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Digital Literacy and its Effects on the Creation of a Global Community

Jon Lee, Aly Laing, Vivian Yan, Eric Lam

To what extent does the use of digital tools promote

a sense of community within our

GLOBAL SOCIETY ?

multicultural

What is…

GLOBAL COMMUNITY ?

Interaction and communication between people around the globe , breaking down cultural barriers, a global conversation

Technology & Multiculturalism• links diverse cultures by reducing separation• bridge “multi- and intercultural gaps”• “interact with participants from other cultures,

collaborate• “made world a smaller place to live”• “connecting those who do not share the same “skin

colour, language, religion, government, or culture”

Information & CommunicationTechnology

• proliferation of ICTs (e.g. television, media, Internet)• ICTs unify and standardise culture • media culture in general and ICTs carry a number of Western

values• emergence of digitalized culture - face-to-face vs digital communication (the Internet)

Equality of Access:• English is the language of the Internet• level of education

• “Culture permeated by ICTs create a setting where traditional modes of socialization are altered”

• “ability to read text to capacities to operate and understand the meanings delivered by a variety of equipment (CD – and other music players, the computer, the mobile phone, the video), something that often precedes the acquisition of

traditional literacy”

What Effects Does theInternet

Have on Global Multiculturalism?

Positive

• frees people to interact worldwide• allows for “cross-cultural

communication”• creates a global conversation

Negative• weak connections (no trust)• concealed identities • impose views on other

cultures• Western cultural “hegemony”

SOCIAL NETWORK SITES

• “widely popular,“ “participants are experiencing unique opportunities”• “cultural competence in a comfortable and safe environment” • maintenance of existing ties and formation of new• “geographical communities supported by online networks have positive effects on

community interaction”• “shared interests” vs “shared geography”

• unknown whether members use SNSs to maintain existing ties or to form new ones

• lack of privacy controls

Positive

Negative

Social Networking in Plain English

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a_KF7TYKVc

Limitations...of our study

• extended time frame for researching and sharing our thoughts/ideas

• difficulty with integration of topics • research via multiple methodologies (interviews in

particular)

Further Question of Study

Before the use of digital tools, were societies unaware of different cultures? Did this promote discrimination?

1. Houston, Douglas A. (2003) Can the Internet Promote Open Global Societies? Independent Review, 7:3. Retrieved October 14, 2007 from Academic Search Premier.

2. Ferdig, R. E., Coutts, J., DiPietro, J., & Lok, B. (2000). Innovative technologies for multicultural education needs. Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 1. Retrieved October 12, 2007.

3. Ellison, N.B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of \

4. Suoranta, Juha. (2003). The World Divided in Two: Digital Divide, Information and Communication technologies, and the 'Youth Question. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, Volume 1, Number 2 (October 2003) ISSN 1740-2743. Retrieved October 14, 2007.

References

The Generational Divide