Sid the Science Kid

The other day I became aware of a wonderful piece of children's television programming, a show called Sid the Science Kid.  The show also has a wonderful web site.  My children are 5 and 3 respectively.  We do not allow them to watch too much television but when we do we try focus on educational programming.  They spend a lot of time watching shows such as Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer on NickJr.

My friend who mentioned the show to me is a principal at an urban elementary school in San Antonio.  He was so excited about using this show as part of the curriculum he immediately ran out on his lunch hour to purchase a DVD of the show.  To his surprise, when he arrived at the local Best Buy store in his neighborhood he learned that they did not carry the DVD.

My friend thought this interesting.  The store was loaded with all sorts of entertainment DVD but has very little to offer in terms of educational content.  He wondered if he would have a better chance to find educational DVDs such as Sid the Science Kid if he were to try at a suburban Best Buy.  That is indeed an interesting question.  Does the urban Best Buy not carry the educational DVD because people in those neighborhoods rarely purchase or request such media?

Fortunately, my first instinct was simply to check for the content on iTunes.  Sure enough there it was and i downloaded it and had it on my iPad within seconds without even leaving my chair where I was having the conversation.  Not only am I not subject to the buying prejudices of Best Buy, be they justifiable or not, but also never left the comfort of my phone, and I can enjoy the show on a myriad of devices.

Sid the Science Kid is a great.  I would definitely searching your content provider and making it a habit of allowing your children to watch this show on TV as well as frequenting the website.  It is a wonderful way to use TV for learning.

Oh yeah.  I do live in the suburbs.  I can't wait to check for the show at the Best Buy in my neighborhood.

Stay Tuned.

The New Digital Divide

Until African Americans are no longer under represented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in the workplace, academia, and business there will still be a digital divide.


The digital divide is not simply a matter of dividing society into groups of the technology rich and the technology poor.  Paul Gorski, a scholar who has studied the digital divide in terms of multicultural education, defines the digital divide thusly:


The race digital divide is a symptom of racism, and to understand it outside this context diminishes its significance and cripples our ability to address it effectively.




I agree.  It is not like the digital divide is unrelated to the achievement gap or the astronomical dropout rate or the enormous unemployment in the black community.  They are all related.  The causes for these gaps and divides are largely social.  


This problem is not solved by delivering physical machines to schools or making sure every child has a cell phone as I read recently in an article promoting the cell phone as the end to the digital divide.  The quote below is from the article in T.H.E. journal.


Smart phones are the one technology that can eliminate the digital divide, given the cost of the device, it is very conceivable that every child, rich or poor, can have one.


Speaking of crippling our ability to address the divide effectively.  This would be true if the issue was simply a matter of physical devices.  But it is not that simple.  If that were the case all we would have to do to erase the divide and thus rectify the under representation of African Americans in STEM would be to make sure African Americans have access to just as much technology as everyone else and the problem would be solved.  


Time has proven this not to be the case.  Yet folks are still espousing this point of view.  I am so tired of reading in books, magazines, and online articles about how African Americans are online more than their white counterparts.  We are accessing Twitter and Facebook more than our white counterparts.  Are we writing applications for Facebook?


Are we benefiting economically from the enormous amount of time we are spending on these sites?  I am well aware they are many blacks who have founded businesses using these technologies.  Folks such as Internet Marketers and social media experts.  I am talking strictly from a technology point of view.  That is the study that I am waiting to see.  


How African Americans have closed the gap in terms of the number of technology companies we have built or how we are leading the way in terms of undergraduate computer science degrees that were awarded this year.


In fact, a recent article in USAToday discussing how African Americans were leading the way in online social media even pointed out how the top two posts on Twitter (in terms of followers) were created by an African American.  Great.  And how does that empower our communities?  


How does it help us to produce more jobs in our communities or help more African American women get into the gaming industry?  The March 2011 edition of Black Enterprise did a feature story on Women in STEM.   On the cover of this issue their is a picture of a sister on the cover holding a game controller.


Sure enough as I read the article and learned more about Lisette Titre,who is a video game animator, one of her comments was I've never worked with an African American woman in an artist's capacity.  Right.  But at least we are rocking Facebook and Twitter!  We must broaden our definition of the digital divide.

Multicultural Youth Study

Yesterday in the midst of South By Southwest (SXSW) in downtown Austin I was part of a Multicultural Youth Study.  I was invited by Maria Madrigal who learned about my work in education and technology with communities of color from my presence on the web.  The goal of the study was understanding how Latino and African Americans identify and relate to technology, fashion, music and content.

It was a great experience and an opportunity to share my thoughts on technology (not just social media or the great news that Latino's and African Americans are online more than their white counterparts), but an opportunity to talk about the real issues of digital inequities and delineate some of the factors that lead to our young people's lack of participation in the digital society.

SXSW Blacks in Technology Weekend Kickoff Event Video

Here is a short video of the SXSW Blacks in Technology Weekend Kickoff Event.

SXSW Blacks in Technology Weekend

SXSW Blacks in Technology Weekend got off to a great Start on Friday evening at the Carver Museum. 

This was primarily a networking event.  And as such it was very successful.  Many thanks to Donell Creech of GriotMedia for including me in such an important event.

I was also able to re-connect with some of the brothers and sisters who are making it happen on the Austin entrepreneur and tech scene such as Sonia Gaillard and Kevin Williams.

We enjoyed great conversation, food, music and a brief talk on The State of Blacks in Technology from University of Texas Professor S. Craig Watkins, whose book The Young and the Digital I am currently reading as part of my dissertation research.  I was able to speak with Dr. Watkins briefly about my research and received some very encouraging words and hopefully will be connected to someone at UT that will be able to help with my study.  

I also met leaders who I have connected with online but never met face-to-face such as the dynamic Elizabeth Bert and the prolific and ubiqutious Anjuan Simmons and many others.  Anjuan does not miss much.  Although after speaking with him briefly he did not participate in R.I.S.E. (Relationship and Information for Entrepreneurs). 

Since we have have officially connected I will do my best to make sure he brings his talents and energy to that wonderful event next year.  These are folks who are changing the game.  And based on the Twiiter comments Anjuan did a masterful job in his session on Saturday interactive panel, What Comic Books Can Teach Mobile Application Designers.

This was a fantastic event where I connected with folks young and old who are not only involved in technology, but also interested in bridging the digital divide.  Don't believe the hype the divide is alive and well it has only morphed into a different manifestation of the same social and economic inequities that are the root cause.


If our communities are to continue to move forward in terms of participating more fully in the information society, events such as these will have to continue to develop and mature.  Although a good time was had by all there was also much collaborative learning that took place and the social capital that was created and fostered is critical to the next generation's social inclusion.