Developing nations face myriad challenges in their attempts to overcome digital poverty. Over the past ten years, a growing movement has promoted telecenters as a tool for fostering economic opportunity through the provision of digital literacy, education, and connectivity to impoverished communities. While some of these programs were born out of civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGO) projects, as is the case of the Gemas da Terra network in Brazil, others are government-led, such as the Knowledge Stations in Jordan, and yet others are the product of the involvement of multiple stakeholders, as is the case of Infocentros in El Salvador. Most of these initiatives are based on the premise that digital literacy can foster prosperity, promote social well-being, and generate economic opportunities for under-privileged communities.
The 2003 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) (2003) pinpointed local content and communications as two of the five main objectives of the information communication technology (ICTs) for development platform. Placing relevant content, information, and knowledge at the forefront of the agenda, the WSIS emphasized digital literacy as a key component in the fight against poverty. The World Bank (2006)similarly recognized the potential of ICTs as a tool that can help reduce poverty and inequality through economic growth, trade promotion, and job creation. In this context, the question ofdigital literacy becomes paramount, a pre-condition for developing communities to access global information flows. This exploratory study examines nine portals developed by telecenters that serve impoverished communities in ten developing nations in the Arab world and in Latin America. These sites are examined for evidence that the portals support active learning techniques by providing interactive applications that allow users to practice digital literacy and participate in virtual community-building.
Literature Review
Telecenters and the Digital Divide
It is now clear that the digital divide transcends the facts of whether or not an individual can physically access telephones, computers, or electronic media. An array of complex social and economic factors perpetuate inequality in developing nations and underlie the reality of digital poverty (Mossberger, Tolbert, & Stansbury, 2003; Norris, 2001; Servon, 2002; van Dijk, 2005). Education, gender, and language ability are only some of the many obstacles that can prevent underprivileged individuals from participating fully in the Information Society (Roman & Colle, 2002; Warschauer, 2003b). In many developing nations, telecenters have been established with the mission of attenuating digital poverty by providing hubs where the poor can access ICTs.
Telecenter ownership and management structures occur in a variety of forms. Some operate as commercial ventures or franchises, others as initiatives administered by government or academic entities, yet others are sponsored by NGOs or function under a hybrid partnership that combines two or more of the aforementioned stakeholders. For a telecenter to be defined as accessible, it must place technology and connectivity within practical physical reach of community members; it must be conveniently located within the community or in close proximity to it, and provide affordable computer and Internet access at low or no cost.
The effectiveness of these telecenters has often been evaluated through empirical measurement of the number of computers in use, number of people trained and jobs created (Anta & Valenti, 2004; Eastin & LaRose, 2000; Figueiredo, Camara, & Sabin, 2006; Gumucio-Dagron, 2003; Gurstein, 2003; Rodríguez Garcia, 2002; Whyte, 1999; Whyte, 2000). A few scholars have attempted to widen the criteria of evaluation to include measures of the socio-economic impact of telecenters on the well-being, human development, and self-sustaining infrastructures that benefit the community as a whole (Menou, 2001a; Rothenberg-Aalami & Pal, 2005). The latter studies link individual skills training to the overall social development of the community, expanding the definition of effectiveness beyond mere competency in the use of technology.
Telecenters located in rural areas face a particular set of challenges to sustainability. Structural obstacles to physical access, endemic poverty and low levels of education are among the factors commonly found in poor rural areas that significantly impact telecenter sustainability and make it hard for societies to bridge digital inequality between urban and rural populations (Proenza, Bastidas-Buch, & Montero, 2001). Self-supporting telecenters located in poor rural communities may struggle to cover operating costs given the population’s lower earnings, or face steeper adoption curves due to lower education levels and the foreignness of computers to a traditional, agricultural-based lifestyle (Proenza et al., 2001). Great distances, limited access to transportation, poorly maintained or nonexistent roads, and limited or unstable electrical power are some of the other factors that can limit access to telecenters in remote locations.
