Experts in technology and its influences on society gathered to voice concerns about the growing "digital divide" in our country between those with access to computers and the Internet and those without.
Ben Berk '00 moderated this panel discussion Friday afternoon at the Thayer School of Engineering as part of the 2000 Senior Symposium.
Panel participants traced the digital divide to the fact that although more people are gaining access to computers and the Internet everyday, those of lower socioeconomic levels gain access at a slower rate, and are thus not benefitting from the advantages computers now play in education, employment and government.
Panelists also discussed other complications the digital world raises in gathering and evaluating information.
Dartmouth history professor Richard Kremer voiced his concerns that young students are increasingly being told to "do research on the Internet," while there is a great difference between the students in their knowledge of how to distinguish quality information from non-quality information.
National Geographic Travellor editor-in-chief Keith Bellows '74 said he thinks that the Internet allows students to truly follow a trail of information. He said his 13 year-old son can find out much more about dinosaurs via computer and the Internet than in a typical classroom setting.
George Cybenko, professor of engineering at the Thayer School, related the new emphasis on learning via computers to Dartmouth's Student Life Initiative. He said a point the Initiative raises is that there is more to learning than direct content that can be conveyed through a computer screen.
Jaimie Heller '89, Editor of Strategic Ventures for TheStreet.com, voiced her concerns that corporations are now donating computers to schools, such as in New York City, in exchange for prominent brand logos on the computers.
The panel debated between the democratizing of information that the Internet allows " for example, in allowing students to learn about computer programming without having to pay for an expensive class " compared to the divides that it creates between those with and without Internet access, due to economics or lack of previous exposure.
The digital divide may allow new technological solutions to other problems, such as in education or voting, while creating new problems in access. The panel discussion showed it is an issue with no easy solutions.
"Is access the problem?" Berk asked in conclusion. "Is throwing computers in the back of the room solving things? What are the real problems?" Berk asked, implying that society may need to look behind the divide and find the cause behind the effect.