Access Points on the Digital River

Bertram Bruce
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
United States

Author's Message

All the talk about the digital age, new literacies, dot-coms, and the new information economy amounts to little for those who have no access to the new tools and media. And for those of us who have some access, our experience of new technologies depends crucially on the amount and types of access we do have. In previous Technology columns (JAAL, February 1999; February 2000; May 2000), we have looked at access in various ways, but there is still much more to be said. You'll find some questions about access that deserve serious attention in this month's How You Can Participate section.

In this column I consider directly three of the things that people need to make meaningful access a reality:

1. having access to the tools,
2. having the ability to use those tools, and
3. having an access point -- the connections to a social network providing the necessary knowledge to use the tools.

As a way to get into a complicated set of issues, I'll start by thinking about an older technology and about how I gain access to and through it to valuable experiences.

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Issue

What makes meaningful access a reality?

Although the rivers in most of the northern hemisphere are now growing colder and even beginning to freeze, my thoughts are back in the warming spring when nearby rivers flowed quickly with spring runoff. I am traveling solo in a wood-and-canvas canoe down a swiftly flowing stream. That I'm able to do this at all is due to the fortunate circumstance that I have an old but sturdy canoe and a strong paddle. But many other things make this possible.

When I go to the river, I need the physical ability to paddle. I may need a special type of paddle for a particular type of canoe or for certain abilities/disabilities. I also need to look for a place to put the canoe in the river. Although in some sense I might be able to put the canoe in anywhere, in practice I need to drive my car close enough to be able to carry the canoe to the bank easily. The bank cannot be too steep or too covered with brush. Perhaps most important, the entry point can't be in someone's backyard, unless public entry is permitted there.

The place where I “put in” is called an access point. But the actual access point is much more than physical. It is also a certain level of knowledge. Although I can learn by doing, I benefit from teachers and others who provide ongoing support. I'm also helped by maps, guidebooks, weather forecasts, and tips from locals. I need my health and the time to get away. The list goes on and on, but thinking even a little about it makes me aware of how much my “solitary” adventure depends on a network of relationships. These involve family, friends, finances, laws, knowledge, things, places, and institutions. I need my canoe and my ability to use it, but my real access point is a community.

Finding a digital canoe

Anyone who wants to enter the swiftly flowing digital age requires a comparable network of support. That some of us are unaware of this reflects the fact that strong networks become invisible when they function well. It is only when the network breaks that we begin to understand how it really operates. This recalls Heidegger's (1962) example of the hammer with a broken handle, in which the hammer's function becomes most evident when it fails. Our understanding of the network of support changes qualitatively when its taken-for-granted operation is disrupted.

While some young people have become dot-com millionaires, many more have been left behind. This has led to increasing concern about the growing digital divide between rich and poor and between black and white (JAAL Technology, February 2000; Hoffman & Novak, in press, online document) and to a natural response to find ways to make computer resources accessible to all.

For some, the solution seems simple: Just find a way to provide computers to everyone. Whereas at one time such a solution was fantastic, today it is quite imaginable -- at least in developed countries. Many worthwhile programs are now underway to make computing resources available in libraries, community centers, churches, and other venues. There are also programs to provide low-cost new computers or reconditioned computers donated by companies as they upgrade their equipment (see National Computer Recycling Programs at www.microweb.com/pepsite/Recycle/National.html).

The digital divide between countries is even greater than that within countries (JAAL Technology, February 1999; May 1999). Nevertheless, fascinating programs are underway to provide access to new technologies and to explore what they can mean in the most impoverished settings. For example, consider physicist Sugata Mitra's work to help the poor in India enter the information age (Judge, 2000, online document).

