[Advisors] How do you teach digital literacy -- CIRA forum

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:01:11 +0000

I, personally, think that Gary had some excellent points.  Without any kind=
 of funding, this type of project couldn't possibly take off.  All of the g=
ood will in the world won't make it happen.

D

Darlene A. Thompson
CAP Administrator
N-CAP/Department of Education
P.O. Box 1000, Station 910
Iqaluit, NU  X0A 0H0
Phone:  (867) 975-5631
Fax:  (867) 975-5610
dthompson@gov.nu.ca
________________________________________
From: James Van Leeuwen [javanl33@gmail.com] on behalf of James Van Leeuwen=
 [jvl@dusk.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 2:02 PM
To: Gary W Kenward
Cc: Marita Moll; cleader@mb.e-association.ca; Thompson, Darlene; advisors-a=
dmin@tc.ca; bhart@ca.inter.net; TC Advisors
Subject: Re: [Advisors] How do you teach digital literacy -- CIRA forum

Gary,

responses embedded below...

On 2013-03-19, at 11:33 AM, Gary W Kenward <garykenward@eastlink.ca<mailto:=
garykenward@eastlink.ca>> wrote:

James:

   Having been a mentor in my professional life (and occasionally in my per=
sonal life), I am curious as to how you see the opportunities for mentoring=
 arising? Perhaps you are referring to informal education? That is, not cla=
ss room instruction but drop-in centres? With (preferably trained) subject =
matter gurus available to help, if asked?

Yes... it's basically a new long-term community institution.

The eCitizen Club idea is a half-baked idea in this vein, just to provoke s=
ome dialog:

http://www.ventus.ca/eCitizen.pdf

   What would a national program to foster mentoring look like (at the high=
 level)? Training in mentoring. Subsidies for facility, equipment and mater=
ials? Nationwide publicity? Organized assessment and evaluation and adjustm=
ent?

The most powerful and effective programs would emerge through a national al=
liance of community-based institutions.

Compare the CAA to local/regional Auto Clubs.

If all the CAP sites (for starters) were to rally around a shared vision...=
 hmm!

   Do we need the federal government to make this happen? Funding is an iss=
ue, but how about crowd-funding (legal in Canada for charitable initiatives=
)?

No... it will happen in spite of the current Federal Government, which is s=
tarving or neutering any agencies that do not complement their vision for C=
anada (=3D 1970s redux).

Auto Clubs are completely self-financed through membership fees and service=
 revenues.

I provided some thumbnail figures around potential membership revenues a wh=
ile back.

Here's what I wrote:

For convenience, assume there were ten million digital tool users in Canada=
 (conservative).

Assume that one percent of these were willing to spend $10 for an annual me=
mbership (100,000 members).

How much impact could a national 'Digital User Club' have with an operating=
 budget of $1 million, given the enormous leverage of the Internet for enga=
ging and serving ICT users?

Assume the Club excelled in fulfilling its mandate to its members, and afte=
r ten years there were five million Canadians paying $20 for an annual memb=
ership.

How much impact could the Club have with an operating budget of $100 millio=
n?

That's the kind of serious leadership clout Canada is going to need to catc=
h up with the world and get back in the lead.

The $1 million and $100 million revenue figures are both realistic objectiv=
es for three-year and ten-year growth plans.

By comparison, the Canadian Automobile Association now serves 5.6 million m=
embers through nine regional auto clubs which collectively operate 140 offi=
ces across the country.

For every dozen people on this email distribution, there should be an avera=
ge of two CAA members.

I am one myself.

What value propositions did Auto Clubs offer to early motorists?

These clubs emerged in abundance just over a century ago, generally to addr=
ess the need for better road networks and better protocols for using road n=
etworks (rules of the road, including speed limits).

They really took off when Ford began producing the Model T (1908), because =
motoring suddenly became affordable for a much greater percentage of the po=
pulation (strong parallel to proliferation of ICT).

