Technology's Impact on my Culture

1. I am a 1st generation Canadian. I was born in North York and raised throughout the GTA most of my life. My parents both immigrated from Colombia and have always stressed the importance of my Latino culture. Therefore I have decided to discuss the impact of technology on Colombian culture.

2. While many Canadian's and other first world nations may take the internet for granted, there are many nations across the world where access to the internet is very limited. If it is available, it is only used by the wealthy who can afford the technology required for access. This is very true for the people of Colombia where poverty is very prevalent. Therefore the specific technology I have chosen to focus on is the Internet.

3. The incident I will look at is the launch of the Vive (Live) Digital Plan on October 28 in 2010. This program "seeks to give the country a major technological leap through the massification of Internet and the development of national digital ecosystem" (MINTIC, 2015). The Vive Digital Plan has show true progress and made a positive impact on the lives of many Colombians.

4. I chose this particular example because the impact of it will be felts for years and benefit the future generations of Colombia. The Vive Digital Plan in Colombia is responsible for, "developing the country’s industry and infrastructure and generating Internet usage nationwide, as research shows that as Internet use increases, poverty levels decline and new jobs are created" (Villegas, 2014).

5. References EDUCAUSE. (2014). ELI 7 Things You Should Learn About... Retrieved from: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7097.pdf Feffer, J. (2010, March 2). Will Facebook Remake the World? Harvard International Review. Retrieved from: http://fpif.org/will_facebook_remake_the_world/ MINTIC. (2015). El Plan Vive Digital. Retrieved from: http://www.mintic.gov.co/portal/vivedigital/612/w3-propertyvalue-6106.html Villegas, L.C. (2014, September 9). Technology is driving change in Colombia. Boston Globe. Retrieved from: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/09/19/technology-driving-change-colombia/Fz3eABonGaoQD4JO54EDPK/story.html

6. This is very relevant and important to me because I still have a lot of family back in Colombia. "The government will continue subsidizing low-income families’ purchase of PCs or tablets, and maintaining the lowest price for PCs throughout the region" (Villegas, 2014). The widespread availability of the internet and access devices will make communicating with my family much easier than using a phone and calling cards.

7. This opens up many doors and opportunities for the people of Colombia. "The MOOC has ushered in an era of global access to higher education to anyone with an Internet connection" (EDUCAUSE, 2014). Colombians now have increased access to education that is not available to them in their own country. "No technology is neutral. We can’t help but change in response to the communicative tools that we use" (Feffer,2010). The changes have been positive thus far with poverty levels declining and an improved economy.

8. Creativity: I chose a Mind Map to organize my thoughts regarding the impact of the internet on Colombia. I must say that I was not very impressed with this technology when compared to my previous experiences with piktochart and wix.com. Mindmeister was very limiting and would not allow me to include more than one picture unless I upgraded my account. However, I still tried something new and organize my thoughts from a blank template so I consider it a success. I just would have liked the opportunity to do more.