Public-access computing sites should be treated as new public spaces for collaborative and critical pedagogies, not stop-gap measures toward self-sufficient home users¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article concludes that public-access computing sites "should not be seen as stop-gap measures on the way to an independent and self-sufficient citizenry... but rather as new public spaces to enact collaborative and critical pedagogies that forge a more inclusive society." This strategy reframes drop-in sites as legitimate, ongoing learning venues rather than temporary bridges to private household access.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Sites need sustained funding and volunteer or staff tutors to provide consistent, one-to-one support.

Constraints¶

• The article notes such sites often operate on a shoestring, as with the Digital Café, so rights of access rest precariously on volunteer availability.

Target Learners¶

• Adults who rely on public settings for everyday computer needs

Target Learning Goals¶

• Digital task completion, confidence, fluency, and critical engagement with digital society

Claims¶

• Most Digital Café participants had home Internet but no one to help with everyday computer learning needs [+W]
• Digital access among adults on the margins is not a one-time event but an ongoing, contingent accomplishment requiring an assemblage of resources [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Smythe, S., & Breshears, S. (2017). Complicating Access: Digital Inequality And Adult Learning In A Public-Access Computing Space. The Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, 29(1), 67-81. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1139334