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thoughts on readings for 2/18

sweetp's picture

--Paul Grobstein’s blog touches on his notion of involving the reader, that he thinking about his readers and that they might find his blog engaging; he wants to start a conversation and is interested to hear what other people think.  As I see it, this is the ideal blogger mindset; someone who is conscientious and considers the reader rather than rambling on.

 --"Every effort should be made to assure that all individuals have access to the Web not only as users but also as contributors."—on Serendip’s Evolving web principles page.  My thoughts on this: everyone has differing internet access available to him or her, and this creates limits on a given person’s ability to be a contributor. I own a laptop with wireless internet, so I can browse the internet in my room at my leisure; others do not have internet access, let alone a computer, readily available in their homes.  So I can lounge around on my bed surfing the web while others must make a trip to the local library or internet café to get online.  Can "every effort" really be made, short of providing every single person with a computer?

Comments

aseidman's picture

I agree with your question as

I agree with your question as to "can every effort really be made?"

I also think it's important for us to remember that not only distance from an internet connection contributes to some people's inability to use a computer. There are those people who might find a great deal of internet use very taxing for reasons pertaining to physical disabilities, such as visual trouble, or even tendonitis in the wrists. I think while we're making it easier for people to get to a computer and use, it we should also be providing them with tools to make the best use of it when they get there. Better voice-activated software would be a good place to start. Have any of you tried to use the software on the market now, which supposedl yallows you to speak to the computer and have it type exactly whta you're saying? I've tried a few of them, and they never work very well...

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