Doing what the computer says vs. telling it what to do

For my online course we have been reading "Toward Digital Equity, Bridging the divide in Education". First of all, the book was published six years ago, and most of the data is from eight or nine years ago, which makes it seem a relic to me, particularly considering the topic.

One topic that has jumped right out at me is the notion that the real digital divide is not about what hardware you have, or how fast your internet connection is (although those things may have a real impact on what I am about to describe). Most "kids these days" can get on a computer but the ones who will leverage that access to their advantage are the ones who can "learn to tell the computer what to do" (Neuman in Conte, 1997). Others will just be passive consumers of the information out there.

When talking about this with my husband he agreed wholeheartedly and couldn't believe I hadn't thought about it before "You do a million things on the internet and are always learning and communicating and expanding your thinking. I check the surf and my email."