April 28, 2011

A smile is good enough for me!

preamble:

I’ve been going through a tough time lately and figured I needed to re-ignite the passion I had for using technology to effect social change. This post, re-blogged from the Digital Natives website, seemed to help quite a bit.

So I’m sharing it with you with the hope it helps you out in your low moments. :)

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I’ll be honest with you…I may not fully understand why I chose to teach high school kids how to use social media and all but I do understand the value of it.

I work with High school students between the ages of 14 and 18 and the one thing about them that provides a common ground is their ideas and their dreams! Most of these students come from the rural parts of Kenya and probably don’t have as much of a chance at life as their colleagues in urban cities…but they still cherish their dreams and ambitions and keep hoping that one day they will live to see their dreams come to fruition.

Every time I talk to these kids they seem to jump at any opportunity they recognize to advance their causes and ambitions. They recognize that they have the potential to make a change, not only for themselves, but also for those around them…So when they learn about digital tool, their value and the opportunity it accords them, their faces light up with a glow and a wide smile spreads across their faces…

…and that’s what makes it worth the effort: the smiles on their faces!

As a digital native with a cause, I am obviously burdened by a number of constraints including bandwidth costs and speeds, funding, privacy and licensing issues…but none of these compare to the satisfaction you get knowing that you have made a difference in someone’s life and because of your effort, your initiative, someone has a better shot at achieving their goals.

…and for me, that is what change is about: empowering someone to make a difference in their own little corner of the universe! And when they do, they have the same glow, the same smile on their faces they had when they were first empowered.

I may not exactly know why making a difference is really my business but I know for sure that its something the world urgently needs…and as a digital native, I am empowered to use technology to effect that change in many ways. I will not shy off! Neither will I make excuses for it or apologize to anyone about it. This is my way of making the universe a much better place…this is my bubble, my space, my voice. Someone’s future depends on my activities and I risk that if I fail to fulfill my self adopted responsibilities.

Some of you may be smiling as you read this and I strongly believe it’s because you recognize and understand the value of being a digital native…with a cause. And because you have seen the smiles and the glow on other people’s faces as you go about your work. And I bet you wouldn’t want to trade that experience for anything!

In the current state of the world where despair and disbelief are the status quo, we need to appreciate the value of a smile…we need to put a smile on people’s faces.

…so what are we waiting for?

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April 18, 2011

I’m afraid for the ‘unplugged’ – Our digital actions may be causing more harm, contrary to our intentions

I love being a digital native…honestly!

I love the fact that I have a digital self, and I can be comfortable with it. I love the fact that I can use technology to achieve any objective. I love the fact that I can be in realtime in a number of digital spaces at the same time. If you think about it, there’s lot’s to be happy about being a digital native.

BUT…

I’m a little worried about how my digital activities affect those around me and beyond me. My retweets and likes could well be causing a much greater impact than what I simply imagine. While this is commonly viewed as a good thing, I’m scared of the negative impact it creates.

Here’s an example:

The recent turmoil in Northern Africa (Egypt, Tunisia and Libya) prompted me to help get the word out using digital technologies and all while hoping that soon my efforts may contribute to helping the people in these regions to achieve their objective i.e. to topple their governments.

But what next?

I contributed to the fall of major regimes but has it made anything better? I strongly feel that there’s a chance that I made things worse for a lot of people. Because of my actions, the arab world is now unstable and living in uncertainty and possibly fear.

…and this is just one side of the equation.

Who helps rebuild fallen countries after they’ve toppled their govt’s? Who helps them get back on track? Do we even bother? Take the example of Iraq and Afghanistan. We all cheered the Americans on as they invaded the countries. We blogged about it and put all our thoughts in digital spaces. Look at their people now. If you ask me, I believe that these people were better off before we got involved.

What of Wikileaks?

While keeping governments open is a good thing, who’s paying for the consequences? Someone has to. Take Bradley Manning as an example. He got the cables and leaked them and put a number of diplomats in an uncomfortable position and even put some in the line of fire.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m afraid my actions in digital spaces are possibly making the world a worse off place than it was before. Perhaps I need to reconsider the consequences of my actions not only to my digital conterparts, but to those people on the gorund who do not have a way to tell us how they are being impacted by our digital activities.

I want to change the world. But is it worth it if the intended beneficiaries are left worse off because they don’t get to have their say?

I’m a little confused about this (as you may be at this point) but I strongly believe we need to reconsider and redefine our objectives when considering digital actions for different causes.

Does any of this make sense?

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April 5, 2011

Rebranding mtoto wa jirani

When I started this blog a little over a year ago, I chose to focus on what I believe is my strength: ideas. My aim with that was to build mindshare and engage others. This of course was based on my personal mission to change the world!

I’ve grown since.

I’m still focused on my mission, I’m just taking a slightly different path – starting with my blog. Beginning today, I’ll focus the content of this blog to the topical intersections of technology and its application in social change processes.

Rather than just publishing news, the content will mostly be based on personal thoughts and opinions on related issues.

This is just a couple of the many changes coming ahead…and its not only for the digital me.

My recent work at The Kuyu Project and StorySpaces as well as interactions with different people in the past year through conferences (and hanging out at the *iHub_ :) ) has led me to focus my efforts on using technology to effect social change.

So, not only will I change my blog content and tweets, you’ll see a lot more of my efforts beyond the digital. My current projects and new initiatives will be primarily based on this theme.