Whether they are located in rural or urban areas, sustainable telecenters share a common set of denominators: they are built and operated with the consensus and participation of community members, they promote a collaborative atmosphere that equitably includes all stakeholders, they set concrete goals and measurable deliverables, and they operate in a transparent manner (Hosman & Fife, 2008). Telecenters flourish in communities that shape the use ofICT to their needs and cultural identity.
Still, the ultimate measure of telecenter participation may be the extent to which individuals integrate and practice digital literacy in virtual communities that complement activities happening in their real life. Among the critics of the value ascribed to participation in virtual communities, Putnam (2000) took front stage in questioning whether online communication produces the bonding or bridging types of social capital formed in face to face communication. Those who challenged his views suggested that virtual communities can function in ways similar to real-life neighborhoods: providing a meeting ground where individuals socialize, exchange information that is relevant to their needs, and interact in ways that promote social bonding and support (Burnett, 2000; Burnett & Buerkle, 2004; Rheingold, 1993). They found that individuals who participate in virtual communication integrate technology, not as an end in itself, but rather as a tool. There are also indications that virtual communities that share the support of existing social networks, and those where users participate by creating content, are particularly effective (Warschauer, 2003b). Scholars have theorized that active participation in virtual communities complements more traditional forms of community formation, promotes bridging and bonding social capital, and drives political activism and civic engagement (Norris, 2006; Rheingold, 1993; Warschauer, 2003a).
Two telecenter initiatives in Latin America, Brazil’s sampa.org and Chile’s elencuentro.cl, have been cited as models of successful virtual community creation, where users actively contributed content to the online portal (Bossio, 2006; Warschauer, 2003a). In both instances, the sites featured basic information about the community, local news, schedule of events and activities, and information about small businesses in the area, showcasing the telecenter and the community to the rest of the world. These portals rendered the local communities visible to the outside world staking their place in the global flow of information.
Competency in the use of technology is a pre-condition to participation in online communities. Technology adoption requires a learning process, one which faces numerous barriers in poor areas. van Dijk (1999) categorized the challenges to ICT access as difficult physical access, lack of education or the absence of a supportive social network, anxiety or disinterest, and the lack of content that is relevant to one’s interests While it is reasonable to expect that the physical barriers to adoption may subside in the near future as companies roll-out affordable Internet-enabled mobile devices, it is likely that barriers of age and gender, along with personal skills (or the lack thereof) will continue to provide challenges to ICT use (van Dijk & Hacker, 2003).
One of the particular features of online communication that helps users overcome the challenges to technology adoption is interactivity. Interactivity provides a mediating driver for sociability and engagement in online group communication, one that allows groups to form helpful social bonds (Rafaeli & Sudweeks, 1997). Users who experience a responsive, easy to use online environment experience a greater sense of engagement, enjoyment, openness, and learning (Massey & Levy, 1999; Morris & Ogan, 1996; Rafaeli, 1988). Searching and finding information and communicating with others helps convince people of the value of technology to their everyday lives (Roman & Colle, 2002). These are some of the reasons why a sense of accomplishment has been used as a key metric in the evaluation of human interaction with ICTs (Eastin & LaRose, 2000). Community portals that fail to deliver on the above are less likely to be sustainable (Musgrave, 2005).
The above studies have paved the way to a more holistic understanding that technology alone does not provide sufficient motivation to engage an individual. There is evidence that, unlike information-gathering, knowledge building requires interaction among people (Young, 1997). As it relates to telecenters, there is evidence that communities that mobilize members around activities of learning and practice achieve greater success in integrating ICT into their lives in a sustainable way (Warschauer, 2003a). These findings lend support to those who frame the question of technology adoption from the standpoint of the social and cultural systems in which an individual exists, not the technology itself.
There is reason to believe that insofar as telecenters are concerned, “the more communities get involved themselves in producing and compiling the information, the more useful such centres or meeting places become” (Schilderman, 2002, p. 43). This seems to be the case in learning communities where individuals contribute and interact with each other, working together to collect information and to develop solutions to the community’s issues and problems, learning how, rather than simply learning (Brown& Duguid, 2000; Wilmore, 2001).
