Learning tech skills
The use of technology in the 21 century requires fundamental learning of a new set of skills. And one of the most important is the teaching and learning of technology in our homes.
This is especially a challenge in our rural communities. The efforts are on the way to our towns and communities, such as“ Power to the People initiative”; the effort to impact is slow.
Meanwhile, new strategies are emerging to create a space for learning. Strategies such as personalized learning apps. The use of 1-to-1 computing is also popular. The aim of the strategies alone will not get our communities ready for the economic development in our rural communities for 21st century technology.
Technology research conducted showed that technology facilitates this through e-models. 1-to-1 learning refers to use of personal devices in real time. Whereas, adaptive algorithms and software can cater to an increasingly diverse community.
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Some Republican Senators are disagreeing with a display of the January 6 riot through videos broadcast by Tucker Carlson on his primetime Fox News show. The conservative commentator is working to bend perceptions of the grueling siege that played out for the world to see into a narrative favorable to Donald Trump. The effort dovetails with the work of Republicans on Capitol Hill, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy who turned over some 41,000 hours of Jan. 6 security footage to Fox. The undertaking by Fox News comes as Trump is again running for president, and executives at the highest levels of the cable news giant have admitted in unrelated court proceedings that it spread the former president's false claims about the 2020 election despite dismissing Trump's assertions privately.
According to (Harold, 2016), some of these new strategies may also be used at home to help the entire family become more technologically aware and increase. We do not have to wait on the educational institutions to teach our children alone. Learning access with fiber to the people optics can allow families to have the access to create equity in rural communities.
For instance, while, in the past we could only access information through textbooks, newspapers and other hard-copy sources, we can now go online to search and be informed about an endless range of topics. This leads to a more productive inquiry and attitudes of curiosity.
With the expansion of fiber optics to our county, we will be able to learn and think more creatively, (Meridian et al., 2020)., creating and fostering a more problem-solving, skill-based community.
With the tech sector growing, new opportunities are emerging in our towns.
CJ Wigfall, Holly Hill
Ranked voting vs. runoffs
A recently introduced bill would allow municipalities to end the most archaic of election practices – the runoff.
The bill (H.4022) creates an opportunity for municipalities to employ instant runoff voting (IRV) (also called “ranked choice voting”) in their local elections. Through the use of IRV, voters would no longer be forced to vote in two elections.
Rather than cast a vote for one candidate, voters in IRV elections are able to submit a list of candidates ranked in order of preference. (SC voters stationed overseas already do this for primary elections.)
Once all ballots are cast, if there is no candidate with a majority of first-place votes, the candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. For any ballot that placed the eliminated candidate as the first choice, the ballot would then count toward that ballot’s second choice. This process is continued until one candidate has garnered a majority of the ballots. (A simple internet search will yield ample resources explaining the process). The result is one election day with a built-in runoff.
A handful of states (both “red” and “blue”) have employed IRV and the process has been well received. IRV would save taxpayer money and eliminate election volunteers having to work two separate election days.
Christopher Elliott, Columbia
