The Power, Peril, and Promise of Information Technology to Community Education
The democratization of information serves as a powerful force for change in both our lives and our global world. The paradigm shift from the providers of information to the users of the information has in many cases been brought about through the use of information technologies and the creation of more diverse and accessible Web-enabled devices. Educational equity helps to provide democratic and accessible educational opportunities for all citizenry and supports the tenets of community education. The question arises whether the proliferation of information brings power, peril, or promise for the communities of the world and the people it serves. This chapter investigates the changing rate of information, how it is distributed through online communities of practice and social networks, and what impact some of this information may have on areas of interest for training, research, and online development in fields of education, law enforcement, medicine, and sociology.