Presentation Transcript

1. Education and Digital Divide

   Phil Leite & Lee Marvel
2. Internet Access - A Human Right? In this day and age, the internet can be almost crucial to everyday life.
3. Internet Access - A Human Right? A variety of services are offered online such as:Online banking Job applications and search Healthcare applications and services Entertainment - videos, music, news Educational services - access to free lecture, information from paid or even free services (e.g. Wikipedia) Shopping/shipping
4. Internet Access - A Human Right? Is internet censorship and blocking people’s access to it okay, in any case? Should countries be allowed to censor the internet? To what extent? Or should they provide internet access to as many people as possible, especially in developed nations? What about ISPs? They spend millions lobbying against laws that might force them to share infrastructure instead of investing that money into infrastructure.
5. Internet Access - A Human Right? One of the bigger issues, in the US, is the lack of competition between ISPs. Allowing them to push prices up. Service providers have control over certain areas, and don’t share infrastructure. At the same time, some areas have little to no coverage, due to lack of incentive for the companies. This puts the customer in a difficult situation, of which they have no control.
6. Kantianism Pros Everyone has access to: educational services, entertainment, public services, job applications, healthcare applications, online banking… the list goes on Cons none Conclusion? Ethical
7. Rule Utilitarianism Pros Improve economy, socio-economic conditions? Everyone has access to Internet, so there’s potential for small businesses, individuals, to advertise, to learn, to stay informed... Cons Costs of infrastructure maintenance, construction, etc might fall to taxpayers (if this access is provided for ‘free’) - taxpayers will not be happy Conclusion? Balanced - difficult to determine how many people will be happy
8. Act Utilitarianism Pros Improve economy, socio-economic conditions? Everyone has access to Internet, so there’s potential for small businesses, individuals, to advertise, to learn, to stay informed... Cons Costs of infrastructure maintenance, construction, etc might fall to taxpayers (if this access is provided for ‘free’) - taxpayers will not be happy Conclusion? Balanced
9. Social Contract Theory Pros Everyone has internet... ALL the accessibility! Cons While everyone might have access, it might raise costs for those who used to have faster internet to keep that same quality of internet connection. Conclusion? Slightly Ethical - Sure, costs will potentially be higher, but it can hopefully help bridge the divide and reduce the amount of people without the benefits of internet access
10. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) - The Education of the Future? What it is? More than a regular online class, like an “event” Way to learn in the network world Sharing and working together to collect ideas Open and free to all Not many actual assignments, more cooperation and problem solving
11. Valuing MOOCs and Online classes as a whole How do you value attending a physical class? Faculty and student interaction Do you ever see Bucknell offering a significant amount of online classes? Would it devalue the education and overall reputation? What are the impacts of the students? The faculty?
12. Grades over experience? Is there too much of an emphasis put on grades in college? You go to college to learn, but your GPA and main measure of performance are based on grades Should there even be grades? Do you pick courses based on the professor or the content of material? What is the real goal of higher education?
13. Kantianism Pros More cost effective More accessible Access to all Cons Little to no personal interaction No college-life social development Devalues all other colleges, especially the expensive ones Lacking antiquate internet speeds and access Conclusion? Ethical
14. Rule Utilitarianism Pros More people from all works of life are able to receive some type of college degree Creates more value for their life in the job force ultimately leads to a better educated society Cons Universities may see campus enrolment go down Leads to less revenue and ultimately budget cuts Conclusion? Ethical
15. Act Utilitarianism Pros More cost effective More accessible Access to all Cons In comparison to an actual college degree, the interactions and relationships made create for a greater experience that cannot be fully replaced or duplicated Conclusion? Unethical
16. Social Contract Theory Pros Increased access would help become more of a reality Cheaper costs and round-the-clock accessibility, people can work a regular job and still earn a degree on the side much easier Cons Not every job requires a college degree and some people are incapable for earning a degree so in some cases it would not be worth the costs or resources Conclusion? Ethical
17. Sources http://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2014/04/09/share-economy-comes-to-education-notes-from-the-moocs-experiment/ http://host.madison.com/daily-cardinal/action-project-moocs-remain-a-debated-form-of-college-education/article_a3cba3bc-b897-11e3-a48a-0019bb2963f4.html http://www.wired.com/2011/06/internet-a-human-right/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/28/the-price-of-internet-is-too-high/ http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/28/6274064/viewpoints-dont-let-online-education.html