Club activities focused on lobbying local and senior governments for more i=
nvestment in new and better roads (as we need with broadband), and lobbying=
 automobile industries to adopt more and better design and manufacturing st=
andards (as we need for ICT).

Key issues with the auto industry were enabling interchangeability of parts=
 (standards), improving overall reliability, and reducing the overall costs=
 of owning and operating automobiles (as we need with ICT - I'm sick of rep=
lacing defunct batteries).

Auto Clubs pioneered the fields of automobile damage and liability insuranc=
e, which remain key sources of revenue for them (--> lower risk and cost of=
 ownership).

They also pioneered roadside assistance, which I've used at least half a do=
zen times in my thirty-five years of driving (--> lower operating risk).

In climates like ours, this service alone is worth the cost of my annual CA=
A membership.

Imagine the same for ICT, with on-site diagnostics and repairs, including r=
eplacing dead batteries (seriously).

I don't want to have to book an appointment with a 'genius' at the Apple St=
ore.

In my hour of need, I want technical support to come to me.

Many local and regional associations were initially called Good Road Associ=
ations, and today there are slightly different organizations that now opera=
te under the same name.

They generally serve the interests of municipal governments, rather than di=
rectly serving the interests of motorists.

It didn't take long for governments to recognize the value of more and bett=
er roads to improving liberty, security and prosperity, and they understand=
ably became a high priority in government affairs.

They remain so to this day, and broadband networks will eventually enjoy si=
milar status.

As road networks and protocols improved and motoring became commonplace, Au=
to Clubs grew and amalgamated, and broadened the scope of their activities.

Their emphasis shifted from improving road networks and protocols to improv=
ing design and operation of automobiles, with security as their overarching=
 objective (motoring is still a leading cause of death and injury).

We can thank Auto Clubs for driving industry adoption of seatbelts, and mor=
e recently, for driving government adoption of mandatory seatbelt legislati=
on.

Most recently, they have played central roles in driving government adoptio=
n of distracted driving legislation.

There are similar needs for ICT users, as the Amanda Todd story powerfully =
illustrates.

Cyberbullying can have tragic consequences.

So can cyberfraud.

I drafted that eCitizen Club discussion paper more than three years ago.

The document could use some revision, but the basic concept makes even more=
 sense to me now than it did back then.

I have since lost virtually all confidence in the leadership abilities of g=
overnment and industry for advancing digital economy and society in Canada.

They cannot lead effectively, and if I could wave a magic wand and conjure =
the leadership I think we require, it would look a lot like the eCitizen Cl=
ub as I envision it.

The best I can do for now is stimulate interest and dialog around the idea,=
 in the hope of shaping it into something actionable.

It's up the flagpole...

James

Gary

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL.

On 2013.03.19, at 2:08 PM, James Van Leeuwen <jvl@ventus.ca<mailto:jvl@vent=
us.ca>> wrote:

I agree Gary... hence the need for traditional mentoring, which involves no=
t only developing mastery of tools but also wisdom around putting tools to =
productive and responsible use.

The global currency of the Harry Potter narrative is a golden opportunity f=
or building the culture of mentoring we desperately need.

Compare ICTs to wizards' wands, and the power it gives us to affect action =
at a distance.

There are people using ICTs to run scams, and there are people using ICTs t=
o build healthier lifestyles and communities.

Leaving it up to children to figure out responsible use for themselves is t=
he very definition of irresponsible.

JvL

On 2013-03-19, at 9:44 AM, Gary W Kenward <garykenward@eastlink.ca<mailto:g=
arykenward@eastlink.ca>> wrote:

I just want to point out that there seems to be two "levels" of topics bein=
g discussed here: education on the purpose and use of ICT; and education to=
wards improved literacy. The two subjects are quite different and require d=
ifferent teach skills, materials and plans. They also have different purpos=
es. ICT is a tool. Literacy is a cognitive ability.

