The digital outcast is not somebody who doesn’t have access to the technologies; s/he is somebody who, after the access has been granted, fails to actualise the transformative potentials of technologies for the self or for others.
That’s Nishant Shah, Research Director of the Centre for Internet and Society in India, and while I’m not a fan of another label, I am intrigued by the definition and the implications it presents for schools.
It’s one thing to grant or provide access. It’s totally another to help students understand what to do with that access…not just for themselves but also in the service of others. I think one thing that we don’t talk enough about is changing the world for the better using the connections that we now have available to us. If we don’t begin to explore the opportunities for that type of change with our students, are we really making the most of the access we give them?