the digital divide . . . now less than 5 years.

my dearest readers,

the digital divide
is measured not
in distance,
but in time.





Last one to cross the Digital Divide is a rotten egg!
Digital Mural by Los Cybrids
rené garcía-john jota leaños-mónica praba pilar
Galería de la Raza 10' x 24' 2001

there are two (actually three) things that have come to mind this morning which prompted this post. i will cover two today, the other soon. really, soon. seriously. oh, shut up!

the first is the evolution of the electronic book and its acceptance into 'society.' yes, even without a debutante ball, the e-book has come out not with a whimper, but with a bang. a few years ago, pundits learned and unlearned alike, were debating the demise of . . . 'the book.' (insert voice of james earl jones here). the "techno-futurists" vs. the "but i love the way it feels" factions. oh, the book, the beloved book. well, i'm here to tell you . . . they both won. we still have books made of papers and books made of zeros and ones.

but look at the concessions being made in that old-fashioned medium, print newspapers:

times will rank e-book bestsellers
wall street journal to debut e-book best seller lists provided by nielsen
usa today's best-selling books list continues to add digital sales information

so, maybe, the slight edge goes to the techno-futurists?

headlines i've been reading over the past couple of years:

math that moves: schools embrace the iPad
more high schools implement iPad programs
iPads for every high school student in michigan district

and now this (in my own backyard). lexington sc will give iPads to every high school student in lexington district 1.

and so much research:

impact on the iPad on k-12 schools
apple for the teachers: iPad shows promise in the classroom

it seems as though "they" think that the way to help k-12 students learn, develop and grow is by arming them with technology. bridging the technological gap that can occur between school and home by giving them tablets (okay, iPads) to basically "own." sorry, android :-(

but what about the "after-k-12'ers?" last year, studies suggested college students still preferred monographs to annotate, highlight, research, etc, regardless of how much they weigh (estimated to be, sometimes, up to 30 pounds).

how about now? part two in "the digital divide...now less than 5 years." coming soon. of course, soon is relative.

THUMBS UP TO: the night circus by erin morgenstern. READ IT!!! trust me. it's wonderful!

THUMBS DOWN TO: the autobiography of mrs tom thumb by melanie benjamin. obnoxious comes in all sizes. even munchkin. blech.