This month I had the pleasure of delivering some workshops at the Kiwanis International Convention 2009 in Nashville, TN. One of the workshops, the Digital Divide, drew quite a crowd anxious to discuss this phenomenon playing out at their respective local level, in clubs across the country.

How do two distinct generations, those who grew up with all things digital and the rest of us, bridge the gap and collaborate effectively learning from each other? How do those who have access to technology help those who do not? How does this divide play out in our homes, in our schools, at work, and as became evident in these workshops, even in social/service settings.

The room was overflowing with digital immigrants anxious to address the issue and willing to learn. What’s important for natives to understand are the barriers to immigrant learning — fear, less access, traditional learning styles, privacy concerns, and much more. We talked about the President’s desire to deliver broadband to every household in the country. A woman raised her hand and asked, “what’s broadband? what does that mean and why do I need it or want it?”

While the tide is turning, as reported by Pew Internet, we now experience a 63% adoption of broadband in this country and broadband is now viewed as a necessary utility, the majority of this country functions at a deficit understanding of even the basic constructs of networking, hardware, operating systems, etc. So once we are all connected, then what? Just because we have access doesn’t mean we know how to use it.

I envision this will be a multi-part series as we explore the divide in different settings. In that same workshop, a participant approached me afterward to tell me he lived in one of the few communities in the country offering fiber to every household in the city. After my workshop, he wanted to talk to his clubs about the possibility of a service project that would teach digital immigrants what to do with all this access! How cool is that? I look forward to future discussions and welcome your feedback on the topic.

Cate Indiano
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