grown quite a bit and access to information has become easier. It was very hard for these students to have access to computers (especially the lower-income ones) and their struggles may be related to their backgrounds or socioeconomic statuses. The video showed that determination in a lot of cases pays off in most cases, but sometimes the "Digital Divide" is just too hard to cross. The video relates to what we've been talking about because it showed the difference in accessibility of the internet due to demographical features. The 4 C's were shown to a large extent- what people could do once they accessed a computer, their difficulty in accessing computers, their new skills they learned on computers- were all related to the 4 C's.
ReplyDeleteThis movie showed two sides to the digital divide. First, it showed how society is closing the gap. NEW TECH HIGH had students from many backgrounds, races, and classes. All students there got incredible educations, learned useful workplace skills, and had many responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this school is very unique. For the rest of the students living in other parts of the country, they do not profit to this school. Those living in urban environments do not receive the kind of educational attention that the teens living near silicon valley do. The movie did not address this adequately, in my perspective.
Another interesting part of the movie was how each individual succeeded or failed. Their success was not dependent on their race or class. Travis was a white male, but struggled his senior year; while Kep was a 2nd generation immigrant, who was named student of the year.
In terms of social capital, NEW TECH HIGH was a pretty successful experiment. The community was brought together with this project and continued to benefit from the connections made between families of the students. The community was obviously very proud of their achievement in building this one-of-a-kind school.
I agree with caitlin when she wrote that it was too early for them to have set career plans. they were really not receiving a well-rounded education. And what is an education if you only learn about a very narrow and singular subject?
When I first started watching this film, I had never known that technological schools such as this existed. I thought it was a pretty good idea at first, especially when the film mentioned that many employers had commented on how students are not technologically sophisticated enough after coming out of high school. After reflecting on the film for a while, I now think that these specialized schools are not such a great idea. Earlier education is all about learning how to learn about a variety of topics and getting a well rounded start to finding out what students want to do for the rest of their lives. I am a sophomore in college and I am still not completely sure. If one of these students changed their mind and decided they wanted to become an author instead, they would be at a disadvantage compared to other kids their age and may not be able to follow their dream. Also, the video mentioned that these schools had no extracurricular sports or art programs. Part of high school is meeting new people through such activities and forming strong friendships on teams or in clubs. Children should not miss out on these opportunities or be forced to look for them elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe Digital Divides video showed many examples of racial ravines. It gave an in depth account of four students lives (Luisa, Cedra, Travis, and Kep), all of which were a different race and had a way different background and home life. Luisa, a young African American girl, had the hardest struggle when it came to bridging this digital divide. She had to save up for four years to finally be able to afford a computer. The irony in all of this is that by trying to become more technologically intelligent by working long hours to be able to afford a computer, her grades began to slip in school. All four students experienced a form of bridging social capital. They all are very different, but were brought together by a shared goal of having an advanced education when it comes to being computer savvy.
In response to Lauren Canterna’s comment, I agree that normal high schools usually do a fine job teaching students how to adequately utilize computers, as long as they have enough resources. I don’t know a single person who went to one of these technology-focused high schools, yet every one of my friends knows how to use a computer and a huge part of their lives revolves around doing so. Also, I like your point that colleges make everyone take certain general classes. These students will most likely struggle with classes about history and the arts when they are forced to take them.
The movie was a very good display of high school aged kids leading very different lives and trying to adapt to the changing information society around them. Each kid featured in the movie experienced different social disparities that made life more difficult and had to try different ways of getting around them. A lot of the kids experienced the disparities of race, ethnicity, level of education, socio-economic status, and even sex.
ReplyDeleteThe 4 C's were all seen in the film:
Context- the students at New Tech High had many assignments and projects based off of the computer. They had a huge need for computer use.
Connectivity- being such an old film, I'm sure all of the people featured had difficulties connecting to high-speed internet. New Tech High's internet speed was probably slow for our standards today.
Capability- Many of the kids' parents didn't have the proper education and/or training to even be able to use a computer.
Content- the computers were much more important to the New Tech High students than to the others who just simply enjoyed them.
I will mention that I think it was slightly difficult for us, as a class, to relate with the students featured in the documentary. The majority of us graduated high school in the past few years, while this film featured kids graduating, in what I estimate to be, the early 90's. While I'm sure not every single one of our high schools had enough computers for every student to use at a time, I don't think any of us has ever experienced the lack of accessibility that some of the students faced in the movie.
