Technology and participation- Harnessing the emerging power of broadband for civic engagement.

July 11,2012 Municipal Clerks Institute

Paul TreadwellCornell Cooperative ExtensionDistance Learning Consultant

What is Broadband?

•High speed data transmission.•Always on connection.•Encompassing a variety of technologies.

Fixed or mobile & social

•In the past we talked about broadband as a wired, fixed, connection.

•Increasingly, broadband is becoming mobile.▫Phones and tablets are creating new

opportunities for access and participation.

More layers, more connections• New technologies are

adding new layers to our daily lives

• Connectedness is becoming an essential quality for participation

Why Broadband Matters

•Now, broadband is essential to opportunity and citizenship.▫Connecting America: The National

Broadband Plan http://www.broadband.gov/

Increased Access,Growing Expectations•Increasing access has lead to increased

expectations for opportunities such as:▫Interacting ▫Organizing▫Creating▫Learning

The National Broadband Plan

•FCC March 2010:▫Presents an ambitious agenda for

expanding access.▫Emphasis on technology as “enabling”.▫Robust vision of connectivity.

Broadband Adoption

Exhibit 3-1 from Connecting America | FCC March 2010

The Digital Divide

•Is the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all.

• Is a kind of capability deprivation.▫As the “world” moves online, those who

aren’t are excluded.

Barriers to Adoption

•Availability.•Cost.•Exclusion.

▫Literacy.•Security.

More than Bandwidth or Access

•The fuss about broadband, then, extends beyond access to information to active participation in the online commons.▫ Broadband: What’s All the Fuss About? Pew Internet and American Life

Project

Marketplace and/or Commons

•2 ways of viewing the internet: ▫Marketplace:

Access to goods Buying and selling

▫Commons: Access to ideas Interaction and exchange

How do You See Broadband?

•What role can it play?

Broadband Enabled Services

•E-government▫Providing access to government

information▫Providing space for engagement

•E-commerce▫Access to the global marketplace

•Technology training / digital literacy/ civic literacy

Examples and illustrations

Local Government – Ontario county• Ontario County e-

government▫ http://www.co.ontario.ny.u

s/▫ Access to governmental

information▫ Online payments▫ Property mapping

Local Government - Brazil

Local Government - eStrategies for Local Governments•http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/curric

ula/egovernment/index.html•Online curriculum focused on strategies

for local governments•From the National e-Commerce Extension

Initiative

Governance – Participatory Budgeting

Digital literacy - CYC• Connect Your Community:

http://www.connectcommunity.org/

2 year project funded by a U.S. Department of Commerce BTOP grant

30,000 trained over the two years

Digital Literacy– Squeaky Wheel

• Digital/Media Literacy:▫ Squeaky Wheel

http://www.squeaky.org/

Education - OLPC

Education – Khan Academy

•http://www.khanacademy.org/•Extensive collection of free online, video

lessons•Self paced learning

Education – P2PU

•https://p2pu.org/en/

Resources

Links to select resources• Pew Internet and American Life Project

▫ http://pewinternet.org/• Knight Commission on the Information Needs of

Communities in a Democracy▫ http://www.knightcomm.org/

• The National e-Commerce Extension Initiative▫ http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/

• The Participatory Budgeting Project▫ http://www.participatorybudgeting.org/

Contact

•Paul Treadwell▫ Distance Learning Consultant▫ Cornell Cooperative Extension▫ 356 Roberts Hall▫ Cornell University▫ Ithaca, NY 14853▫ pt36@cornell.edu▫ http://www.paultreadwell.com▫ @ptreadwell