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From Digital Divide to Digital Inclusion - Part I

The Internet has come a long way since its invention in the 60’s. It started as a research project and slowly became a tool for the knowledgeable elites to use. Today, we would think that many people in Malaysia use the Internet for some reasons. However, as government and businesses move their presence to the Internet to capitalize on its effectiveness as a business and communication medium, we would like to think that no one will be left behind in this new way of interacting with government and businesses. And that is the essence of a digital divide program - to bridge the gap between the ‘know’ and the ‘don’t know’, and between the ‘have’ and the ‘don’t have’ so as to ensure that no one is left behind.

From one generation to another. Teaching an adult requires a different skill.

DANAU has been fortunate to be given the opportunity to design the learning experience and conduct learning sessions in a program that was originally intended to bridge the digital divide between the rural and urban communities. The project which was conducted from March to June 2008 took us to ten rural communities in Melaka. We spent two full days with each of the communities in a learning program that provides hands-on experience about the Internet and the use of computers in education to adults (men and women), youths (girls and boys) and children.

Never too old to learn? This man is in his 90’s and still keen to know.

Preparation for the program was massive. This includes site visits, printed learning materials, goodies, prizes for the lucky draw, hundreds of quiz questions, educational games, reference website for the program (http://internet.danauilmu.net and the recently updated Menguasai Internet Blog) , and many more. A program which looks good on paper when it was first proposed often requires some adjustments, changes and additions during implementation. Fortunately, DANAU has the capability and flexibility to handle these changes and additions so we were able to overcome the challenges successfully.

Landing the space shuttle barely a year after Sheikh Muszapha went to ISS.

Using a virtual reality software which have been developed earlier to learn about architecture in the context of religion and culture

In the next posting (Part II) we will highlight the other interactive learning sessions as experienced by the participants. We will also highlight some of the key findings from our observation and interaction with rural community participants in the program which we have conducted.