Re: working with agencies.. and more

Larry Tague (ltague@physio1.utmem.edu)
Tue, 1 Apr 1997 07:41:39 -0600 (CST) 

Sorry I have been out of pocket since Fri. regarding the discussions.
However, I would like to add to Ms. Hakeem's statement concerning
"information have nots". While in New Orleans this past weekend, I spoke
with a teacher from Pensacola, Florida, about computers, networks and
professional development in her school and community. She said
 that her school in an affluent part of town was networked to the hilt,
and computers were in every classroom. In addition they had plenty of time
for professional development regarding the use of these facilities. Then
she added that this was the result of the "affluent" parents contributing
large sums for the computer and networking infrastructure. She then was
quick to say that this "affluence of technology" was only the case with
schools whos parents could afford to make the investment. 

Seems that without community networking efforts to build network access in
the "have not schools", libraries, community centers, etc, we are rushing
head-long into an amphlification of a society of "information have nots".
This is a very difficult problem to deal with because are we going to say
to the affluent parents that they cannot add to their children's
information infrastructure, or that what they provide must be distrubed
equally among all the schools in a district? Networked computers helping
to provide information and education to the socioeconomic depressed in
this country may never become a reality because of current wealth
distribution. Without an equitable distribution of techological
informaiton resources, the gap between our "haves" and "have nots" will
be destined to become wider. The consequences that this inequity will have
on the standard of living for all of us rich or poor will be a net
negative. We will see an increase in the number of unemployable resulting
in increased crime and all the other social problems which accompany this
situation. None of us can afford these consequences. We must expand our
community networking efforts to help find sustainable solutions to these
problems. When our communtiy networking efforts can help a school, we
should do it. When we can provide public access through libraries,
community centers, housing projects, etc., we should do all we can to
establish sustainable network infrastructure. However, "sustainable"
becomes a major problem in communities that have little or no internal
economic structure. Much work remains to be done in the area of
sustainability. NIE is not a one-time investment in areas which cannot
afford the time driven necessary updates and replacements of technology.

The primary goals of our research into community networking must be
educational outcomes. Anything less will be a waste of our investments of
money and time. Providing community access to information through NIE may
help, but without a defined educational outcome, we will not make a
"sustainable" difference in the lives of the target population. In my
opinion the quality of the educational effort is much more important than
the quantity of networking infrastructure. A lot can be done with a little
if placed in the proper place and in the right hands. Creating sustainable
infrastructure is a matter of constructing educational models which
demonstrate the efficacy of this techology, and attract the financial
interest of the wider community.

Community networking efforts cannot be directed from "the back seat". 
There is no room for "arm-chair administration".. administation must be
hands-on, and there is no labels such as "worker bees", etc. With
community networking, if you are not a "worker" you are in the wrong
place. 

Well, enough for now. A summary will follow tomorrow which is a harvest of
community related information coming from this group as well as from all
of the other subgroups of this discussion series. It is not suprising that
much community networking discussion has occurred outside of the community
networking discussion group. 

Cheers!

Larry Tague
Co-Director of MECCA*
Research Associate			Dept. of Physiology & Biophysics
Phone Bus.: 901-448-7152		U.T. Memphis
Phone FAX:  901-448-7126		894 Union Ave.
e-mail:ltague@physio1.utmem.edu or	Memphis, TN 38163
       ltague@mecca.mecca.org
*MECCA (Memphis Educational Computer Connectivity Alliance)
URL: http://www.mecca.org/