everything.study
CMS.930

Media Education and the Marketplace

Undergraduate · Historical course

Fall 2005

This instance of "Media, Education, and the Marketplace" focuses on the rise of information and communications technologies (ICTs) during the age of globalization, specifically examining its effect and potential in developing nations across the world. In particular, the class will focus on the following three components: * "Media" – ICTs, specifically the dramatic rise in use of the Internet over the past twenty years, have "globalized" the world and created opportunities where very few have been available in the past. We are entering a phase where an individual can significantly improve his or her own economical, political, and social circumstances with just a computer and Internet connection. This course investigate these profound developments through current research and case studies. * "Education" – With projects such as MIT's OpenCourseWare, the major players in the world are beginning to understand the true power of ICTs in development. Throughout this class, we examine projects that harness the benefits of ICTs to create positive social change around the world. * "Marketplace" – The focus is on the developing regions of the world. Specifically, the term "digital divide" is tossed around in everyday language, but what does it really mean? Is there an international digital divide, a national digital divide, or both? Should we try to bridge this divide, and how have past attempts succeeded and (for the most part) failed? Why? These are all questions that are asked throughout this course. This course has a very unique pedagogy, which is discussed in more detail in the [syllabus](/courses/21g-034-media-education-and-the-marketplace-fall-2005/pages/syllabus) section.

Readings

  • Norris, Pippa. Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780521002233.
    Required
  • Wresch, William. Disconnected: Haves and Have-nots in the Information Age . New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996. ISBN: 9780813523705.
    Required
  • Goldberg, Carey. “Auditing Classes at MIT, on the Web and Free.” The New York Times , April 4, 2001.
    Required
  • Vest, Charles M. “Why MIT Decided to Give Away All Its Course Materials via the Internet.” The Chronicle of Higher Education: The Chronicle Review , January 30, 2004.
    Required
  • Lerman, Steven R., and Shigeru Miyagawa. “Open Course Ware: A Case Study in Institutional Decision Making.” Academe (September-October 2002).
    Required
  • Diamond, David. “MIT Everywhere.” Wired Magazine , August 27, 2003.
    Required
  • Buy at MIT Press National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “Falling through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide.” In The Digital Divide: Facing a Crisis or Creating a Myth? Edited by Benjamin M. Compaine. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001, pp. 17-46. ISBN: 9780262531931. ↗
    Required
  • Friedman, Thomas. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005, pp. 3-47. ISBN: 9780374292881.
    Required
  • Norris, Pippa. Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001, chapters 1-2, pp. 3-38. ISBN: 9780521002233.
    Required
  • Buy at MIT Press Compaine, Benjamin, ed. “Information Gaps: Myth or Reality?” In The Digital Divide: Facing a Crisis or Creating a Myth? Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001, pp. 105-118. ISBN: 9780262531931. ↗
    Required
  • Buy at MIT Press Compaine, Benjamin, and Mitchell J. Weinramb. “Universal Access to Online Services: An Examination of the Issue.” In The Digital Divide: Facing a Crisis or Creating a Myth? Edited by Benjamin M. Compaine. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001, pp. 147-177. ISBN: 9780262531931. ↗
    Required
  • Alden, Christopher. “Let Them Eat Cyberspace: Africa, the G8 and the Digital Divide.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 32, no. 3 (2003): 457-476.
    Required
  • Friedman, Thomas. The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century . New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005, pp. 309-336. ISBN: 9780374292881.
    Required
  • Gaudi, Manish, and Bryant Harrison. “MIT-AITI Executive Summary: September 2005.” Working paper.
    Required
  • Wresch, William. Disconnected: Haves and Have-nots in the Information Age . New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, Preface, Introduction, and Part I. ISBN: 9780813523705.
    Required
  • Prahalad, C. K. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Wharton School Publishing, 2004, chapters 1, and 3. ISBN: 9780131467507.
    Required
  • Annamalai, Kuttayan, and Sachin Rao. What Works: ITC’s e-Choupal and Profitable Rural Transformation. Case Study by World Resource Institute. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 2003.
    Required
  • Phipps, Keisha, Genevieve Sangudi, and Steven Woolway. What Works: Healthnet Uganda’s Evolution from NGO to Sustainable Enterprise . Case Study by World Resource Institute. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 2003.
    Required
  • Cohen, Nevin. What Works: Grameen Telecom’s Village Phones . Case Study by World Resource Institute. 2001.
    Required
  • Casas, Cynthia, and William LaJoie. Voxiva . Case Study. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 2003.
    Required
  • Larson, Richard C., and M. Elizabeth Murray. “Distance Learning as a Tool for Poverty Reduction: A Focus on Two Countries, China and Mexico.” Submitted as a Working Draft through the Learning International Networks Consortium (LINC) . Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2005.
    Required
  • Hardison, J., D. Zych, J. A. del Alamo, V. J. Harward, S. R. Lerman, S. M. Wang, K. Yehia, and C. Varadharajan. “The Microelectronics WebLab 6.0 - An Implementation Using Web Services and the iLab Shared Architecture.” Presented at the Exploring Innovation in Education and Research Conference . Tainan, Taiwan, March 1-5, 2005.
    Required
  • Del Alamo, J., et al. “iLab: A Scalable Architecture for Sharing Online Experiments.” International Conference on Engineering Education . Gainesville, FL, October 16-21, 2004.
    Required
  • Wresch, William. Disconnected: Haves and Have-nots in the Information Age . New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, part II. ISBN: 9780813523705.
    Required
  • Aanestad, Margunn, et al. Strategies for Development and Integration of Health Information Systems: Coping with Historicity and Heterogeneity . Working Papers in Information Systems. Oslo, Norway: University of Oslo Information Systems group, 2005.
    Required
  • Adeyemi, Ao, Ayegboyin. A Study on the Use of Information Systems to Prevent HIV/AIDS in Lagos State, Nigeria . Informedica: Information and Communication Technologies in Healthcare Development. 3rd Virtual Congress in Internet: March 1-30, 2004.
    Required
  • Braa, Jørn, and Calle Hedberg. Developing District-based Health Care Information Systems: The South African Experience . MS.
    Required
  • Chan, Anita. “Coding Free Software, Coding Free States: Free Software Legislation and the Politics of Code in Peru.” Anthropological Quarterly 77, no. 3 (2004): 531-545.
    Required
  • Norris, Pippa. Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001, parts II and III. ISBN: 9780521002233.
    Required
Sources