The Second Annual Rebele First Amendment Colloquium

Designing for Freedom: Values in Communication Technologies

May 17th, 3:00–5:30pm
Mendenhall Library, Building 120.
Stanford University
Free and Open to the Public
Reception following

Communication technologies have long been heralded as the harbingers of unprecedented freedoms, including the promise of decoupling expression from physical constraints and political scrutiny. These promises are not accidental: many organizations, from private corporations like Google to open-source software projects like One Laptop Per Child, specifically build their machines and software to embody these values. At times, however, the full implications of these design choices are not fully understood until the technology is put into use. In the process of appropriating, re-negotiating, and sometimes countering a technological artifact, users - from governments to schoolchildren - bring their own values and practices to bear on it, often with unanticipated consequences.

What happens when the values of these groups conflict? When we account for the sundry cultures of designers and users, what are the implications of these technologies for society and free expression? The 2010 Rebele First Amendment Panel will explore the ways in which the design and use of communication technologies can help or hinder freedom of expression. We will explore the process by which technologies come to embody and symbolize values, how values are negotiated by various groups as the technology goes into use, and the implications of these processes for free communication.

Michael Trucano, the World Bank's Senior ICT and Education Policy Specialist, posted a story on EduTech -- the World Bank blog on ICT use in education -- about best practices in the sector, or the lack thereof. Instead, Michael encourages us to think of worst practices, as they are easier to identify:

"Here's a list of some of what I consider to be the preeminent 'worst practices' related to the large scale use of ICTs in education in developing countries, based on first hand observation over the past dozen or so years.  I have omitted names (please feel free to fill them in yourself).  The criterion I used for selection was simple: The given worst practice was easily observable in multiple prominent initiatives, with (one fears) a high likelihood of re-occurrence, in the same or other places.  In no particular order:

1. Dump hardware in schools, hope for magic to happen

2. Design for OECD learning environments, implement elsewhere

3. Think about educational content only after you have rolled out your hardware

4. Assume you can just import content from somewhere else

5. Don't monitor, don't evaluate

6. Make a big bet on an unproven technology (especially one based on a  closed/proprietary standard) or single vendor, don't plan for how to avoid 'lock-in

7. Don't think about (or acknowledge) total cost of ownership/operation issues or calculations

8. Assume away equity issues