Internet and Digital Literacy Indigenous Employment

Question: Describe about the Internet and Digital Literacy for Indigenous Employment. Answer: Literature Review According to estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander comprise of roughly 700,000 people or approximately three percent of the Australian total population. Most of these marginalized groups live in South Wales (208,500) and Queensland (190,000) inhabitants (ABS, 2015). The Aboriginal are today known to have a younger age population compared tot eh non-indigenous population, comprising of massive proportions of citizens who are young and a smaller percentage of elderly. The median age of the Aboriginals by 2011 was 21.8 years comparatively to the 37 years of the indigenous population (Mahadeva, 2016). Fig 1.0 Age group comparison of the Aboriginal VS Non-indigenous To be precise with the above statistics, amongst the people identified as Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander in 2011, it is only 6 percent of this particular cluster were Torres Strait Islander and 4 percent combination of both, while the rest 90 percent were identified as pure Aboriginal. As of June 2011, approximately 33 percent of the Aboriginals and Torres stayed in the main cities across Australia. An additional 15 percent remained in inner regional Australia, another 15 percent were in outer regional Australia, while the rest stayed in remote and very remote regions of Australia (Department of Aboriginal Affairs, 2016). The scenario is indicated in the table below. Aboriginals and Torres Non-Indigenous Total Remoteness of the Region Percentage Percentage Percentage Major Capitals 34 72 70 Inner regions 22 18 19 Outer Regions 21 9 9 Remote regions 8 1 1 Very remote regions 14 1 1 Table 1.0: Percentage of Aboriginal VS non-indigenous in Australian regions Therefore, due to marginalization, the aboriginals are consistently associated with isolation with extremely minimal levels of literacy and to be precise digital literacy. The group is known to lack basic computing skills such as sending and reading emails, using typical office applications, or even browsing the internet (Cicarelli, 2012). As a result, the Aboriginals are unable to tap into the opportunities presented through the information superhighway (ABS, 2010). How to Assist the Aboriginals living in remote areas of Australia One of the best ways to instill digital literacy is to ensure that all the Aboriginals possess basic literacy skills. Such a population groups should have access to tools that will teach them how to read and writer. However, since literacy is a long process that may take almost two decades, and often it is a prerogative of the government to ensure that all citizens are equally educated. Therefore I am proposing a digital literacy program that will teach basic digital literacy skills such as operating computers, processing documents, accessing the internet and reading/replying emails (Deakin University, 2010). The digital literacy program will mostly focus on the active and young minds, and the opportunities will be on merit, first come first served. Through the initiative, there shall be a digital literacy hub that integrates an interactive and a digital platform system comprising of proactive IT tools, schooling resources, and libraries that will improve upon the indigenous population digital literacy skills (Rivoltella, 2008). The dynamic learning environment will provide interactive learning sessions through: Electronic Books: These are targeted to kids from age 3-14, and they will comprise of audiovisual materials designed specifically for the original audience. Literacy and Numeracy Games: Through interaction, the tools can extract meaningful engagement and collaboration, and as a result enhance proficiency in reading and grammar. Testing and Evaluation: It will mainly challenge the learners to improve their skills in general knowledge, spelling, and arithmetics Education Resources: It will comprise of interactive puzzles and downloadable forms that engage and challenge student's mind in numeracy and literacy progression. Webinar Portal: It is designed to introduce the learners to the world of the internet, and it will be used in setting appointments between mentors, tutors, and the students. Through engagements from the portal, students will have more interactive sessions with their peers, and through practice, they can begin accepting the benefits of online technologies. Portal for indigenous employment: This particular platform will act as an initial step towards introducing the Aboriginals into the world of opportunities presented by the internet. Vacancies shall be posted in different sectors such as education, government, non-governmental initiatives, and the indigenous population will also be provided with an opportunity for an internship. Aboriginals Digital Literacy Program Under the Aboriginals digital literacy program, various initiatives shall be introduced geared towards enhancing the level of participation of all the Aboriginals and the wider community to participate in critical subjects such as mathematics, engineering, science, and technology to improve their digital literacy skills. The program is going to be designed with a sole focus on tackling the digital divide through ensuring that learners, who are the Aboriginals living in remote regions of Australia. These are also the target group who are suffering from falling behind in the digital era are accorded an opportunity to participate and engage themselves with modern information systems infrastructure (Wempen, 2014). Some of the initiatives likely to be undertaken through such a program include: Up-skilling the Instructors There shall be a world-class curriculum that will provide learners with the challenges inherent with a digital village. Village-specific cybercafs shall be set up that will equip the students with requisite skills to proactive to engage themselves in an online community. The program will recruit instructors who will teach courses that enable the aboriginals to develop basic reading and writing skills about modern technologies. The instructors will also be re-trained fresh so that their training skills scales with the demands of the Aboriginals since these are the marginalized groups living in some of the remotest parts of Australia (Hjorth, 2009). Some of the skills that they should be taught include Listening, talking and explaining points, illustrating by an example, aboriginal culture, the average literacy rate of the Aboriginal so that the instructors exactly knows how to explain points to the target group. Up-skilling the Learners The program shall be 100 percent sponsored through the initiative, however, due to the limited capacity at the