INFO 6600 - Technology for Underserved Communities

Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading.

A. Vashistha.

This course examines the design, deployment, and adoption of computing technologies that aim to improve the lives of underserved populations in low-resource environments. Through discussions of case studies from the US and across the world, we will study how computing technologies are used in different global development domains, such as agriculture, finance, health, education, civic engagement. We will also explore many of the big debates in the field of ICTD through reading and discussing seminal papers, including how to approach and measure success, how to consider failure, what constitutes ‘good’ research, how to broach the ‘digital divide’. The course will enrich students’ foundational knowledge and information about current research in ICTD, and will better equip them to create and evaluate computing technologies for people in low-resource environments.