I agree completely with Brother Jeff at Coding Horror. I think he’s got the right idea about the democratizing role netbooks do and might play. Sistertech knows that educators are concerned with this very issue. For my two cents, I often think that charity really ought to begin at home. It’s a rather unorthodox statement coming from Sistertech given my ministry. However, when Sistertech thinks about the many thousands, yea, millions of Americans who are digitally illiterate and impoverished, she thinks more resources (human, monetary, and Divine) ought to be sent their way instead of, say, the poor in Kabul.
Now, I’m all for supporting and exporting the West’s computer culture to other lands. Sistertech’s thrilled by the way in which Iranian protesters have utilized the Internet and their smart phones. Clearly, the netbook is one in an array of technologies that can effect genuine change on the ground. And if that should be too lofty a goal, we can assert with great confidence that more access to these technologies bolster among the protesters a more democratic spirit than they could otherwise spread in such a repressive country.
I gather, however, that Tehran has a more and better educated populace than Tupelo. That’s why digital charity ought to begin at home. And while I am a techie, I certainly respect the fact that “phonics” comes before “plugins” in anybody’s dictionary. Neither a laptop nor a netbook in every child’s lap in America will on its own produce a better educated populace.
Here endeth the muted rank.