There was a wall separating Mitra's research center in New Delhi from a garbage-filled empty lot used by the poor. In early 1999, Mitra embedded a computer in that wall and gave it a high-speed connection to the Internet. Anyone passing by could play with it, but there was no manual, no trainer, and no accommodation for the fact that few in the community spoke the English language used on the computer. In this so-called hole-in-the-wall experiment, Mitra found that many children, aged 6 to 12, were able to use the computer to browse the Web, download music files, and draw pictures. Although there was no keyboard, the children even learned to write using a Paint program and the “character map” inside Microsoft Word. When asked “How do you know so much about computers?” one boy said, “What's a computer?” The children had no formal knowledge, yet they could still enjoy and benefit from the access the experiment afforded.

Programs such as the one in India clearly help many people, but just as having a canoe is a necessary -- although far from sufficient -- ingredient for canoeing, having a computer is only part of what most people need to have meaningful access (Coyle, 1994, online document). In Mitra's experiment, few adults even attempted to use the computer, and even the most advanced children would “plateau out” in what they were able to do.

Being able to paddle

In order to canoe, I need not only the boat, but also the ability to use it. I need to know how to paddle, but also to have equipment that accords with my physical ability. A small child, for example, can paddle a canoe, but only with a small paddle and a special seat that allows him or her to reach the water.

The situation with computers is similar. After experiencing some eye problems, I found that formerly accessible information on the computer screen was too hard for me to read. But by using a larger monitor and adjusting the font size, I learned that I could restore my access. Many people require even larger adjustments. For example, if you have a text-only browser, you cannot see the images that appear on Web pages. But if the Web designer has used ALT text (Flavell, 1994-2000), you may be able to obtain substitute textual information that accomplishes most of the function of the image.

Current technologies provide many other ways to enhance access, and yet, paradoxically, each advance may also increase the gap between haves and have nots. For example, the ASCII code made computers easier for everyone because it made it possible to use digits and letters. Yet, by favoring English over other languages, it may have facilitated the dominance of English-speaking countries in the information industry. The fact that Japan has done quite well with computers using ASCII should remind us that these technical features never determine success or failure by themselves, but they certainly play a role in how we use and think about technologies. (The sites and sources listed later in the Literacy Web Page of the Month and References sections provide a good introduction to the many issues involved in making computers physically accessible to all.)

Access points for the digital river

If I have a canoe, and I'm physically able to use it, I still can't go canoeing unless I have a way to get it into a river. “Putting in” may appear to be a physical process of moving the canoe from dry land to water, but prior to that it means finding my place in a network of social relationships. I need to learn how to canoe, partly on my own, but also through interactions with others. I have to learn the location of the physical access point through reading, using maps, talking with others, or exploring. I have to negotiate the permission to put in. I have to learn all the critical information about the river, such as where the waterfall is or where I can “take out.” All of these things reflect both types of knowledge and relationships with many people.

In a similar way, I need more than a computer to have access to the real meaning of the new information age. I need to connect myself and that computer to a network of people, organizations, software, and information programs. Some of that connection depends on financial resources, some on the vagaries of personal circumstances -- where I work or go to school, who my friends happen to be. Other aspects depend on the support of employers, teachers, parents, and others who set out to help me learn. I may need encouragement to try new things. Thus, my access point for my cyber-journey is only in part the number I dial to reach the Internet provider. More crucial are the connections I make to all the people who help me develop the knowledge I need.

A successful launch

My successful launch, then, depends on at least three things: (a) finding my canoe -- the computer, the Internet link, data, and software; (b) being able to paddle -- having the tools such that factors like language and physical ability are no barrier; and (c) finding an access point -- having the network of social relationships and knowledge that make my journey possible.

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Other Views

Physicist Stephen W. Hawking is one of the most famous people whose work has been enabled by assistive technologies. Despite having Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), he is able to maintain a highly productive career and has inspired many. On his Web site he describes how this works:

I communicate with a computer system.... The screen is mounted on the arm of the wheel chair where I can see it.... A cursor moves across the upper part of the screen. I can stop it by pressing a switch in my hand. This switch is my only interface with the computer. In this way I can select words, which are printed on the lower part of the screen. When I have built up a sentence, I can send it to a speech synthesizer...though it gives me an accent that has been described variously as Scandinavian, American or Scottish.... I can also give lectures. I write the lecture beforehand, and save it on disk.... It works quite well, and I can try out the lecture, and polish it, before I give it.

