In our August 2022 Community Chat, and with members of the Caribbean tech community, Dr Denise Charles and Gerard Best, the panel discusses: parenting digital natives; and digital literacy and an emerging Caribbean digital culture: threat or promise?

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and Stitcher!

Although we are all likely to agree that the digital evolution that has occurred has been a good thing, and has improved our lives, we would also need to acknowledge the changes, trade-offs and adjustments that we have had to make. These changes are not necessarily good or bad, but are a consequence of the integration of new technologies in various aspects of our lives. However, we, as individuals, can to some degree, manage the impact that technology has on our lives, and so try to strike a balance that is right for us.

Having said this, and as much as we might wish to control the impact of technology on us, we are not immune to its impact on our communities, countries and the world at large. Global phenomena and trends are also having an impact on how we perceive technology and the world around us, along with the extent to which we rely on it. To that end, it is critical that we not just consider the role it is playing in our lives, but also how its impact on our communities – local and global – affects us.

Introducing our guests and their topics

Gerard Best

Gerard Best is the Executive Director of Gerard Best and Associates Limited. He is also a Caribbean-based Development Journalist with a special interest in how the Internet is changing Caribbean society. He blogs at SightLine, an industry blog covering infrastructure resilience, network peering and interconnection, local content opportunities, marketplace regulation, Internet governance, cybersecurity, and Internet organisation meetings, all from a Caribbean perspective.

As the parent of two young children, Gerard had to figure out how to manage internet access and use by his children when schools were closed over the past two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He thus suggested we discuss Parenting Digital Natives, noting that the upcoming generations will be more innately versed in technology than their parents, but their parents are not only grappling with understanding technology, but also providing guidance to their children on a medium they might not be fully comfortable with.

Dr Denise Charles

Dr Denise J Charles J.P. is an experienced educator, who has taught for several years from Secondary to University levels. She holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Higher Education) with High Commendation from the University of the West Indies. Her Doctoral Research examined the digital literacy practices of Higher Education leaders and the implications for digital leadership at an institution in Barbados. Her research interests include digital literacy, digital leadership, the psychology of digital engagement and digital development in 21st Century education.

In addition, she has served as adjunct faculty at the University of the West Indies (Open Campus) in their Bachelor’s programme in Educational Leadership. Denise has presented several papers at educational conferences over the years as well as facilitated several teacher professional development workshops in a range of areas.

As an arts enthusiast, a certified cultural practitioner, an award-winning poet, short-story writer, and blogger Denise has been grappling with the impact of technology on Caribbean culture. Also, and since she has a research interest in digital literacy, she invited us to explore the topic, Digital literacy and an emerging Caribbean digital culture:  threat or promise? cognisant of the value of our culture and cultural heritage, but the growing tension between digital literacy, our cultural identity and the global digital culture that is also emerging.

 

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Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode or otherwise, might be useful:

 

 

Images credit:  Images credit:  D Charles;  G Best;  Ksenia Chernaya (Pexels); Michel Tissot (Wikimedia Commons)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support:  Mayra Bonilla Lopez