Traditional Copyrighting in the New Digital Era

http://torijolley.podbean.com/2012/11/20/traditional-copyrighting-in-the-new-digital-era/

Pocast Works Cited

            Works Cited

Gauntlett, D., & Horsley, R. (2004). Web studies. (2nd ed.). Hodder Education.

(2010). copyright: an overview. Legal Information Institute , Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/copyright

Copyright infringment penalties . (2009). Retrieved from http://www.lib.purdue.edu/uco/CopyrightBasics/penalties.html

Conflict and Warfare in the Digital Age

“One of the most prominent among the many and a varied claim about the social potential of the Internet is that it will enhance the democratic process,” writes Stephen Lax, author of Chapter 18: The Internet and Democracy in our Web Studies textbook. One way in which Lax says the government and the governed can be linked is through new information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Through these technologies, the Internet will revive the traditional political processes that have seen declining numbers in participation. ICTs can be used in two ways. The first is to allow pressure groups and Rcampaigners to organize and publicize more effectively to recruit new members and coordinate activities and campaigns, and the second sees the technology as creating a political forum where a debate is possibSDle and policies can be put forward.

What exactly are these “technologies?” Lax identifies one use as delivering information from governments and other organizations as a means of one-way and two-way communication. People will have access to forums, documents, audio, video, search engines and email, basically anything they need. Through the use of these technologies, democracy will be enhanced simply because it offers greater availability of information.

However, critics argue that forums, specifically, tend to be dominated by those who already dominate public discourse. The differences posed in the ‘real world’ are imitated online. Another issue is the digital divide. A large percentage of the world doesn’t have any access to the Internet or the education necessary to operate the Internet.

You can basically do anything and everything online, given the fact that you have access to the internet. In an article published November 5^th in Zambia discusses the use of ICTs in the school system. The article highlights an attempt to close the digital divide by how critical it is to discover the role that technology plays in schools today. In Zambia, Africa, education has produced a vast population that was able to apply ICT but they were unable to differentiate what was worth benefits of the technological advancement.

"The trouble with young people is not that they do not know but that they know so much that is not worthy." Says Dr. Phiri, Minister of Education. He believes that technology just like any other tool is a great opportunity but can also be of harm if not used in the proper way. he proposes the idea that we need to guidelines to go by to regulate the use of technology in schools today.

It is important for youths and our future leaders to be well prepared and equipped with the knowledge and skills to control ICT for development opportunities in education in future. This in turn will eventually help close the digital divide.

Digital Divide

According to our class notes, the digital divide is defined as a gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not.  However, this gap not only exists between those who have technology, but also for those who have access to the education and skills necessary to navigate the technology.

The digital divide can be separated in to two areas: the global divide and the social divide.  The global divide is a gap on the planet between those who have access to technology and education, and the social divide is a gap within a nation.

In the United States, there are five main factors that contribute to the social divide: socio-economic status, income, education level, race and location. The story that I am going to discuss touches on the social divide and how some of these factors are being diminished today.

Comcast donated $5,000 to be used for the Boys and Girls club of Bloomington computer lab this past summer. There donations and programs like Comcast’s discounted Internet service for low-income families and McLean County Unit 5’s purchase of net books for sixth-graders are welcomed by educators  from all around who fear that children without home computer and internet access will eventually be left behind educationally, economically and socially.

Living in the United States, we sometimes view our country as well-off and not in the same social category as countries like Africa, but there are still poverty and many low income families in our nation; some are even right down the street from us. The money that Comcast has donated and the certain programs are supposed to help support the organization’s Club Tech, which allows students to use the computers to do homework and learning activities approved by the club.

Most of the children who attend the boys and girls club do not have any access to a computer at home. “We can have fun on it,” said 6-year-old Nastasia Armwood as she used an alphabet program. It gives them an opportunity to gain knowledge and just be able to spend time on the computer, time that they wouldnt get else where.

 It is important to close this social divide for six reasons: economic equality, social mobility, social equality, democracy, growth and national security.  By providing this technology to students who may come from economically disadvantaged homes, which may otherwise never have the opportunity to use these types of products such as the net books and learning programs, the United States is slowly working on closing the digital divide.

Podcast #1 Net Neutrality

http://torijolley.podbean.com/2012/10/15/net-neutrality/ 

COM 305 post #1: Online Identity

 

On Facebook, Bullies"Like"if you hate by Emily Layden, is the current events article that i chose. This article was about how online bullying is basically taking over our society today. A little boy went to school one day and when he got there he over heard how some other kid in his class posted a Facebook status about him that said "hit like if you hate this kid." Online identity is something that a lot of not only children but also adults struggle with today in every day life. When you are online it gives you the opportunity to be whoever you want to be because you can hide behind the computer screen and know one has to know who you really are, basically it is like putting on a virtual mask. In a way it is sad but then again it gives people hope that there are people out there that respect them or that there are other people going through the same thing that they are going through. So it gives them an opportunity to ask for advice or just have someone to talk to about there particular problem or whatever it is they are dealing with.

A commonly discussed topic regarding to online identity is that of gender and sexual identity. Although there is a growing tolerance for and acceptance of different sexualities in society, sexual prejudice is still present in some societies today. In the online world, users have the opportunity to enter different types of groups that give them the opportunity to be who they want to be. The people who live in small towns who know that there is no way they will be able to face this obstacle alone go to these groups online that range from online video games to online chat rooms where they can talk freely about what they happen to be going through. Because of many emotional and psychological dynamics, people can feel comfortable to interact online. By creating a mask of identity a person can create a safety net almost, to protect them from who they really are. One of the great fears of online identity is having one's identity stolen or abused, others just create a fake identity to be who they truly are without being judged. By making the mask available, people can interact with some degree of confidence without fear.

Online identity is something that many people rely on. It gives them a sense of direction to where they can be themselves and not have to worry about the consequences that they may have to deal with if they were to be who they really are in real life.