Papert’sconstructionism theory posits as much, suggesting that learning is most effective when an individual builds a product that has personal meaning and relevance, in a process of “learning-by-making” (Papert & Harel, 1991, ¶1). This explanation of the learning process prioritizes the role of active participation in knowledge construction. This theory of active versus passive learning was applied here to enhance our understanding of how learning technology might occur through engagement in telecenter portals and participation in virtual community. This concept provides the framework for this study’s focus on telecenter portals as a measure of user engagement in the construction of knowledge through active learning and use of interactive tools.
Given that the publication of telecenter portals in developing nations is still a fairly recent development, this study was primarily exploratory and descriptive. It sought to answer the following research questions:
RQ#1
What is the content and characteristic ofthesetelecenter
portals?
RQ#2 What are the functions and uses of thesetelecenter
portals?
RQ#3 To what extent do telecenter portals create virtual
community?
This descriptive study documented different ways in which communities at the digital margins of global society embrace ICTs. The sample for this study included telecenters in ten developing nations in the Arab world and Latin America. These countries were selected based on three criteria: 1) their regional location; 2) their adoption of telecenters; and 3) the availability of portals published by the telecenters.The 10 countries chosen were Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Jordan, Sudan, Syria, and Tunisia. Thesehave comparable rankings on the Gini index for inequality in income or expenditure published by the United Nations Development Programme.
Operational Definitions
ICTs
This study definedICTs in the manner of Willson (2006) who refers to them as mediation or communication tools and processes that allow individuals to communicate in settings other than face-to-face, through media and linked telecommunications systems, i.e.: television, radio, telephones, facsimile, and computers.
For the purposes of this study, telecenters are defined as public spaces where individuals may access communication and information technologies (Proenza et al., 2001). Telecenter access differs from ICT accessibility in that the latter refers to a more complex set of skills, demographic, socio-economic, educational, cultural, psychological, and structural factors that influence individual technology adoption (Hosman & Fife, 2008). Although the word telecenter is often used in the literature, telecenters may be called bydifferent namesin different countries.
The unit of analysis for this study was the home pages of telecenter Web portals. Massey and Levy (1999) defined a home page as the opening page of a Web site containing links to the site's contents. Home pages as the unit of analysis for research was used by Paul (2001), who suggested their use lent consistency to the study since Web sites differ widely in the number of pages they may contain. The home pageallows users to gauge how interesting or useful a site may be, an appreciation that impacts the duration and depth of a user's visit.
Virtual Community
In 1993, Rheingold described virtual communities as computer-linked ecosystem of subcultures where individuals interacted with each other and formed personal relationships, participating in essentially the same type of social activities that form community in the physical world.
An equal number of cases were selected in developing nations in the Arab world and in Latin America. AWeb sample was built based on redundant searches conducted on Google, Yahoo, and telecenter portals and listservs in the two regions, following the model adopted by Dominick (1999). The criteria for inclusion in the final sample were that the Web sites were clearly linked to a telecenter project which served rural areas in each of the 10 countries.
The two authors coded a 10% portion of the sample comprised of portals containing English-language content. Coding decisions that required a simple judgment about content presence or absence generated inter-coder reliability above 95%. Coding decisions that required categorizing content into one of the mass communication or ICT use functions was lower at 79%. Prior to coding, the authors trained by coding one of the portals in the sample in its entirety.
All portals were accessed from the United States using Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox browsers on personal computers connected to a T-1 line. Items were coded to identify the extent to which the portal’s home page contained clearly identifiable content and visual references, and functioning navigability. Paul (2001) suggested that the ease of navigation of a Web site contributes to user interactivity, specifically speed, accessibility and functionality of pages and links, the clarity of structure and design for navigation bars, search functions, and site maps. Other measures of user interactivity were the presence or absence ofaccessible links to forum, chat, newsletter, audio and video elements. The visual references (photos or images appearing on the home page) were coded for the presence or absence of national symbols, adults using computers, children using computers, locality identifiers, and gender diversity.
