Course:ELEC300E/CaseStudies/LinkVan

Context: Canada's Digital Divide

The Learning Exchange's LinkVan App
Image:wiki.png
Content / Topics
The Digital Divide
Digital Literacy
Participatory Design
Relevant Analysis Strategies or Tools
Decision Impact Assessment
Iceberg Model
Systems Mapping

“The Digital Divide” describes the gap between people and communities who are able to access and use digital tools and resources and people who can’t. Increasingly, important resources and services (like online banking, registering for courses, submitting taxes, making appointments) are primarily offered online. This means that barriers to internet use and access can cut people off from critical services, which often reinforces existing patterns of inequity.

The factors contributing to the digital divide can be sorted into four main categories:

1. Digital Literacy: Digital literacy includes technical skills required to navigate software tools and platforms, but also relates to security and comfort levels.
2. Affordability: This includes the affordability of devices (phones or computers), and of internet plans.
3. Diverse and Accessible Online Content: The online world may cater more to certain cultural groups and viewpoints. Consider language barriers and the accessibility of online content.
4. Availability: Gaps in reliable high speed internet infrastructure impact entire communities. Half of households in First Nations communities, and 42% of households in northern communities lack basic internet service.

This UBC tutorial includes more information on the digital divide, and emphasizes the cyclical nature of these issues:

Vulnerable groups can face several of the the barriers listed above, which compound upon on each other and upon broader systemic inequities. For example, Indigenous communities may lack reliable broadband infrastructure and face systemic socioeconomic barriers. As a result, many people in these communities are unable to access online learning opportunities, use digital healthcare resources and participate in the digital economy. These consequences exacerbate existing socioeconomic barriers and gaps in digital literacy, creating a cycle of digital inequity.

Case: The Learning Exchange's LinkVan App

The UBC Learning Exchange serves Vancouver's Downtown Eastside community, providing education and support to its residents. Learning Exchange organizers had heard from residents that paper-based lists were not ideal to keep track of services and resources, and that an app might be better, more up to date and accessible.

Many residents of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside face barriers when accessing online services: they may not be able to afford devices, may not be able to consistently charge their devices, may lack internet access, and may not have the digital literacy skills required to comfortably navigate online resources. As described above, these digital barriers are often rooted in compounding systemic inequities. On the other hand, it would be a misconception to assume that no Downtown Eastside residents are well connected and tech savvy: many community members have both access and digital literacy skills.

In partnership with the UBC Learning Exchange, a UBC computer science student built a prototype for an app, LinkVan, to connect Downtown Eastside community members with community service providers (shelters, food banks, legal help etc.). The rollout of this app proved difficult however, with many community members unable to use it for various reasons. These issues illuminated a lack of digital literacy resources in the community, and illustrated how the issues faced by community members could be both mitigated and exacerbated by new technologies:

“We watched people try to use the app,” Dianne said, “and if someone wasn’t able to do something, we asked them why, what they were thinking, what made it difficult to do.” [...]

These “conversations at the interface,” as some would call them, revealed that the app needed to work for people with lower English skills, as well as lower digital literacy skills.

“It became more of a participatory design process,” Dionne said, as opposed to an executive approach where software developers make design decisions based on broad assumptions about the user.

Soon these conversations became as much about the user’s digital eco-system. “Beyond an app, there’s a whole suite of things we take for granted but are essential to digital access,” said Dionne, “like printers, a place to save your files, or just a quiet, safe place to work and practice.”

“The Vancouver Public Library and others, including the UBC Learning Exchange, offer low-barrier computer programs at their facilities. And these are critically important. But it didn’t seem like there was a lot of support for people out in the community. So, we developed Pop-Up Tech Cafés.”

Pop-up Tech Cafés now happen in various places throughout the neighborhood (and currently online) to answer questions about personal technologies. They are opportunities for Downtown Eastside residents to ask questions about phones, computers, or any other personal technology.

In response to extensive user feedback, the Learning Exchange team took two steps:

• Participatory Design: They collaborated with the community to iterate on the initial prototype and develop an app that could be used by a much broader range of users, with different levels of English comprehension and digital literacy: https://www.linkvan.ca/ . This is a great example of participatory design which empowers end users to influence the design process to ensure that the end product works for them.
• Reevaluating the Problem: Through this process, they reevaluated the problem they set out to solve. With a better understanding of how community member's ability to access resources related to digital literacy, they refocused the project to include digital literacy education.

Over a decade later, the LinkVan app is still in use, and several Tech Cafes are still held each week.

Recommended Readings and Resources

• ~3 minute article from the UBC Learning Exchange, telling the story of the development of the LinkVan app: https://learningexchange.ubc.ca/2021/05/03/more-than-an-app/
• ~7 minute tutorial (Optional) on the Digital Divide: https://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/tutorials/ownership-and-access/bridging-the-digital-divide/

Discussion Questions

Here are a few questions to help you begin analyzing the issues discussed in this case study. The purpose of these questions is to prompt reflection and further consideration: there are no right or wrong answers!

• Personal response: Take stock of your immediate response to this case study: outrage, discomfort, boredom, confusion, frustration, hope, interest? How might your unique personal experiences and perspectives inform this response? How can you leverage this response in a positive way?

• Contradictory viewpoints and outcomes: Some community members found the initial prototype of the LinkVan app useful, others faced barriers. What would have been the consequences of releasing the app at that point, without digital literacy support, community discussions and iteration?
• Positive action: A positive outcome of the project was the development of 'Tech Cafes' to address the digital support needs of the community, based on conversations that started during the LinkVan app development. Participants include UBC learning exchange staff, UBC students, volunteers, community members. Which of these participants are "learners", and what might they learn through these conversations?
• Interruptions and invitations: The app design process became more participatory throughout the project. What are the benefits and drawbacks of the participatory approach? How did the design methodology (participatory design) impact the final design of the LinkVan app, and the project outcomes?
• Physical connections: This case study is local! Does that impact your understanding or perception of the problem? Would you be interested in getting involved in the Learning Exchange's projects?
• Social and Historical Context: Did you come to any new insights about how software design relate to the Digital Divide? How does design methodology (the way engineers approach a problem) relate to broader power systems and inequalities?
• Positive Practices: What is one concrete action that you could take, or a practice that you could adopt in your personal, academic or professional life to address some of the issues discussed in this case study?