Reading the following made me think of Negroponte's mission with the $100 laptop. Ursula Franklin is talking about the importance of technological literacy, meaning more than just technical skills (as Bill Gates would have us define it -- see his Skills You Need to Succeed). Franklin writes:
Another aspect of technological literacy requires attention. What textbooks are being used? What are our primers? I recall a conversation a number of years ago with a colleague who had just negotiated a large donation of computers for his institution with one of the big computer manufacturers. Since we respected each other, I could say to him, "Please, just stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and reflect. Think about the analogy between your computer gift and the gift of free Bibles." In the not so distant past many good people, for the honourable purpose of literacy and education, donated Bibles to teach "heathens" to read. When Bibles are used as primers, the process becomes more than simply learning how to read. The newly developed literacy brought with it an acculturation that often resulted in the loss of indigenous cultures. How different is the cultural programming of the computer from the cultural programming of the Bible? Should we not be asking, "How can we bring technological literacy to our students using our texts and primers without imposing undisclosed techno-values to the detriment or destruction of the students' own cultures and values?" This doesn't mean that we should not teach for fear of indoctrination, but rather that we need to use many primers and explicitly transparent programming, elucidate the purpose, strengths, and limitations of all devices or programs, and, most importantly, clarify the social assumptions that are embedded in every design.
From an address given in 1991, printed in The Ursula Franklin Reader, 2006, p.332.
More about Ursula Franklin: Library and Archives Canada.
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