Home pages were also coded for the number of languages used and the mass communication functions contained in the content. The concept of mass communication functions followed the model proposed by Jeffres and Lin (2006), which classify online content according to its function as providing surveillance, coordination, socialization, or entertainment. In addition, the content was also coded to indicate whether it emphasized the building of community, knowledge, and skillsand whether the purpose was the promotion of economic, civic, and cultural goals, based on a modified version of the study conducted by Raphael, Bachen, Baldwin-Philippi, and McKee (2006) on ICT uses of Web sites.
The Arab World and Latin America- A Regional Overview
Widespread digital poverty continues to reinforce long-standing patterns of socio-economic inequality in Arab and Latin American nations. In 2007, the majority of the population of Arab and Latin American nations remained disconnected. Internet penetration remains low in both regions, at an identical 15.7%, with extremely low levels of broadband connectivity available in either case. In contrast, 64% of Arabs and 59% of Latin Americans had access to mobile phones. The recent development of mobile telephony widely exceeds the adoption rate of any other information and communication technology, including radio sets. Two-thirds of the planet and half of the world’s population can already access mobile signals (Levy, 2007). It is safe to presume that the arrival of G-3 mobile phones in the developing world will make the mobile Web widely accessible in the near future.
Table 1. ITU Indicators for the Arab World.
Table 2. ITU indicators for Latin America.
While physical barriers to ICT access may soon diminish, other challenges are proving more difficult to overcome. Education remains a major impediment to digital inclusion. In Egypt and Sudan, illiteracy remains high at levels of 28% and 39% respectively (UNDP, 2008).Latin America has fared comparatively better in universal access to education. Literacy averages89% for the countries in this study.
Another measure of ICT adoption is the Networked Readiness Index. This index analyzes 48 indicators to assess how well prepared individual, business, and government entities in 127 nations are to benefit from information and communication technologies (Goswami, 2006). The 2007-2008 rankings placed Chile at 34th and Tunisia in 35th, far ahead of all other countries in this sample (World Economic Forum, 2008). Syria, at 110th, ranked last in the sample, though not among all the Arab countries. Chile led the Latin American countries studied here, and the Dominican Republic came last in the sample at 75th, ahead of regional economic powerhouse Argentina. Among the countries in this study, Chile and Tunisia were ahead of Jordan, and substantially ahead of Brazil, Egypt, El Salvador, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic all of which clustered in the index. Syria was an outlier in the sample.
Case studies in the Arab world
The first telecenter launched in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region was in Egypt in the late 1990s (telecentre.org, 2007). While the average Internet penetration in the Arab world is 15.7%, in Egypt Internet has reached merely 11.4% of the population. The Networked Readiness Index for 2007-2008 ranked the country 63rd (World Economic Forum, 2008). Among the countries included in this study, Egypt ranked second lowest on the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2008). Egypt also ranked second lowest on literacy rate (71.4%) and urban population (42.8%).
The Egyptian government has publicly committed to developing the ICT sector as highlighted in its National Plan for Communications and Information Technology (Hashem, 2002). The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has taken the lead in bridging the digital divide in Egypt. Along with the nongovernmental sector, the Ministry established what became known as Mega Clubs (MC) around the country. In 2008, 269 MCs operated in 28 regions. Two-hundred and seven of those were connected to the Internet. These constitute a total of 3,486 computers. Additionally, the Ministry invested in Mobile Mega Clubs, traveling digital caravans that have computers. The portal for the network of Mega Clubs, located at www.ict-megaclub.com.eg, was examined in this study.
Jordan
Since the Internet reached Jordan in 1995, the government has adopted measures to expand access beyond governmental use (Privacy International, 2003).Internet penetration in Jordan, at 19%, exceeds that of other Arab countries, yet there are only 6 computers for each 100 people (ITU, 2008). The nation ranked 47th in the Networked Readiness Index (World Economic Forum, 2008). Like many countries in the region,Jordan launched an e-government initiative primarily as a means to increase efficiencies of scale in government operations and as a way to reduce administrative overhead. Consequently,the government adopted a parallel initiative to promote ICT access to impoverished areas by setting up networks of telecenters. Although literacy in Jordan is the second highest in the entire Arab world, the country is relatively poor and would stand to benefit greatly from inclusion in the larger global Information Society (UNDP, 2008). Among the countries studied, Jordan ranked highest on the Human Development Index and has the lowest rural population ratio at less than 18%.
