Developing Digital Literacy

MS ITT Students Serve as Pacific Role Models

By Katherine Kautzer

Access to the World Wide Web can transform the classroom, creating a problem-oriented, student-centered environment that supports both collaborative and individualized learning. However, the Web can also create a dilemma for Pacific educators, because it largely promotes Western values. How can Pacific Islanders ensure that their children develop 21st century digital literacy skills without diminishing traditional languages and cultures?

Technology and Tradition
The Web has irreversibly changed how people talk, meet, and work. These changes are not always welcome. For cultures that value traditional ways and face-to-face communication, technology-based interaction may seem threatening.

For example, the Web provides direct access to uncensored sources of information, services, and goods. While some societies value the unrestricted flow of information and commerce, others consider it disruptive because it introduces community members to influences outside the traditional social structure.

Preservation of language and culture is another concern. The majority of Web-based content is published in English, making language a major barrier to Web use in non-English speaking countries. For many indigenous groups, preservation of their home languages is a top priority.

Technology itself is not neutral. While values and priorities vary from culture to culture, design occurs within specific cultural contexts. Technology that reflects the values of one culture may undermine the values of another.

While these are important concerns, there are also benefits associated with Web use and the development of digital literacy.

• The Web provides access to disaster warnings, public health research, news reports, and income earning opportunities via e-commerce.
  
• Distance learning courses provide unprecedented opportunities for Pacific Islanders to continue their education without leaving their homes.
  
• The Web provides teachers with access to a wide variety of classroom resources, some of which would otherwise be unavailable.
  
• Technology eases the processes of documentation and archiving, enabling Pacific Islanders to preserve and share their language and traditions.

Managing Development
Those who fear the impact of Web use on traditional cultures have valid concerns. Through conscientious management, however, technology can meet Pacific Islanders’ needs while supporting Pacific ways of life. One example is the Master of Science degree program in Instructional Technology and Telecommunications (MS ITT). The MS ITT is a 35-semester hour graduate program developed through collaboration between PREL and Western Illinois University (WIU). Delivered primarily via the Web through the support of PRELStar, the MS ITT is designed for Pacific teachers, principals, technology coordinators, and administrators who wish to develop their ability to use technology as part of the educational process. Specifically tailored to serve the unique needs of the Pacific region, the educational objectives for the MS ITT are based upon teacher competencies identified by the International Society for Technology in Education. The program prepares Pacific educators to:

• develop expertise in the application of technology to teaching and learning in ways that honor Pacific
  culture rather than diminish it;
  
• serve as visible role models of
  successful technology adoption and integration;
  
• support appropriate use of technology to promote and disseminate Pacific languages and cultures;
  
• serve as advisors to and resources for others seeking to integrate technology and Pacific education.

One goal for the MS ITT is to develop a cadre of Pacific educators to demonstrate that technology adds value to their communities without diminishing culture. Web use in the Pacific will not only assist students in developing 21st century skills; it will contribute to increased participation by Pacific Islanders in the global economy and will extend and enhance the Information Superhighway through the addition of Pacific voices.

Further Reading
Bazar, B., & Boalch, G. (1997). A preliminary model of Internet diffusion within developing countries. Retrieved June 21, 2002, from ausweb.scu.edu.au/proceedings/boalch/paper.html

CEO Forum on Education and Technology. (2001). The CEO Forum school technology and readiness report: Key building blocks for student achievement in the 21st century. Retrieved June 21, 2002, from www.ceoforum.org/downloads/report4.pdf

Primo, H. (2001, March). Digital oceania: The Internet, distance learning, & sustainable human development in the Pacific islands. Ed at a Distance Magazine and Ed Journal, 15(3). Retrieved June 21, 2002, from www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAR01_Issue/article02.html

Wahl, E. (2000). Discord or harmony: Culture and technology. Education Development Center, Inc. Retrieved June 21, 2002, from www2.edc.org/CCT/cctweb/public/include/pdf/abd_doh.pdf

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