I edited my eportfolio several times using the suggestions from Bobby. My page is still not "Bobby worthy" at this time. I had trouble trying to edit the html language in Netscape in order to give a word explanation of my photo. I eliminated my graphics (boo hoo), changed my colors and removed my bullets. I'm not sure how Bobby works- it is pretty cool- but I would appreciate it more if I were creating pages using html language and not page making software. Not knowing html, I am clueless as to how to edit my page without just eliminating items. I admit, it probably does look more professional, but I liked my jumping frogs.
Some of the access issues I covered, in part, in the last assignment. Literacy (I'm glad I didn't put that one to the Bobby test- graphic overload) But access is such a huge topic encompassing everything from gender, race and income status to physical and technological limitations of huge groups of people. A good site discussing access issues: Towards Successful Computer-Human Interactions reports that 43 million Americans have some type of disability. Many of the disabilities make computer use more difficult.(Perritt, 1991). The paper suggests that it isn't cost effective for software companies to cater to people with limitations. The software engineers program for themselves and the "average" person(interesting study showed there are no average people). People with disabilities are then forced to purchase Assistive programs in order to use their computers.
The greatest access issue, however, is location. How Worldwide is the Web includes a percentage of internet access to approximately 3% of the population. This figure really puts access into perspective. A study on internet services providers, What is access?, successfully illustrates exactly where the web is worldwide and for whom.
Country
# of Internet Service Providers
North America
3,372,551
Western Europe
1,039,192
Pacific Rim
192,190
Asia
151,773
Other: Eastern Europe
192,190
Africa
27,130
Central and South America
14,894
Middle East
13,776
(internet society, 1994)
Huge benefits come with internet access. Benefits of the Information Society discusses employment opportunities, health care benefits, and ,probably most essential, educational benefits for all citizens online.
While currently this new technology is available to a
small portion of people, access of the web will continue to multiply daily.
The world wide web could actually lessen the gap between technological
societies and third world countries by putting information never before
attainable at their fingertips. Access to the masses is really a matter
of time. As we enter the new millenium, large groups of people will be
at an educational disadvantage because of lack of access, but this will
be a momentary period. The annual rate of growth for internet hosts is
100%. (Coffman and Odlyzko, 1997) See the host
table.
This has been a thought provoking assignment. I realize that many people disagree and believe that as technological societies continue to advance, less advantaged countries will be at a greater loss. This, I suppose, is a possibility. But, it is also possible that the advantages we have today will be there for them in the future. See ABC news article.
last updated 11-07-99
lsanford email