the digital divide is an evolving concept that has been used to describe the broad range of access and use of technology throughout the world.
this presentation is my synthesis of the issues from three major perspectives.
World,national and local realities that we can respond to.

As the Developed world becomes more connected at a faster and faster rate it accelerates away from developing nations. This trend is also evident internally in our national and local communities.
However the nature of the growth ond the potential gained from rapidly changing use categories add a lot of uncertainty to the picture.

in order to better understand inequalities, hopefully to address them. we can can think of divisions that fall along economic ,communal and often gender and racial lines or as some research suggests there are more subtle characteristics within communities that may be better indicators of inequalities,

are we just rationalizing solutions from an external perspective trying to meet needs we can easily measure. Or do we ask communities what they need, and support their ability to capitalize on the benefits of technology in ways relevant to their realities.

or do we seek to do both

four areas in which both external and internal factors play in how individuals and communities experience the impact of digital technologies
each person or group experiences a unique blend of these factors that influences how impactful digital technology is on their lives both positively and negatively.

historically the main focus of the digital divide has been access
Still a major factor that shapes the experience of users.
nationally and internationally shifts to wireless networks have rapidly changed changed access in the developed and developing world
the same is true within our communities
in the last ten years in my community student access has changed from perhaps ten to twenty percent to near one hundred based on unscientific surveys of my first graders.
my school has consistently qualified as a "Title one School" with at least forty percent of attendees qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

However this does not imply "equal use" there do seem to be divisions based on what kinds of use and devices children have access to and what types of digital experiences they are having and how that impacts their ability to leverage the knowledge skills and access they do have.

this trend has also been noticed by researchers

Internationally the use of major languages as the format of the internet has obvious implications for divisions. translation software mitigates some of this.
nationally and locally we have to consider that parental language use for children can deeply impact their ability to make the most of technical opportunities. much of the potential for increasing personal capital (cultural or monetary) lies in accessing and understanding vast sources of information.

how individuals and communities use technology to "make improvements" to their situation is a bit of a paradox. on the one hand being able to access and use of the information and communication tools provided by digital technology have a clear financial benefit if leveraged within working markets, to meet work requirements, support entrepreneurship, and develop relationships. on the other hand other factors also play into the ability to leverage those skills even when present and whether or not the benefits are ultimately "good" for a community is highly subjective an depends on how the members perceive the changes to their contexts.

Types of use greatly impact outcomes.

you tube for giggles or tutorials?
minecraft for competition, creation or programming.
how children especially ultimately respond to the experiences embedded in digital media is often hard to pin down.
the potential is often there is it realized?...

the digital landscape is changing faster than many theories about the impact of digital literacy can keep up.
How can we make judgements based on assumptions about digital divides when the divides are shifting so quickly.

Do we really have any idea about the impact of digital immersion? what are the tradeoffs based on teh different types of uses?

can we develop an epistemology that is as flexible as the context and still be relevant?

Ethically can we afford not to?

we can respond,if not solve , the challenges presented by technology in these spheres. local responses are often the most immediate of course but we should also consider larger contexts and even if we can not make changes to those environments through direct intervention technology allows us to participate in discussion, and we can