Digital+Literacy-Critical+Mass+&+Change+Agents

Digital Literacy A] For the successful diffusion of digital literacy to take place in America today, I believe a centralized approach would be best. Digital literacy is a massive societal issue. When ideas are of this magnitude—clear, decisive leadership must be in place. Prominent factors such as time, money, efficacy, and productivity are at stake. A centralized committee needs to construct the guidelines of this proposal and state what is need for success to occur. Assessment that leads to a positive outcome should be included, too (i.e. certification, skill sets, promotions, and more). Ordinarily, I am not in favor of such a trickle down methodology, but the alternative—decentralization— is too flimsy for such a massive undertaking. Instead, a centralized medium could establish continuity of curriculum, well-tracked documentation, and a way of measuring mastery. Do we know what will be done with the results? Will the populous be better off for having encountered this innovation? Will there be a way to bypass this for those who already are proficient and do not need these classes? What about costs? All of these pertinent issues can be worked out by a centralized office. Once this template is complete, local communities consisting of change agents, opinion leaders, innovators and more will have the room to adapt the guidelines to the specific needs of their clientele.

B] The people best suited to serve as change agents for digital literacy would be those who are enthusiastic about change and technology. They conceptualize the “big picture” easily and do not just live in the past or the now. They are visionaries who can accept new concepts with total buy-in. Teachers, professors, students, HR personnel, etcetera comprise this diverse group. Diversity is an absolute necessity since it represents the population it is marketing to very closely. This lends credibility to the adoption and increases the chances of acceptance of the innovation. The ability to operate in both homophilous and/or heterophilous situations must be present in all change agents. People who are exempted from this training program (or who choose to take a more advanced level of learning) can be used as resources, if they would like to do so. This validates them as experts in their field while assisting others in making sure all Americans become computer literate.

C] I do not believe my innovation has achieved critical mass yet. It seems to be operating in our society in a rather decentralized fashion, at present. You know what I mean—a little acceptance here and a lot of nothing over there. In order to for a proper rate of adoption to be achieved, a prominent change agent such as Microsoft must market this product to a client who has the power to mandate things. From there, the issues of cost and timing must be addressed. Someone coined the phrase, “No child left behind.” Another person coined, “No child left off-line.” This concept has to be taken seriously by all in order for it to be successfully diffused. To this end, all seven roles for change agents should be utilized to promote clarity, buy-in, and productivity. Many of the strategies for achieving critical mass are good ones and should be used. Credibility breeds connectivity to the audience being targeted. Highly respected individuals in the field of technology should be on board. The message should emphasize that anyone can achieve the goals set forth in this program and the inevitability of digital literacy in our society is a shoe-in. Americans like to lead, so mention how this type of literacy enables us to remain a strong contender on a global level. Lastly, begin with groups that are easier to convince and offer incentives. Incentives are always a good gimmick to have and may play a paramount role in steering an innovation towards adoption. References: Rogers, E. M. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.