I figured this is an appropriate time to ‘re-brand’  seeing as I’m in my last semester at university and for a while now, held one foot in the industry. This is my way of taking one foot out of academia (finally!) and firmly standing ground in the industry.

For those who are curious about my mobile background, I’m still solid with it but on a slight pause. Will explore more on that front during my internship at the m:lab (hopefully) in July.

 

…and for those that are curios about the basis of my new found path:

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March 22, 2011

There’s more to Digital Literacy than just mere skills – The right to digital literacy

This post is in response to the Digital Natives Blogathon:

Rights have been on everyone’s agenda lately. From the political revolutions that shook the Middle East and North Africa which sustained their motivation through an universal appeal to them, to questions of privacy, openness and access to information in the post-wikileaks world, human rights as a political, social and developmental framework for discussion is very much active.

We want to get your opinions on the subject, in a cre…ative way: On March 21st, on the occasion of the Human rights celebration in South Africa, we are having a blogging marathon, or blogathon. What this means is that all of us at the Digital Natives project and the greater community will be blogging about a single topic, at the same time.

What a monumental event, young people from across the world, getting together and expressing their views together, as one, in a single united voice. Neat uh?

The blog topic will be:

“I believe that _______ should be a right in the digital age”

You fill in the blank with whatever idea or activity that you think should be upheld as a a human right in the coming years. Play around with concepts, remix rights already established, think of your own rights which should exist, or that will exist according to you in 50 years, 100 years, maybe even 500 years…

This blog post has been cross posted from here.

And now, my response…

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I believe that Digital Literacy should be a right in the digital age.

Digital Literacy, as perceived by many, scopes the basics of how to use different technologies and digital tools but I would argue that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I believe that the ‘digital’ is a mindset and not necessarily a thing. I base this belief on the fact that the ‘digital’ has changed the way we perceive things, the way we carry out different tasks and processes and to a large extent, the way we behave.

The power that the ‘digital’ yields has consequently led to the establishment of the digital age which in a large part has contributed to the emergence of new ways of doing things.

The ‘digital’ has placed in the palm of our hands the ability to be a driving force for almost anything we want. We can achieve whatever we want. We can be whatever we want. We can do whatever we choose to do. We can accomplish whatever we will. We are empowered!

But…are we ALL empowered?

Are we all on a level playing field now that the ‘digital’ accords each one access to the same tools?

I would argue the negative.

The ‘digital’ will always at any one point be 1% of the entire formula. There is the human aspect to it that some get to learn about but at different rates and in different ways at a time.

Despite this uneven learning, many people may not get the chance to grab a piece of it. A number of people may have access to digital tools and technology but very few will get the opportunity to learn the techniques needed to maximize their investment on digital tools.

The primary reason for this is because many assume digital literacy to be an automatic thing yet it’s not as common as most believe.

Digital Literacy skills, the basics of handling digital tools and technology, are not enough to get by in the digital age. Why can’t we go an extra mile to teach people about value rather than just mere skills? This way people are able to realize the potential of digital tools and thus be better placed to maximize it.

I’m not only pleading for digital literacy skills. I’m pleading for a deeper reach in the scope of digital literacy; one that encompasses not only basic skills but also a mind shift in the way we perceive digital tools.

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March 17, 2011

Computers vs. Tablets Vs. Mobile Phones in Schools – A framework for putting technology in schools

The question of whether to put technology in schools and the framework for effecting this is an age old debate. What keeps the flame of this debate going (in my opinion) is the rise of new technologies and the re-purposing of old ones.

A couple of weeks back I attended a discussion on this topic and a couple of points came out pretty strongly.

The first is cost.

A basic laptop or desktop computer, a smartphone and some tablets average around $500 a piece. Reasonable? Think about it this way: who gets the technology? The teachers? The students? The administrators? You could argue that if the teachers get the piece of technology, then it would be relatively cheaper than if all the students has it. It is possible to fund such an initiative without really having to break an arm or a leg.

The problem with this begs the question “does this model revolutionize education? does it have an impact on learning?” which brings me to the second point:

Impact.

If the technology is directly put in the hands of students, teachers or administrators, what measurable impacts ( a term donors and NGO’s love and I totally hate) does it have? If students have mobile phones would they be able to concentrate on what the teacher is saying? Wouldn’t they eliminate the teacher altogether seeing as they can consume information by themselves? What if teachers had mobile phones? Would it facilitate the education process effectively? What if we gave administrators tablets? Would they keep it from everyone else or would they provide a means from everyone to benefit it?

The third point is complicated. What technology is appropriate for schools?

iPads? Smartphones? Low end phones? Desktops? Laptops?

How do we even begin to justify our answers to this question?

To be quite honest, I don’t know of a clear cut way of putting technology in schools but I reckon that at the top of the list of “things to consider” sould be the last point I raised: What technology is appropriate for what process in the education system.

I’ll put it as a colleague of mine Crystal Kigoni did at the discussion: Every piece of technology is useful for various purposes. We need to understand the purpose for putting technology in schools first, then use this knowledge to identify the bits and pieces of technology that can help achieve that purpose.

In such a framework, I see a combination of different technologies in schools…but this is just in theory. We of course at some point have to talk about financing such initiatives and sustainability dynamics…

…but that’s a post for another day! ;)

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