The Digital Divide in Brooklyn’s Public High Schools Scott Dexter Jack Shuler Associate Professor of Computer and Project Director, Brooklyn College Information Science Community Partnership for Research Brooklyn College of CUNY and Learning
[email protected] [email protected] Is there a way to harness the power of computer technology to serve my students’ search for meaning in their learning and in their lives? Lowell Monke Breaking Down the Digital Walls One of the many issues debated in the World Summit preparatory discussions was whether or not a concept of "communication rights" should be endorsed by the Summit. This issue arises, of course, from the question of how Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should be interpreted. The Article itself states that, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." When we put this Article into the framework of the digital divide discussion, it is clear that we must view these freedoms as positive ones; as the UK-based organization Article 19 notes, “the right to freedom of expression is recognized to include a positive element, placing an obligation on States to take positive measures …” (Article 19 2). The Summit’s Draft Declaration of Principles elaborates on the ways in which the rights identified in this Article must be supported: We recognize that young people are the future workforce and leading creators and earliest adopters of Information and Communication Technologies.