Digitisation of Pacific Countries

Nick Thieberger, 
University of Melbourne

Greetings from "Digitisation for Pacific cultural materials" by Nick Thieberger from University of Melbourne, at ANU Department of Pacific Affairs. This is a fascinating presentation about Paradisec, an archive of digitized audio and other cultural material of the Pacific. One sad point was that Tuvalu is considering a digital backup of the country, if it disappears underwater, due to global warming. It will not be the first such endeavor as Estonia a ready backs up government data in some embassies in case the country is overrun, and government records are destroyed or must be erased to keep them out of enemy hands.

Digital Indonesia Conference in Canberra

The Digital Indonesia: Challenges and Opportunities of the Digital Revolution Conference will be at the Australian National University in Canberra, 16 and 17 September 2016. This is free to attend, but registration is required. The Draft program includes:

1. Digital economy: opportunities, Mari Pangestu, The University of Indonesia
2. Mobile telephony, Emma Baulch, Queensland University of Technology
3. The digital economy: challenges, Bede Moore, Digital entrepreneur
4. Internet and overcoming ‘the digital divide’, Onno W Purbo, Surya University
5. Hacking culture: between art, technology and science, Edwin Jurriens, The University of Melbourne
6. ‘Disruptive’ technologies and labour: the Go-Jek debate, Michele Ford, The University of Sydney
7. Social media and Islamic practice online/offline, Martin Slama, Austrian Academy of Sciences
8. Using ‘Big data’, Diastika Rahwidiati and Jonggun Lee, UN Pulse Lab Jakarta
9. Digitalising knowledge: education, libraries, archives, Kathleen Azali, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
10. State crackdown online, Usman Hamid, The Australian National University
11. Online counter-terrorism, Nava Nuraniyah, Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict

Students citizenship of the digital world

Greetings from the Australian Computer Society Branch Forum in Canberra, where Dr Karen Macpherson of the University on "Digital Technology and Australian Teenagers: Consumption, Study and Careers". In 2012 the Australian Computer Society (ACS) commissioned a study into school student's use of computer technology and their views on a career in technology. The results have been published by the University of Canberra as "(by Karen Macpherson, May 2013).

The ACS sponsored this research because there are too few young people enrolling in computer science courses at university to meet industry demand. Dr Macpherson took a refreshingly simple approach to answering this question, by simply asking young people about their use of ICT and views on career.

Students interest in studying IT peaks in Year 8 (age 14) of school. But interest in "How Computers Work" stays at a higher level until age 18. This may indicate a problem with the perception of what IT is brought about by school courses.

School students perceive university IT courses as being difficult but interesting. Most students think IT professionals write software and design databases for business. There is little perception of creative uses for IT, such as in robotics. Students though that working in IT meant a dull job sitting at a computer all day. Students wanted a creative, well paid, creative and interesting job. The problem for the IT profession is to point out the creative aspects of IT and also perhaps reform the current school IT curriculum.

Dr. Macpherson pointed out that students wanted interesting "well paid" jobs, but not necessarily professional ones. So I suggest that perhaps ACS should place more emphasis on the vocational path to an IT career, as an alternative to university.

Macpherson reports that young people have a type of “dual citizenship”: in physical space and digital space, with different language and mores. As students, young people make intensive use of on-line information sources, but are not necessarily able to identify definitive content.  Educators then have to help students bridge these cultures. I suggest this might be though of in a similar way to overseas students who have English as a second language. In a way this has always been the case, as student learn the language and culture of higher education.

In teaching university students via the Internet, I find that they know how to use a computer (these are computer science students), but not necessarily how to use it to have a structured professional discussion.

I will be speaking at the 12 November ACS ICT trends in Education" (I am a member of the ACS.

Student dual citizenship in digital and physical worlds

In 2012 the Australian Computer Society (ACS) commissioned a study into school student's use of computer technology and their views on a career in technology. The results have been published by the University of Canberra as "Digital Technology and Australian Teenagers: Consumption, Study and Careers" (by Karen Macpherson, May 2013).

Macpherson reports that young people have a type of “dual citizenship”: in physical space and digital space, with different language and mores. Educators then have to help students bridge these cultures. I suggest this might be though of in a similar way to overseas students who have English as a second language. In a way this has always been the case, as student learn the language and culture of higher education.

In teaching university students via the Internet, I find that they know how to use a computer (these are computer science students), but not necessarily how to use it to have a structured professional discussion.

Dr Karen Macpherson will be speaking about her research at the Australian Computer Society Branch Forum in Canberra,  6 August 2013. I will be speaking at the 12 November ACS ICT trends in Education" (I am a member of the ACS and teach in the ACS Certified Computer Professional Program).