More important, teaching ICT skills does not teach literacy, critical think=
ing nor social responsibility.

All too often "computer courses" are focussed on training in the use of the=
 tool, whether it be computers, mobile devices, software apps. The old scho=
ol analogy would be teaching someone how to use the Dewey decimal system - =
a necessary skill (even today) that does not teach anyone how to research a=
 subject, read critically, analyze information or synthesize ideas.

Gary

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL.

On 2013.03.05, at 9:38 AM, Marita Moll <mmoll@ca.inter.net<mailto:mmoll@ca.=
inter.net>> wrote:

Just a note that there is also voting going on in this CIRA my voice forum.=
  In the end, the opinions gathered from this site as well as opinions gath=
ered from the actual CIF here in Ottawa will be rolled into a report to the=
 Internet Governance Forum.  So, if you couldn't attend the meeting or the =
webcast,  there are other ways to have your say.

You can express your agreement with any of the opinions posted by clicking =
on "Like this post." .  So far, Clarice, James, Garth and I have posted opi=
nions in the "Municipal ownership of broadband as local internet governance=
" , "Digital literacy" and "Canada's digital future"  areas.

All you have to do to vote is sign in:   http://cif.cira.ca/en

Marita

On 3/4/2013 8:55 AM, Clarice Leader wrote:
Once again I agree with Darlene. They also have not grasped the fact that t=
he rate of change in ICT's is so rapid that the teacher/trainer must also b=
e a constant learner and or able to teach others how to teach themselves.
Sent from my BlackBerry=AE smartphone on the MTS High Speed Mobility Networ=
k

-----Original Message-----
From: "Thompson, Darlene"<DThompson1@gov.nu.ca<mailto:DThompson1@gov.nu.ca>=
>
Sender: advisors-admin@tc.ca<mailto:advisors-admin@tc.ca>
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2013 13:50:37
To: bhart@ca.inter.net<mailto:bhart@ca.inter.net><bhart@ca.inter.net<mailto=
:bhart@ca.inter.net>>; advisors@tc.ca<mailto:advisors@tc.ca><advisors@tc.ca=
<mailto:advisors@tc.ca>>
Subject: RE: [Advisors] How do you teach digital literacy -- CIRA forum

I just can't agree with Bernie more.  A big part of the problem, though, is=
 that the schools themselves often don't see themselves in this light, beyo=
nd their own narrow mandate and the tendency to become little fiefdoms.

D

Darlene A. Thompson
CAP Administrator
N-CAP/Department of Education
P.O. Box 1000, Station 910
Iqaluit, NU  X0A 0H0
Phone:  (867) 975-5631
Fax:  (867) 975-5610
dthompson@gov.nu.ca<mailto:dthompson@gov.nu.ca>
________________________________________
From: advisors-admin@tc.ca<mailto:advisors-admin@tc.ca> [advisors-admin@tc.=
ca<mailto:advisors-admin@tc.ca>] on behalf of bhart@ca.inter.net<mailto:bha=
rt@ca.inter.net> [bhart@ca.inter.net<mailto:bhart@ca.inter.net>]
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2013 7:17 AM
To: advisors@tc.ca<mailto:advisors@tc.ca>
Subject: Re: [Advisors] How do you teach digital literacy -- CIRA forum

Quoting Marita Moll<mmoll@ca.inter.net<mailto:mmoll@ca.inter.net>>:

The concept of digital literacy as something we need to teach
schoolchildren is limiting our ability to discuss and address this
problem across generations and locations. And it continues to enable
policy makers to avoid addressing the bigger issue.

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Marita,
In my view you have summed up the problem very well. I believe we need
a re-definition of the CAP Program which is appropriate for 2013. Too
many people are still thinking of the initial role played by CAP.  We
have gone far beyond that and a new statement and a new approach are
required. I spent my entire working life in one form of education or
another and I am concerned that so few communities see their schools
as learning/training centres for all.
Bernie Hart
Chebucto Community Net

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