Still looking

I am still looking for an opportunity in my area. There really isn't anything within a 45 min. distance of travel. I have looked into a couple of places and sent some emails but haven't yet heard back from anyone. You would think living this close to Philly there would be more volunteering that had to do with computers and technology. I was a shift supervisor at a crisis pregnancy center for 5 years before Grad school, but due to changing shifts at work and changing discussions times for class, I haven't been able to participate with them.

I would love to work with them again, but due to money problems they don't have the facilities to support a class. In a lot of ways it is a digital divide. Other than the main computer that houses all of the client files there are no other computers. The people in the community are poor, many of the girls we see go to a special school so they can finish their classes while they are pregnant. But due to funding they still come over to use our 1 computer to learn computer skills.

I obviously grew up as a technical "have". My parents purchased our first computer when I was 5. It was an Apple computer that was still amazingly portable for it's time. I would take it to school with me in 2nd grade so my teacher and fellow classmates could use it. I still remember explaining how to use this computer to my teacher, she had never personally used one before. I was amazingly lucky to have a computer in the late 80's, early 90's. But there are still a great many people that cannot imagine the possibility of owning a computer or at least having a new, internet accessible computer.

However we live in a time of change. I am really enjoying the Inequality.com book. It is amazing to think that when Alexander Graham Bell first invented his telephone, it was not just novel, but practically useless due to the fact that no one else had one. It took many years before telephones became standard in a house. We could be in for the same changes in internet accessibility. You no longer need to own a computer to access the internet, there are PDAs, iPhones, and even the iTouch. As long as you have access to a computer you can download music and other items to your phone or device. You don't necessarily need one of your own.

There are possibilities, but they all are all centered on the next administration's policies. We will have to wait to see our future.