Week 3: Reflection on Jenkins Reading Highlighting the Participation Gap

The concept that interested me was the participation gap.  I felt that prior to reading this section, I could have surmised what a participation gap is, but I think that the importance of it really hit me as I read along.  Within Green’s Model, this fits in the Operational dimension because it deals with the tools and techniques associated (and the limitations that are imposed) with literacy and the ability to be literate.  With computers and internet access everywhere, it seems like there wouldn’t be much of a gap, but alas there are differences in the capabilities of people accessing the internet.  In the Jenkins reading, she states that governments have found importance in the use of the internet and they are providing access in different ways.  On a PBS Nightly News Hour in November 2005, Philadelphia mayor John Street spoke of how the city government would work on providing low income families with internet connection (Jenkins 12).  The reading also went further to say that the city’s Emergency People’s Shelter, a non-profit organization, is providing access to people in the shelter as well as other community members.  With all of this focus, and the insight into its increasing importance in completing everyday tasks, it is a wonder that more people aren’t fluent in this literacy. 

With that being said, there are hurdles in the way of access to the general public.  A good summary of these occurrences are stated plainly in the reading on page 13, where it states that “’Speed, location, quality and support, and inequalities in access do persist’ states a 2005 report on children’s online experience in the United Kingdom.” (Livingstone & Bober 13)  These are all big hurdles when it comes to both self-discovery and guided usage.  From my own experience, especially as it relates to the courses I am taking, I have noticed at the school I work at that there are hurdles in completing my studies.  Second Life, the program that is utilized in the Learning and Emerging Technologies course, is blocked because, as the IT director said, “it opens up ports that may present a security issue.”  Also, certain blogs are also blocked and for the students, the blocks are more numerous.  Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are all blocked, just to name a few.  In addition, the filtering system also makes judgments on the content of the site and when doing some research for various projects, an alert comes on the screen that may say that the website you are trying to access is “obscene/crude” and is ruled inappropriate for school usage.  I can only edit Prezi presentations on a hard line connected computer because the Wi-Fi is too slow for the speed demands of the website.  So the fear of security deficiencies and speed issues weigh on my participation (or ease of) in classes and can somewhat affect my ability to learn. 

With all of the hurdles that some people face, disadvantages occur for those with fettered connections.  While I might seem like a cry baby because I have obstacles, but I am very fortunate and I can still do what I want to.  I have internet access at home, have technology mobility at work, and am always connected by a mobile phone.  For those that are relegated to using “outdated machine[s] in a public library with mandatory filtering software and no opportunity for storage or transmission pales in comparison to what  a person can accomplish with a home computer…”. (Jenkins 13).  This inequality of ability follows disadvantaged students through school and disallows them the comforts that might otherwise enjoy if they had a clearer route to access. 

So as educators prepare students for life outside of the brick walls of an institutionalized education, computer access must be equalized.  I feel the same as Jenkins probably feels when she mirrors the achievement of skilled computer users and their network access to the historical parallel of “[the] youth who had access to books or classical recordings in their home…concerts or museums…engage[ment] in dinner conversation…skills that helped them perform well in school.” (Jenkins 14)  Jenkins further along in the reading that computer usage is less of a lifestyle as it is a part of everyday life and that computer access is becoming more of a necessity.  Work, play, and learning are increasing in presence on the internet and those that do not have access will unfortunately be left behind.  So I too echo the yearning for “free Wi-Fi coupled with new educational initiatives to help youth and adults learn how to use those tools effectively.” (Jenkins 13)