Community Informatics Summer School July 4, 2011 / Day 1 What is community informatics?

1. Community Informatics Summer SchoolJuly 4, 2011 / Day 1What is community informatics?

2. Agenda • Getting started • Welcome from Professor Zhou, Vice-Dean for Teaching and Research • Introductions of faculty and students • Lecture (KW) • Small group discussions • Report-back and summation • Syllabus and assignment 1

3. What is community informatics?

4. Local, historical communities Information and communications technologies AKA digital tools Community informatics + CONTINUITY meets TRANSFORMATION

5. Social informatics “The interdisciplinary study of the design, uses, and consequences of information technologies that takes into account their interaction with institutional and cultural contexts” Rob Kling, 1999

6. In US, military was first computer user ENIAC: 1940s

7. Second science, third corporations Auto workers in 1932-1933, robotic auto factory 1970s and later

8. Finally to local communities: for example 1989, Santa Monica PEN(Public Electronic Network) • City govt information • Officials with email • Online discussions • 19 public terminals, in libraries and elsewhere • Much local homelessness, discussions began • Demand emerged: “SHWASHLOCK!” (showers, washers, and lockers), govt agreed More info at http://www.mckeown.net/PENaddress.html

9. What exactly is the digital? Qiupu: 5000 B.C. to 1500s Calculator: 1840s First mouse: 1967 Memex: 1947 IBM: 1954 “Computers for the people”: 1974

10. 1965: Engelbart coins the term hypertext 1970s: many versionsof hypertext 1989: Tim Berners-Lee proposes a World Wide Web 1970s: TCP/IP, sending data in redundant and reassembling packets 4 nodes in 1969,1B now  1038? hypertext + internet = WWW 1895: Paul Otletstarts RBU,eventually15m cards

11. In popular imagination and use US adults on mobile phones: 73% talk while driving, 20% text

12. The digital divide, a useful term from the 1990s “A widening gap in access to and usage of computers and the Internet across the U.S. population and the concomitant exclusion from educational, economic, cultural, political, and social opportunity. … These populations are digitally divided: low-income Black or Latino or Native American senior in age not employed single-parent households those with little education those residing in central cities or rural areas.” US Department of Commerce 1999

13. Gap still widening: Global data

14. US gap persists: CPS 2007

16. Many dimensions to digital inequality • Technical means of access • Autonomy over the conditions of access • Individual skill • Social support • Technical • Emotional • Purpose of use

17. What are the digital bridgesoutside the home?

18. From 32 DD surveys, three categories of questions emerged • do you use a computer at home? • do you use a computer at work? • do you use a computer elsewhere? Elsewhere = adult education center … assistive center … cable access center … church … college or university … community network center … community technology center … copy shop … cybercafé … day care center … government office … hospital … housing development center … job training agency… laundromat … library … literacy center … mental health agency … multiservice agency … museum … national urban league … neighborhood based organization … rehabilitation/drug abuse center … school … senior center … settlement house … standalone computer center … youth organization … and more

19. Three realms of computing that offer different conditions of access

20. US: Personal computing (at home)

21. US: Private computing (work) and public computing

22. What can we learn about one city’s public computing?

23. Toledo, Ohio

24. Champaign- Urbana similar to Toledo, Ohio Group residence – Apartment complex 16 Group residence – Hotel 16 Preschool 9 Copy shop 3 Bar/restaurant/café 2 Bookshop 2 Computer-related 2 Campground 1 Group residence – Seniors 1 School 1 Tax service 1 Business sites 54 Religious institutions 18 Group residence – Greek association 17 K-12 School – Private 12 Association 9 Social agency 4 Preschool 2 Adult education 1 Group residence – Seniors 1 Group residence – Students 1 Group residence – Campus/religious 1 Hospital 1 Community sites 67 K-12 School – Public 33 Library 4 Park 3 Group residence – Apartment complex 1 K-12 School – Adult education 1 Government sites 42 University 80 Community college 1 Seminary 1 Higher education sites 82 All sites 245

25. Extrapolating…

26. Extrapolating from the Toledo numbers gives a national estimate (Estimates do not include schools)

27. Public libraries,an especiallyimportant form of public computing Yet, still digital divides persist

28. Break time

29. Discussion groups AA: HS: KW: YH:

30. Discussion time 1. Tell a story about when you first used a digital tool. (What was it? What did you use it for? Who taught you? When was it and how old were you?) 2. What are some key moments in China’s digital revolution? 3. What questions do you have so far?

31. Break time (2)

32. Report-back from each groupSyllabus and assignment 1