As part of its e-government efforts, Jordan, like Egypt, has embraced bridging the digital divide, especially in reaching children, women, and the elderly in impoverished communities. The Kingdom’s 2020 REACH development vision incorporated the development of the ICT sector as one of its goals. Among the initiatives undertaken, the Knowledge Stations (KS) program launched in 2001 directly targets communities nationwide, through 132 telecenters established in different regions of the country. The project was pioneered by the government and supported by grassroots and civil society organizations (Television Trust for the Environment, 2003). The network of KSs operates a portal located at www.ks.jo, the portal analyzed in this study.
Sudan
In Sudan, Internet penetration remains low at 9.9% (ITU, 2008). Radio remains the most widely adopted ICT medium, followed by television and mobile devices. Compared to other Arab States, Sudan ranked among the lowest five on the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2008). The illiteracy rate of 39% is the highest among the countries studied and one of the highest in the region.Sudan’s rural population is at 59%.
In late 2004, an initiative of the government of the Dutch city of Eindhoven established a unique Digital City sister city program with the city of Gedaref in Sudan. Eindhoven donated computers to support existing and new government programs in Sudan aimed at bridging the digital divide and fostering human development. The Web portal www.gedarefcity.org is included in this study.
Syria
Syria’s Internet penetration, at 10.7%, is also below average for the region (ITU, 2008). The nation ranked 110th on the Networked Readiness Index, and last among the countries included in this study (World Economic Forum, 2008). As was the case in other Arab countries in this study, the Ministry of Communications and Technology of Syria adopted policies to bridge the digital divide, with special focus on the digital inequality occurring between urban and rural areas of the country. Syria’s rural population is high at 49% and its illiteracy rate is 19% (UNDP, 2008). The government established community centers in cooperation with local authorities to provide buildings, water, and electricity at each location. The portal for what became known as Reefnet is located at www.reefnet.gov.sy and is included in this study.
Tunisia
With Internet connectivity of 16.7%, Tunisia ranked second on the NRI among the Arab States. Tunisia ranked in the middle of the Human Development Index as compared to the other Arab States and is second after Jordan in the countries included in the study (UNDP, 2008). The literacy rate of 74.3% is below the average for the region.
In an effort to bridge the digital divide between the urban (65.3%) and rural areas (34.7%), and to reduce unemployment, the government launched in 1998, the Publinet telecenter project found at http://www.tunisiaonline.com/internet/publinet.html. Tunisia, however, could not be included in the study as the portal identified is not solely dedicated to telecenters, rather it encompasses information on other efforts aimed at wiring the country.
Internet penetration in Brazil is at 26.07%, placing ii fourth in the region after Costa Rica, Chile, and Colombia (ITU, 2008). According to the Comitê para Democratização da Informática or CDI (Committee to Democratize Informatics) (2008), 54% of Brazilians have never used a computer and 67% have never been online. The poorest remain the most excluded, as do those living in the more remote areas of the country, the center and western regions. The Networked Readiness Index for 2007-2008 ranked the country 59th, immediately ahead of Costa Ricaand behind Mexico (World Economic Forum, 2008).
The push to bridge the digital divide in this country originated primarily within the ranks of civil society. There are currently multiple projects aimed at decreasing digital poverty, many of which link government agencies, NGOs, the private sector, and civil society in multi-faceted partnerships. The widespread support for the open source movement in the country may have played a role in creating awareness about the need for digital inclusion. Numerous government programs have been launched to promote digital literacy. In 2005, the Computador para todos (Computers for All) initiative made low cost computers tax exempt (Ministério da Fazenda, 2008). The measure was one of 17 different government-sanctioned programs to promote digital inclusion (ONID, 2008).
