New Media Tools for Bridging the Digital Divide: Access and Cultural Change in Rural Bhutan

• In Event: Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: Digital Storytelling, Process, and Product

Abstract

This study examines the use of digital storytelling as an instructional intervention for bridging the digital divide among children in rural Bhutan. Participants’ for the study included elementary school children who had never been previously exposed to computer technology. Results demonstrated how technology instruction and infrastructure inherently positions ethical and cultural differences between researchers, education personnel, school children and their families. The use of English became an inadvertent gatekeeper for who was chosen to use technology. Another major finding examines how Bhutan’s social awareness for “Gross National Happiness” is inherently juxtaposed in contrast to Western perceptions of modernity and progress. Educators and administrators concerned about technology instruction in developing regions should find this study informative.

Authors

• Khendum Gyabak, Indiana University - Bloomington

• Heriberto Godina, The University of Texas - El Paso