Perhaps the most fundamental requirement for access is the desire to have it. We sometimes assume that computer or Internet access is all to the good, but there are many valid reasons why some people might choose not to launch their computers. R.W. Burniske (2000; online document) reminded us of this in a defense of computer illiteracy:

Our present climate, which indoctrinates many educators through the gospel of the technology “thought collective”, makes it virtually impossible for students to “not learn” technical computing skills. Yet, as we experiment with new learning environments shouldn't we consider potentially harmful effects? What if the embrace of “computer literacy” -- particularly an impoverished form emphasizing technical skills while neglecting ethical concerns -- should marginalize more robust forms of human literacy? In light of such possibilities, perhaps the “creative maladjustment” that perpetuates computer illiteracy will prove to be a virtue, providing an essential counter-balance to de-humanizing forces.

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Literacy Web Page of the Month

The GirlTECH site, maintained by Cynthia Lanius, provides an excellent set of resources aimed at helping more girls enter technical careers, especially in computer science. On the first page, there is a list of 10 tips for getting girls interested in computers. Although these tips are to help girls specifically, most are useful for anyone who needs additional access to the digital world. Here is a sampling of site topics: ways to work together; good role models; encouragement; opportunities to see benefits; physical access.

Some other sites of special interest

Matching Person and Technology (MPT) Assessment Process. Marcia J. Scherer, Director of the Institute for Matching Person and Technology, provides this site, which describes the MPT process. There are various self-report checklists that take into account the environments in which the person uses the technology, the individual's characteristics and preferences, and the technology's functions and features.

lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/access. Michelle Hinn has developed this excellent compendium of links to access issues “dedicated to the dissemination of information pertaining to the universal accessibility of Web-based course materials, particularly for persons with disabilities.”

Center for Applied Special Technology: Universal Design for Learning. CAST has a number of resources, including its widely used “Bobby” for checking Web pages for accessibility.

Digital Divide. This Public Broadcasting System Web site includes video samples from a television series on the digital divide as well as interactive components on educational technology, gender, race, and computers in the workplace.

The Adaptive Technology Resource Centre. This University of Toronto center offers an excellent collection of information and links on technologies to improve access.

Girl Geeks. This site has surveys on attitudes toward computer use as well as many links and helpful information on women and computing.

Parents, Educators, and Children's Software Publishers (PEP). This site provides well-annotated links on U.S. computer recycling programs.

Stephen W. Hawking's Web pages. Hawking's personal site includes not only interesting scientific and biographical materials, but also information about his own use of adaptive technologies.

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How You Can Participate

This month's Technology column only touches the surface of the whole access issue. I'd like to pose here a few questions that deserve further consideration:

• Is more access a good thing? (See, for example, www.computeraddiction.com.)
• How are changes in technology (e.g., the shift from desktop computers to handheld devices) changing the access landscape?
• What is the role of gender in access to information technology? (See the surveys at the Girl Geeks Web site.)
• How does access interact with privacy?
• How are people differentially enabled or disabled by new information technologies? That is, are there ways that one person benefits by increased access at the expense of others?

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Glossary

ALT text: A term used in Web page design, referring to the use of text to convey information to a user of the Web page, primarily when the image is not being displayed. This can be useful for a blind reader who can still understand the Web page content with a speech synthesizer. But it is also helpful to a user who has a text-only browser, such as Lynx, or for one who has set the browser not to load images (as might be done with a slow Internet connection). Nearly everyone who has looked into the issue of Web page accessibility strongly recommends the use of ALT text. For example, the following HTML code <a href=next.html> <img src="downarrow.gif" alt="more"></a> might be used on a Web page to indicate a link to additional information in the file "next.html." Assume here that the image represented in the file “downarrow.gif” shows a down-pointing arrow to a sighted reader who is using an appropriate browser, while the word more provides comparable information to other users.