In response to JACLYN BURKE's post, I really agree with her input regarding the girl who wasn't able to graduate high school. It's very hard for me to relate to her, because even though I've always been a hard worker, I cannot imagine working 40 hours a week on top of going to high school. I give that girl a ton of credit and I was saddened that her life consisted of that because of her socio-economic status.
I personally thought that the movie did a good job of showcasing teenagers with completely different lifestyles and how technology comes into play in their daily lives.
ReplyDeleteWhile I thought that the producers of the film raised some great points regarding the differences in accessibility in terms of technology that people face in their daily lives, it was also pretty clear to me that the movie is definitely outdated. Judging by the appearance of the computers in this video's, it's pretty clear that this movie came out either in the very early 2000's or even the late 1990's. I think it's fair to say that since that time, our society's reliance on technology has shifted a lot.
In the film, Travis and Kep are both students at New Tech High, a high school known for its dependence on technology. While their reliance on computers there may have been cutting edge at the time of the movie's production, it is my opinion that the majority of high schools, at least around this area, place a high value on technology and rely on computers as a major part of their curriculum. Essentially, the majority of high schools today are comparable to the "New Tech High" from the time of the movie.
In terms of what the movie can bring to our discussion, I think that the movie really did do a nice job of showing the perspective of teenagers from very different backgrounds. It was really interesting to me to see how people of different social statuses adapted their lifestyles to make do with the technology they have. I also think that the movie can help us see how our society has progressed since the time of the movie in terms of technology usage.
I thought that Lauren's perspective about the lack of "general education" taught at New Tech High was interesting. I'd be really curious to see how well students that attended New Tech when computers weren't yet an essential part of everyday life did when taking general ed classes during their first years of college.
I believe that the Technology High School that these students attended was a great thing and should be more publicly available throughout the country. This is both my own opinion, and a response to the numerous posts saying that more grammar and arts need to be taught in high school. I think that this is a good establishment because it gives those students who WANT to be more involved with technology the opportunity to do so. It is not a public high school like the ones many of us attended. It is a technical high school with the purpose of giving high school students a head start in the technical world. This school serves a purpose especially in the Silicon Valley area because it allows for students to gain experience in working with technology, with people, and with companies. This school does build social capital in that respect because it provides networking opportunities both from peer to peer and from peer to business. Obviously, I am not saying that English and Foreign Language skills are not important because I do believe they are, but for students who wish to pursue careers in the field of technology and computers, there is perhaps no better high school for them to attend than one that focuses on those areas. It is a common idea that one goes to school to learn more and more about less and less, and New Tech High provides technologically inclined students the opportunity to start early in their learning of technology to get ahead in the business world.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that this movie did make very apparent though, besides that usefulness of technical schools, is the digital divide. This has been touched on in other posts, but it became very evident, that even if one has interest and skill in technology, people can not always pursue such careers simply because of financial shortcomings and racial issues. This was especially the case with Luisa, who worked full time, attended school, and volunteered. She has no lack in character or interest in technology. Her only problem was that her family was not financially stable. The reality of the digital divide is just that. In many cases, first, second, or even third generation immigrants do not have the ability to get ahead because of little job stability. This is the unfortunate reality in America that may be solved in the future, but for now, the racial ravine that defines the digital divide is evident and reoccuring.
I thought this movie was very relevant to what we have been talking about it class. It provided many examples that closely related to our discussions of the 4C’s. From the 4C’s I believe the biggest differences between the four stories we learned about were connectivity and capability. Connectivity was very high at Travis’s and Kep’s high school. There are enough computers in the school for each student to have their own and therefore everybody has access to one. Travis’s and Kep’s high school was also very technology based. Everything they learned they used a computer to do it and which caused them to have high capability.
ReplyDeleteLike Travis and Kep, Luisa learned high capability through her school because she was able to enroll into computer classes. Unlike Travis and Kep, Luisa struggled with connectivity because there are not as many computers available at her school and she did not have access to a computer at home until she raised enough money to purchase her own.
Cedra is very different from the other students in the video. Instead of learning through computers at school her parents had taught her how to use computers. This resulted in Cedra always having high capability. Cedra also had high connectivity because she had many computers at home that were always available for her to use. Cedra’s ability to understand and use computers is reflected in the video, at the end, when she is accepted into the elite colleges she had hoped for. Cedra being accepted to these school is an example of the digital divide can affect students.
