For 2012 Clerks Institute - Cornell University 2012

1. Technology and participation-
Harnessing the emerging power of broadband for
civic engagement.
July 11,2012 Municipal Clerks Institute
Paul Treadwell
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Distance Learning Consultant

2. What is Broadband?
• High speed data transmission.
• Always on connection.
• Encompassing a variety of technologies.

3. Fixed or mobile & social
• In the past we talked about broadband as a
wired, fixed, connection.
• Increasingly, broadband is becoming mobile.
▫ Phones and tablets are creating new opportunities
for access and participation.

4. More layers, more connections
• New technologies are adding
new layers to our daily lives
• Connectedness is becoming an
essential quality for
participation

5. Why Broadband Matters
• Now, broadband is essential to opportunity and
citizenship.
▫ Connecting America: The National Broadband
Plan
 http://www.broadband.gov/

6. Increased Access,Growing Expectations
• Increasing access has lead to increased
expectations for opportunities such as:
▫ Interacting
▫ Organizing
▫ Creating
▫ Learning

7. The National Broadband Plan
• FCC March 2010:
▫ Presents an ambitious agenda for expanding
access.
▫ Emphasis on technology as “enabling”.
▫ Robust vision of connectivity.

8. Broadband Adoption
Exhibit 3-1 from Connecting America | FCC March 2010

9. The Digital Divide
• Is the gap between people with effective access
to digital and information technology and those
with very limited or no access at all.
• Is a kind of capability deprivation.
▫ As the “world” moves online, those who aren’t are
excluded.

10. Barriers to Adoption
• Availability.
• Cost.
• Exclusion.
▫ Literacy.
• Security.

11. More than Bandwidth or Access
• The fuss about broadband, then, extends beyond
access to information to active participation in
the online commons.
▫ Broadband: What’s All the Fuss About? Pew Internet and American Life Project

12. Marketplace and/or Commons
• 2 ways of viewing the internet:
▫ Marketplace:
 Access to goods
 Buying and selling
▫ Commons:
 Access to ideas
 Interaction and exchange

13. How do You See Broadband?
• What role can it play?

14. Broadband Enabled Services
• E-government
▫ Providing access to government information
▫ Providing space for engagement
• E-commerce
▫ Access to the global marketplace
• Technology training / digital literacy/ civic
literacy

16. Local Government – Ontario county
• Ontario County e-government
▫ http://www.co.ontario.ny.us/
▫ Access to governmental
information
▫ Online payments
▫ Property mapping

17. Local Government - Brazil

18. Local Government - eStrategies for
Local Governments
• http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/curricula/e
government/index.html
• Online curriculum focused on strategies for local
governments
• From the National e-Commerce Extension
Initiative

19. Governance – Participatory Budgeting

20. Digital literacy - CYC
• Connect Your Community:
 http://www.connectcommu
nity.org/
 2 year project funded by a
U.S. Department of
Commerce BTOP grant
 30,000 trained over the two
years

21. Digital Literacy– Squeaky Wheel
• Digital/Media Literacy:
▫ Squeaky Wheel
 http://www.squeaky.org/

22. Education - OLPC

23. Education – Khan Academy
• http://www.khanacademy.org/
• Extensive collection of free online, video lessons
• Self paced learning

24. Education – P2PU
• https://p2pu.org/en/

26. Links to select resources
• Pew Internet and American Life Project
▫ http://pewinternet.org/
• Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a
Democracy
▫ http://www.knightcomm.org/
• The National e-Commerce Extension Initiative
▫ http://srdc.msstate.edu/ecommerce/
• The Participatory Budgeting Project
▫ http://www.participatorybudgeting.org/

27. Contact
• Paul Treadwell
▫ Distance Learning Consultant
▫ Cornell Cooperative Extension
▫ 356 Roberts Hall
▫ Cornell University
▫ Ithaca, NY 14853
▫ pt36@cornell.edu
▫ http://www.paultreadwell.com
▫ @ptreadwell