More on the PLE Conference

In reading The Illuminated Dragon postings on the PLE Conferece I came across this reflection:

 “They recognized and articulated a concern about the digital divide but it was interesting that that the disparity was not seen in access but in ability to use the technology comfortably and competently.”

 I am very interested in the perceptions about the digital divide… so I decided to take think about and converse about this observation with others.

So I spoke with a numbr of 22-25 year olds (my son’s generation) and they spoke quite articulately about the same thing. I have observed, through both my teaching and my son’s interaction with me around technology that that age group has certain proficiencies related to what I call technique… they are good at the techniques of communicating with their friends. They are maturing in their techniques of communicating with the professional world. And, interestingly, they have found potential employers VERY impressed with them when they submit a polished PDF resume, for example.

On the other hand, all of them use Google and Wikipedia as starting places for research… to get an idea of the lay of the land… but haven’t really been supported in pushing farther… in understanding the value of the traditional research process (there is epistimological value in that, I truly believe). Not sure what all this means, but I know there is something else there to explore.