The CDI has been active since 1995, when it paired with community initiatives to open Escolas de Informática e Cidadania (Informatics and Citizenship Schools) and telecenters in poor urban and rural areas. In 2001, the CDI celebrated the first started Día da Inclusão Digital (Digital Inclusion Day), an event later expanded to take place during an entire week each year. Their slogan for the year 2007, “Mais que computadores, conhecimento que transforma” (More than computers, knowledge that transforms) stressed the project’s emphasis on a knowledge learning approach that privileges technology as a tool, not as an end in itself.
The Observatório Nacional de Inclusão Digital - ONID (National Observatory for Digital Inclusion) (2008), which tracks telecenters nationwide, accounted for 4,835 telecenters in operation throughout the country. This study focused on the Rede Gemas da Terra de Telecentros Rurais (Gemas da Terra Rural Community Telecenter Network) portal, which is comprised of five telecenters located in the state of Minas Gerais. The network, operating as a NGO, was established based on academic study of other telecenter experiences in the world and according to a model developed by an external agent with ties to the local communities (Figueiredo et al., 2006). The network operates a portal located at www.gemasdaterra.org.br, the Web site analyzed in this case study.
The Networked Readiness Index for 2007-2008 ranked Chile in 34th place, first among Latin American nations and far ahead of the rest of the region (World Economic Forum, 2008). The country ranks second in the region in Internet penetration (33.5%), slightly ahead of Costa Rica, which also has a policy promoting universal access to ICTs (ITU 2008). Broadband access remained low in 2007 at 7%, yet it is likely to increase rapidly in the near future given a new policy of government subsidies and the highest ICT spending per capita of all Latin American nations (ITU, 2008). Chile ranked second to Argentina among Latin nations in the United Nations Human Development index and in GDP per capita, yet it ranks high in terms of inequality (UNDP, 2008). The vast majority of Chileans know how to read and write (96%) and only a small portion of the population lives in rural areas (12%) (UNDP, 2008).
A wave of privatization in the telecommunications sector combined with reduced tariffs and increased subsidies for ICTs to boost investments in network expansion in the 1990s, with Universal Access Funds set up to subsidize rural ICTinfra-structure since 1995 (ODI, 2008; Silva & Figueroa, 2002). The administration of Michelle Bachelet embraced a universal access policy for education, which promotes digital literacy in schools. In 2002, the government launched Infocentro, a national network of telecenters located in public buildings and public libraries to provide free Internet access and other office services; as many as 729 were in operation nationwide in 2008 (SubTel, 2008).
Civil society groups partnered with the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) university in 2003 to launch the Programa Redes Telecentros Comunitários (Community Telecenter Network Program) which established non-profit community telecenters in 17 localities, 94% of which are located in poverty-stricken remote rural areas (Programa Redes, 2008). Each telecenter has on average seven computers with Internet connection and two printers; some also have laptops, digital cameras and photocopiers. Flexible hours of operation include evenings and weekends to facilitate community access and attendance at skills training sessions (Delgadillo, Gómez, & Stoll, 2002). The network publishes a portal, located at www.telecentroscomunitarios.cl, the Web site analyzed in this case study.
Colombia
In 2007, Internet penetration in Colombia was the fifth highest in Latin America, at 26%, yet broadband access remained minimal at 2.6% (ITU 2008). The literacy rate in Colombia (92.8%) is among the highest in the region, and 23% of the total population of45 million live in rural areas (CIA, 2008; UNDP, 2008). The Networked Readiness Index for 2007-2008 ranked the country 69th, behind El Salvador in 66th and ahead of the Dominican Republic in 75th (World Economic Forum, 2008).
The Colombian government has been at the forefront of initiatives to bridge the digital divide in the country. Since 2000, the Agenda de Conectividad (Connectivity agenda) program has promoted an e-government initiative that promotes communication among government agencies and with the citizenry (Agenda de Conectividad, 2008). Other government-led programs include Computadores para Educar (Computers for Education), which provides schools with ICT access under a partnership with the private sector, and Compartel, an agency of the Ministry of Telecommunications responsible for promoting social policy. Colombia was one of the first nations in the region to launch a concerted, government-led ICT for development strategy, which evolved through trial and error and however, without input or active participation from civil society (Bissio, Curry, & Esterhuysen, 2007).