training center, participants will be required to register with their official names so that they can be assigned class and lab sessions. The classroom and lab sessions will be strict so that there are no cases of overcrowding the rooms, however, during instances when a class or lab session is incomplete, a learner through request can be allowed to attend any of the sessions (Eisenberg et al., 2004). To foster collaboration in the initiative, the program will run contests that set different computing/coding challenges to the Aboriginals. There shall be boot camps where learners are taught critical information skills such as email and internet etiquette. Through such boot camps, students are taught how to convey their messages through the use of proper language and which types of websites to visit using a public computer. Learners will also be taught on the benefits of being digital literate, and how they can harness the power of the internet in business, medicine, learning, and applying for jobs. Learners will also be taught on how to use standard computer applications such as spreadsheets, word processors, and power point presentations. However, such educational dispensation shall only be limited to learners with at least ten years of learning inside a classroom since the program is not designed as a literacy program per se, but a digital literacy initiative geared towards the Aboriginals who at least can read and write. Facilitation of Partnership with Industry Stakeholders The digital learning initiative shall provide flexible support partnership with industry players and the learners, through helping both students and learners understand how digital literacy is applied in a real world scenario. The students will be given internship opportunities to do simple tasks such as reading/replying emails, data entry, scanning for prospective job applications and also learning on how they can assist fellow Aboriginals find a market for their farm produce through the internet (Henderson, 2012). Funding of the Programme The program shall have a budget, however, the budget is not limited, and well-wishers including non-governmental organizations, foundation, civil society, the private sector and the government can come in donate anything that they think will go a long way towards the sustenance of the digital learning initiative. Among the products likely to be accepted include: Equipment Required Pre-fabricated containers either 20 or 40 feet long These vessels will act as classrooms or computer laboratories, and they will be partitioned and remodeled to reflect a standard class. The containers are preferred due to their portability, durability, and their ease to customize. Computers These include Desktop computers, laptops, Tablet devices, Application software's, and mobile devices These gadgets will be used as the client system that learners will utilize as practical tools in their digital literacy programs. Apps will be developed to assist students to engage in the lab environment, while at work, and also while at home to provide them with a practical approach to the benefits of digital learning. Learners will be shown how different mobile Apps work and their benefits to the society and how students can use these Apps to improve their lives. Standby Generators and Solar Systems These electricity generation appliances will mainly be used to the power of the computer systems and other gadgets in the laboratory. They are also ideal since the containerized laboratories can be installed in very remote regions that are very far from the power grid. Internet Connection The Internet will mainly be supplied through a satellite link, because, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology is considered to be borderless and can penetrate even the most remote regions such as islands. However, for the internet connection to be active, the computers will have to be inter-networked through a Local Area Network (LAN) system. Other mandatory devices that work alongside the internet shall include; routers, switch, and Voice over Telephony (VOIP) system. Projector Screen It will be used as the primary display inside the classroom and at the laboratory that the instructor shall be using to teach practical digital literacy skills. The projector screen shall be connected to the instructor's laptop machine, and through the screen, learners will learn step by step instruction on how to word process, read/send emails, check job opportunities, collaborate via social media, even entertain themselves through digital platforms. Printers They are mainly used to convert softcopy documents into hardcopy format and students will also be taught about the benefits of converting from hardcopy to softcopy and vice versa. Desks These will be used to place the machines and will also provide some platform that students can use to scribble some points in their hardcopy notepads Chairs They will be used for seating inside the classrooms and the laboratories. References 4704.0 - The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal ... (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2016, from https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/lookup/4704.0Chapter210Oct 2010 Cicarelli, J. (2012). Economic Thought Among American Aboriginals Prior to 1492. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 71(1), 77-125. doi:10.1111/j.1536-7150.2011.00817.x Department of Aboriginal Affairs (2015). Retrieved October 19, 2016 from https://www.daa.wa.gov.au/about-the-department/news/from-the-dreaming-to-modernity/?epieditmode=true Digital Literacy - Deakin University. (2010). Retrieved October 17, 2016, from https://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/38006/digital-literacy.pdf Eisenberg, M. B., Lowe, C. A., Spitzer, K. L., Spitzer, K. L. (2004). Information literacy: Essential skills for the information age. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Henderson, R. (2012). Teaching literacies in the middle years: Pedagogies and diversity. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press. Hjorth, I. A. (2009). Digital literacy: A critical investigation of definitions, applications and assumptions in initiatives and policies in the UK and beyond. Key Indicators. (2015). Retrieved October 17, 2016, from https://www.abs.gov.au/ Mahadeva, D. (n.d.). Dalits and Aboriginals: Rebuilding India and Australia. Retrieved October 17, 2016, from https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/09/dalits-aboriginals-rebuilding-india-australia-160928153557057.html Rivoltella, P. C. (2008). Digital literacy: Tools and methodologies for information society. Hershey PA: IRM Press. Wempen, F. (2014). Computing fundamentals: Digital literacy. Place of publication not identified: John Wiley.