This article is a fragment of the Digital and Social Inclusion Chart.

After a careful analysis of real e-learning practices towards e-inclusion, we have found the following six key areas which are good starting points for both implementation and further research. They are the following:

I. Social solutions to social problems

Social practices interact with technology, and one influences the other. If we want to have a really inclusive information society, we need to address the social problems that have turned people into digitally excluded, and not only consider the ones derived from lack of structure. When digital divide is considered, not everyone has been created equally. There is an important qualitative difference between someone which is already excluded and need to understand and use ICT and someone which only needs some formal knowledge to jump in. This is a general principle which we think should permeate any type of e-learning strategy directed to e-inclusion. Otherwise it may become a total failure.

II. Community and awareness

Learning communities are a hot subject nowadays. Nevertheless, they are mostly viewed as mere instrumental concepts towards improving learning. Again, this is useful, but it is not enough. ITC offers us wonderful social software which can be used in original ways to help real communities to expand their political, social and cultural horizons.

Isolated communities can use digital technologies to be better known and respected among our society. The dispersed members of a community can use several digital tools to stay in touch and continue developing their own lifestyles and culture. We should also keep in mind all the awareness power that lies in the Internet to describe and fight social exclusion. This strategy is key when we are considering rural isolated communities and migrants that are working far away from their homes, but they can become also an important measure to fight sexism in the computer world and help women to join and transform ICT.

III. Towards the transparent PC

Personal computers and software get more improvements and new features each year and therefore become more difficult to use. This may be fine for users that are familiar with ICT. However, it makes things worse every year for the digitally excluded, specially when elderly or people with disabilities are considered. In fact we consider that this “new feature” strategy is deeply wrong from a social and educational point of view. We need to reverse it. We have to consider strategies and technologies to turn them more intuitive and easier to use. A camera or a car are fairly intuitive technologies. To take a picture, you just direct the camera to the place you want to photograph and click the button. If you want to turn right, you just move the wheel right. Why can’t ICT be like that?

IV. Problem solving methodology for e-learning

Because our target has specific needs, we need to avoid academicism, and to construct e-learning materials that are useful, practical, and motivational. This surely implies something that is usually neglected when thinking about e-learning strategies: the specific social and cultural context. Lack of trust and of motivation are important barriers towards e-inclusion. We will never cross those gates if we just create the typical “how-to” courses.

Besides, information society becomes more and more competitive. In a few years, just knowing how to use a word processor or an e-mail client won’t make any difference in the job market. This is another reason to search for problem solving methodology. A general course on how to use several graphic edition software may be of use, but it is far better a problem solving course on how to make flyers for clubs, which is both a good motivator and even a job opportunity for an unemployed young in a challenging neighbourhood.

V. Internet for everybody

Software technologies are plastic enough to be adapted to any specific need an special collective may had: content can be adapted to any type of cognitive, sensorial or physical disability. Unfortunately, very few companies, administrations or individuals use that characteristic. We need to raise awareness on that topic among software and hardware producers, web designers and educators. When accessing culture, physical barriers like distance or architecture are a challenge to people with mobility problems. Books are of no use to people with visual difficulties. It is a shame that most digital cultural products, which can avoid these barriers easily, are not really adapted to these people’s needs.