Compartel established 1,490 telecenters which service five million people in rural areas of the country, 53% of whom earn less than theminimum wage (Ministério de Comunicaciones, 2007). Each telecenter has between two and twelve computers with Internet access, and as many as three telephone lines (Ministério de Comunicaciones, 2008). The goal of these telecenters has been to provide infrastructure and communication to remote areas, yet they also provide skills training and create relevant local content (Portal nacional, 2008). The telecenters share a network portal, located at www.telecentros.org.co, which was analyzed for this case study.
Internet penetration in the Dominican Republic at year end 2007 was 17.2%, yet only 1.6% of users had broadband access (ITU, 2008). Access is on the rise, having increased 56% over previous year figures (Indotel, 2008). In 2005, 36.2% of the total population of the Dominican Republic, an estimated three and one-quarter million people, lived in rural areas and more than 92% of those had access to telecommunication (Rey, 2006). The Networked Readiness Index for 2007-2008 ranked the country 75th, ahead of Southern Cone economic powerhouse Argentina’s rank at 77th and behind Colombia’s at 69th (World Economic Forum, 2008).
At the time of this writing, the Dominican Republic had inaugurated 43 Community Technology Centers, or CTCs (Centros Tecnológicos Comunitários) in remote rural areas throughout the country, under the auspices of the federal government. The CTCs form the basis of an initiative to foster prosperity by promoting literacy, providing skills training, and connecting isolated communities through the use of information communication technologies and community media. In 2001, the Dominican Republic was the second country in Latin America to establish a LINCOS (Little Intelligent Communities) prototype, following Costa Rica (Ferreira, 2008). The pilot, launched under the first Leonel Fernández Administration, was the genesis of the CTC program, which is now poised to expand during the President’s third term in office (Encarnación Castillo, 2008).
Each telecenter consists of a new building containing a computer room, a library, a child care nursery, and facilities that include telephone service, copying and faxing capabilities. Use of the premises is free and open to the public. The project is scheduled to publish a community portal, to be located at http://www.ctc.org.do, yet the launch has been delayed due to lengthy governmental approval processes (I. Madera, personal communication, April 18, 2008). Due to this delay, this study analyzed the Web site published by the El Limón telecenter, located at www.el-limon.org. El Limón, a mountainous farming community located in the southwestern part of the island, was the first isolated rural area in the country with public Internet access, organized as a non-profit in partnership with the EcoPartners Centre for Religion, Ethics, and Social Policy at Cornell University (UNDP, 2003).
Only one out of ten Salvadorans had Internet access in 2006 and broadband access was minimal (1.3%) as was computer penetration (5%) (ITU 2008). Forty percent of the seven million people in the country live in rural areas, and 30% of all Salvadorans lived below the poverty line (CIA, 2008; UNDP, 2008). The Networked Readiness Index for 2007-2008 ranked the country 66th, immediately following Uruguay and ahead of Colombia’s ranking at 69th (World Economic Forum, 2008).
In1999, the Salvadoran government partnered with the World Bank and the private sector to launch the Infocentros association, a non-profit based on a telecenter franchising model deployed by the Red Científica Peruana NGO in Peru. The initiative focused as much on the development of content and applications of relevance to users, as it did on providing affordable computers, Internet access, and skills training. (Khelladi, 2001). In 2008, 33 telecenters nationwide were listed as part of the association. The association runs a network portal located at www.infocentros.org.sv, analyzed in this case study.
Regarding RQ#1, which examined the content and characteristic of the portals, the analysis indicated that all had good or superior navigability functions and active hyperlinks with the exception of those in Egypt, El Salvador, and Syria. The portalsin Brazil and Colombia were the only ones to provide the user with search engines. The portals in Jordan and the Dominican Republic were the only ones to offer content in the English language. All portals were available in the local language of the community they served.