Unfortunately, most editing programs for Web pages do not treat ALT text as the norm, but rather as the exception. So, authors of Web pages need to remember to include the text alternative. In addition, they need to think about the function of the image. In the example above, both a down-pointing arrow and the word more or next would indicate to most users that additional information could be found by clicking on the hyperlink. Sometimes, the designer simply says something like “link” or “image17” that turns out worse than no ALT text at all.
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ASCII: The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a code for computers, which was developed in the days of teletype machines. It allows programmers to represent familiar symbols in terms of numbers, on virtually all computers. Using eight bits, ASCII can represent 128 characters, including upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, punctuation, and other symbols. ASCII significantly expands access to computers. It makes possible the use of familiar characters, such as the letter a instead of a string of binary symbols, such as “1100001.”

But ASCII also defines classes of users in terms of ease of access. Because it is limited to representing characters in use in the American alphabet, it cannot fully represent the characters in the major European languages (e.g., Spanish tilde, French cedilla, German umlaut) much less ideographic languages such as Chinese. American users can represent the dollar sign (36), but there is no representation for the British pound. Nevertheless, ASCII is the primary code used on the Internet and in many software packages. Thus, it enables, but differentially enables, access to the tools of the new information age.
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Unicode: The Unicode Standard specifies the representation of text in software. It works in principle as ASCII does, but by using 16 bits a programmer can represent 128 times as many characters. Unicode can represent European alphabetic scripts, Middle Eastern right-to-left scripts, and scripts of Asia, as well as punctuation marks and mathematical and technical symbols. It provides codes for diacritics, such as the Spanish tilde (ñ). There are currently codes for 49,194 characters. With Unicode it is possible to provide a unique number for every character, regardless of computing platform or program. The code is currently supported in many operating systems, all modern browsers, and many other products.

The Unicode Consortium is a nonprofit organization founded to develop and promote this standard. Membership includes organizations and individuals in the computer and information processing industry throughout the world.

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References

Burniske, R.W. (2000, May 24). In defense of computer illiteracy: The virtues of “not learning.” TCR Online, Doc. No. 10526. Available: www.tcrecord.org
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Coyle, K. (1994, October 8). Access: Not just wires. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, San Diego, CA. Available: www.kcoyle.net/njw.html
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Flavell, A. (1994-2000). Use of ALT texts in IMGs [Web site]. ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/~flavell/alt/alt-text.html

Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time (R. Macguirre, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row.
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Hoffman, D., & Novak, T. (in press). The growing digital divide: Implications for an open research agenda. In B. Kahin & E. Brynjolffson (Eds.), Understanding the digital economy: Data, tools and research. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Available: ecommerce.vanderbilt.edu
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Judge, P. (Ed.). (2000, March 2). A lesson in computer literacy from India's poorest kids. Business Week Online. Available: www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2000/nf00302b.htm
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Other Sources

Anson, D.K. (1997). Alternative computer access: A guide to selection. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.

Bain, B.K., & Leger, D. (1997). Assistive technology: An interdisciplinary approach. New York: Churchill Livingston.

Burniske, R.W. (2000). Literacy in the cyberage: Composing ourselves online. Andover, MA: Skylight.

Cook, A.M., & Hussey, S.M. (1995). Assistive technology: Principles and practice. St. Louis, MO: Mosby.

Galvin, J.C., & Scherer, M.J. (1996). Evaluating, selecting and using appropriate assistive technology. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.

Kohl, H. (1994). “I won't learn from you” and other thoughts on maladjustment. New York: New Press.

Shade, L.R. (1993, August 17-19). Gender issues in computer networking. Paper presented at Community Networking: The International Free-Net Conference, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Available: www.vcn.bc.ca/sig/comm-nets/shade.html