IDIA2009 Conference
A Learning to Learn Approach to Digital Inclusion in Social Contexts
Fabio N. Akhras
Renato Archer Center of Information Technology, São Paulo, Brazil
Abstract
This paper presents an approach to digital and social inclusion in which learning for digital inclusion is situated in the social context of the learners, and is based on authentic activities of project development that are meaningful in this context. The emphasis is much more on learning to construct and participate in a community of knowledge than on learning to acquire a body of knowledge. The approach includes two phases. In the first phase, digital inclusion is based on learning to create content for the internet. The students learn a language to create content for the internet developing prototypes of learning portals on subjects that are relevant for their community. The focus on creating learning portals as part of their learning for digital inclusion allows the students not only to address issues of using an internet language but also to address issues of using the internet for learning, leading them to explore a learning to learn perspective. In the second phase, the aim is to extend this perspective to the whole community making the students and the community work together to create a learning portal that can benefit the community. This methodology is being applied to a project of promoting learning for digital inclusion in poor rural communities of the Brazilian Northwest. The paper presents a brief description of the first phase of the approach in order to address the second phase, which is the main focus of the paper.
