opinions without interference and to
seek, receive and impart information
and ideas through any media and re-
gardless of frontiers.”
No doubt, fresh in their minds
as they wrote this was the image of
people huddled around forbidden
radios eagerly searching for precious
information and ideas upon which
their hopes for security would rise or
fall. That same image springs to mind
as we read of the ongoing struggles of
Iranian dissidents who fervently seek
to maintain their connections and
have their voices heard by the outside
world despite government censorship
of Internet and cell phone service.
Perhaps less dramatic, but no less
significant, is the shift seen in the 2008
U.S. presidential elections to mobilize
voters to participate in the democratic
process through an unprecedented
grassroots effort conducted online.
It was this online presence that argu-
Being able to navigate and collaborate in a variety of Internet
environments, including social networking sites, is an essential
skill for employees of the future.
ably helped win the race for Barack
Obama. It doesn’t take much imagination to visualize the kingmaker role
the Internet will play in the 2012 elections and beyond.
So Internet access is vital for a par-
ticipatory democracy. But what about
something more basic, such as having
a roof over one’s head and food on the
table? Can a person make a decent liv-
ing without knowing how to use Twit-
ter? Well, sure. For now. But literacy
is to gainful employment generally as
media literacy is to 21st-century em-
ployment. Being able to navigate and
collaborate in a variety of Internet en-
vironments, including social network-
ing sites, is an essential skill for em-
ployees of the future. Try to imagine
a college graduate in 2020 finding a
decent job where Internet skills aren’t
important. Yeah, I can’t either.
Natalie Bernasconi is a National Board Certified
English teacher and technology literacy coach at
La Paz Middle School in Salinas, California. Her
doctoral research focuses on access to technology
as a social justice issue.
Locke, Jefferson, Mason, and others.
These basic human rights express how
an individual is entitled to live life
in society. Access to the Internet can
aid in exercising such rights, but it is
merely one of innumerable tools to
do so.
Basic human rights do not depend
on the presence of long chains of resources. They are supportable through
clearly defined laws wherein it is clear
whether or not a right is being violated. Internet access depends on providing a computing device, a network
gateway, electricity, an environment in
which to use the device, transportation to that environment, security to
be free from coercion or undue influence in using the device, education on
how to use the device and how to navigate the Internet, ways to overcome
language barriers, and on and on, all
irrespective of an individual’s ability
to pay for such resources. If any one
of these elements is not provided to
Were access to pens and paper, typewriters, and printing presses
basic human rights prior to the invention of the Internet? Basic human
rights are absolutely fundamental aspects of individualism in a societal
context that do not change over time.
every individual on the planet, does
that necessarily mean that basic human rights have been violated?
Basic human rights are not invented
as technologies emerge. They exist
perpetually from the first moments
that humans gathered into familial
and social groups. Claiming that basic
human rights are dependent on in-
ventions leads one down a path where
rights pop into and out of existence
on a never-ending basis. Consider, for
example, a future where the Internet
no longer exists. With no Internet,
there could no longer be a basic hu-
man right to access it. How could it
have been a basic human right at one
time in our future history, but not
after? Were access to pens and paper,
typewriters, and printing presses basic
human rights prior to the invention
of the Internet? Basic human rights
are absolutely fundamental aspects
of individualism in a societal context
that do not change over time.
James Maxlow began his career as a middle
school math teacher and has spent the last six
years in instructional technology. He is the lead
technology curriculum integration specialist for
Newport News Public Schools in Virginia.
