Midterm- Communities, Learning and Democracy

Kvasny, Kranich, & Schement (2006). Communities, Learning, and Democracy in the Digital Age.

4 C's 

Context: "Socio-technical network" refers to the way that communities will try to connect their social structure (internal) to the technological world (external). The factors that are included in the internal sphere are environmental, economic, and social equity issues. The question is how to hook up a community to the internet and what kinds of barriers will be faced from theses areas.

Connectivity: It is not enough now to just have "internet connection" but the connection speed must be fast enough and have enough capacity to be able to keep up with the latest online programs and features. 

Capability: The skills necessary for using the internet do not include just computer skills but also technological savvy and the willingness to learn new interfaces. Increasingly diverse software is being produced and communities and companies have to devote a lot of time to training the public/employees to use the new technology. 

Content: If we take for granted that the public has and knows "how to use" the internet, we also have to make sure that people have a reason to use it before we assume that they will. People need to know about what websites are out there that might interest them, such as social networking sites, community pages, or local news.