The analysis of visual references showed that all the portalspublished their own logo on the homepage. Most of thetelecenters also displayedgovernment, NGO, or commercial logos. Portals in Jordan and Sudan were the only ones to display photos ofnational symbols. Except for theBrazilian portal, all Latin American portals showed photos of adults at computer stations. In the Arab World, this was the case for Jordan alone. Four of all the portals, two in each region,pictured children at computer stations and half portrayed gender diversity.All Latin American portals prominently featured their surroundings with photos of nature or local architecture. Among the Arab portals, only Syria’s displayed photos of their locality, albeit inthumbnail sizes.
Table 3. Coding Results- Photos.
As for RQ#2, regarding the functions and uses of the portals, results show that all fulfilledsurveillance functionswith the provision of news stories, program and event information. Most also met coordination, socialization, and entertainment functions, primarily through links to contact information and email feedback options. Socializing functions were evident in the display of statistics and lists of activities. As for the portals that metentertainment functions, most did so through photos and links to other sites.
Table 4. Coding Results- Mass Communication Functions.
Regarding RQ#3,in terms of the extent to which telecenter portals create virtual community, results show that most of the portalsstressed eitherknowledge or skill-building. Only two portals facilitated and emphasized community-building of any kind. In regards to the focus of the use of ICTs, results showed that the content stressed thecivic or economic benefits of ICT use; onlytwo of the portals focused on cultural benefits. Finally, although half of the portals had interactive features such as discussion forums, the one in Brazil alone offered the interactivity of a chat application and video streaming.
Table 5. Coding Results- Interactivity.
Discussion
The studyof telecenter portals indicates thatcommunities in different countries areembracing and participating indigital literacy in different ways. Overall, all portals met acceptable levels of navigability indicating technological aptitude and competency. Although most of the content on the World Wide Web is published in English, portals built for local communities in the Arab world and in Latin America publish content in the respective local languages. This indicates that the primary target for these portals is local audiences, and that they are not focused on projecting an image of their community to a wider international audience.
The presence of telecenter or community logos in the portals signals ownership of a virtual space. The presence of national symbols in the Jordanian and Sudanese portals asserts the government's central role in the telecenter programs in these countries. On the other hand, the prominent presence of photos of local community settings in the Latin American portalsindicates that in those programs, community takes precedence overgovernmentor outside agents. In a similar way, photos of adults atcomputer stationsin the Latin American portals highlight the importance of adult digital literacy for these communities.
Analysis of the indicators of interactivity showed minimal use of interactive applications such as chat, bulletin boards, and newsletters, showing that the portals have not yet widely adopted the participatory toolsthatallow for spontaneous engagement by users in the community. Multimedia functions such as audio and video streaming were seldom present. Judging from the mass communication functions evident in the content, news stories and program information are commonly published as edited copy, rather than in the form of news releases. Surprisingly few portals posted maps and directions, hours of operation, or class schedules to guide users to the telecenters. Only few solicited volunteers online. Overall, the content of the majority of the portalsactively promoted digital literacy as skill-building, rather than community-building.
Although much can be learned from the examinationof telecenter portals, the small sample size severely limits the generalizability of these findings. Still, this initial exploratory study is the first comparative study conducted on the content created by telecenter communities in these developing nations. As such, it provides data on which to build future research.
As the Arab world and Latin America engage in efforts to bridge the digital divide in the 21st century, telecenter projects have emerged as a potent tool in the dissemination of digital literacy. If,asmaintained by Papert's constructionism theory, learning is best achieved through active participation in the construction of meaning that is relevant to the student, it follows that hands-on contributionand interactive participationinthe creation of localportals can be key to cementing digital literacy. This study found evidence that the portals developed by telecenters in the Arab world and in Latin America have yet to adopt interactive applications that would allow users to freely participate and contribute to the creation of virtual community. Without these applications, local users may be less motivated to practice digital literacy skills and build personal meaning online. Insofar as the content of the telecenter portals reflects local community, local issues, and local concerns, it becomes more relevant and therefore more engaging to users.
Finally,it is important to note that most of the telecenters analyzed in this study prioritized skills training and technological competency over knowledge acquisition aimed at human development.The focus on potential individual economic gain and the emphasis on digital literacy as a job creation tool disconnect ICT adoption from its potential as a tool for community-building that can foster prosperity and reduce poverty, as proposed by the WSIS.
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