In response to what Caitlin said: I did not think of technology high as being a school that is directed towards training people for the work force. I must have overlooked that but I do agree with you that they should have more variety in what they learn. Form the video I remember them saying that they did not have any libraries with printed books, the only libraries they had were found on the web. I think that not having libraries is a perfect example of how they miss out, they will never learn how to use libraries for printed material.
I enjoyed the movie very much because if its use of real-life young people that I could relate to on a personal level. I feel like my high school was similar in some aspects to Technology High School in that my high school integrated technology and computer-use into almost every aspect of the curriculum. I think this benefits students because we live in an information age where people cannot get by without using even one mode of technology per day.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the race aspect of the film. The adolescents chosen were from various ethnic groups and each had their own reason for technology use. Their success or failure was not based on socioeconomic status or race. Also, they were all able to have the opportunity to work with computers and experience technology even in low-income circumstances. To some extent, this film showed the racial ravine being bridged. Kep was an Asian second generation immigrant named student of the year. Whereas Travis was unable to complete his final project and was not as successful. This shows that no matter the race, success and failure can occur.
The four C's that we have learned all play an important role in every child's computer access in this film. Not all of the adolescents had access to computers right away or didn't even think of computer use as necessary. However, once the kids got their hands on technology, they decided that it was an extremely necessary part of their lives and would propel them into successful futures.
In response to Alyssa:
In regards to the message of the film, I felt it was more a positive viewpoint. I thought the filmmakers were attempting to show how much positive growth technology can cause. Instead of scaring people into thinking they won't be adequate if they don't use technology, the film makes people develop the desire to go out and use a computer and develop their technological skills. These kids are role models for all ethnic groups, not just warnings for people without access to technology.
When I first started watching the movie, I was in shock that these schools actually existed. I never would have thought that there was a school that just focused on technology and really nothing else. Where are all the sporting teams, after school activities, clubs, dances...etc? I really didn’t know what to think about these schools when they were first introduced. For a student who is 100% sure of what career they want to pursue these schools could be a great thing. Students would develop unbelievable skills in their field of interest and they would be ahead of all the other students who went to a typical high school. However, how many students know exactly what they want to be when they grow up? Typical schools will give students a much broader range of topics to choose from so they can experiment with certain subjects and see if they like them or not. After watching the video, I am not a big fan of these schools basically because they are so specialized. Kids can get worn out of a subject just like they can get worn out of a sport and these schools leave them no other ground to fall back on.
ReplyDeleteThe 4 C's were a very prominent part of this video. Numerous times throughout the video, the students were saying that if they had not gone to this school they would have never have had the opportunity to use computers and connect to the internet. Giving students this access to information enabled them to learn the basics of computer technology and it gave them an opportunity to be successful later in life. Without connectivity these student would not be technologically sound and there chances of moving to higher education would decrease dramatically. This is just one example of how the 4 C's appeared and there are many more.
In response to many people’s comments, there seems to be a predominant conclusion from this video and that is that these students are not getting the well rounded background knowledge that normal high schools provide. Specializing is great when you are sure of what you want to do with your life. When you are in high school, you are not forced to make the decision of what you want to pursue. I agree with most other people on this blog that these schools need to provide a better rounded approach to educating.
I did not like the idea of the technology high school. Sure they are getting education on technology, but at the expense of what. What other divides are we now creating by bridging the digital divide. The ever popular "social capitol"(gym, clubs, groups) that kids get in high school did not seem apparent in the "tech high". I think they would benefit more by doing "regular" high school, and then pursuing some type of technilogical education. They said that they were trying to prepare them for the real world, isn't that best done by covering a breadth of subjects as most traditional high schools do? And then pursuing some type of higher education! I'm sure this would take funding, but i also think the companies who funded the "tech high" would be more interested to have broader minded kids who then focused on technology, working for them, so they would fund that instead.
ReplyDeleteaahhh...and now i read everyone elses blog and find out my opinion was not all that original! oops, well, it must be true if we all think it is!
ReplyDeleteNote to self: next time read the others first!
I think tara bercham makes a great point: computer use changes our daily lives and helps us gain knowledge of the world in irreversible, great ways, but that isn't all there is to technology. We all know that the internet and laptops keep us up-to-date and in mode, but there are other important ideas to keep in mind too. There is still merit in reading physical books, painting, mastering an instrument, etc. While I believe helping more people access technology is an important goal to aid in bridging the racial ravine, it could be a mistake to forget about schools and literature as well.
ReplyDelete