The Digital Divide
The digital divide is a complex and multifaceted issue. There is some controversy over whether or not the digital divide still exists and if so, what constitutes the digital divide. Even the term is contentious. Some are no longer using the term "Digital Divide" and are favouring the term "Digital Inclusion" because calling the problem a divide constrains the discourse, which further contributes to the divide. Over time, the digital divide is emerging in a variety of ways, though most issues come down to access or lack of access, manifesting through a variety of limitations: cultural (this includes in some cases women being excluded from access to the internet), financial, broadband, technology, connectivity, skills, education/literacy, etcetera. All of the previous topics studied have touched on issues of divide: Does open education address the divide or cause it to grow? Is m-learning providing a bridge? Does digital learning privilige some and not others according to age (Digital Natives)? How do we go about integrating technology and allocating resources in a way that ensures inclusion? We invite you to reflect on all the course topics with an eye to digital inclusion as you engage with the following content and activities to learn more about the digital divide.
Content and Activities:
1. What is the digital divide?
Watch these videos:
- The Digital Divide in Education A short introduction to our topic. (Direct link http://youtu.be/x1YLPL0KOWE )
- What is the Digital Divide? A video which explores some of the main questions about the digital divide, factors which separate digital users, and the impacts of the digital divide. (Direct link: http://youtu.be/w0HMGoTJfE0 )
- Students and Teachers Points of View Although the video production is underdeveloped, this resource explores first-hand student accounts on how issues related to the digital divide impact their learning (Direct link: http://vimeo.com/12745683 )
Read
- A New Understanding of the Digital Divide A short article on the current trends of the digital divide. (Direct link: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-divide-technology-internet-access-mary-beth-hertz )
View these infographics: A visual exploration of the statistics related to the digital divide from an educational and socio-economic perspective.
- The Digital Divide Education perspectives (Direct link: http://t.co/FGsOrhdtxk )
- Digital Divide Socio-economic perspectives (Direct link: http://www.onlineitdegree.net/digital-divide/ )
What does the digital divide mean to you in your workplace? What are other contributing factors to the divide that haven't been mentioned in these resources that you have observed? (i.e. age?)
2. Does the digital divide exist or is it a myth or a problem of the past? What are some common myths about the digital divide?
- Four Myths About Digital Divide Although this is an older resource, this article explores four predominate myths that surround the digital divide that are still making an impact on policy making today. (Direct link: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxzaHVhbmFuaWVzc2VufGd4OjU4OTBkYzEwNmU0OTRiZTg )
- The Myth About the Digital Divide This article addresses the “second-level” digital divide in a university setting, which is caused by several factors including: machine vintage; connectivity; online skills; autonomy and freedom of access; and computer-use support. (Direct link: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/myth-about-digital-divide )
- "Bandwidth Divide" Could Bar Some People From Online Learning This article, posted in the Chronicle of Higher Education (Mar 4, 2013), examines the impact of connectivity, and the differences between those with access to fast connections versus dial-up speeds or access via a cellphone. (Direct link: http://chronicle.com/article/The-Bandwith-Divide/137633/ )
- The Digital Divide? It's at Your Local School, Too Explores an account from a teacher’s perspective on the access to hardware for inner-city families. (Direct link: http://www.good.is/posts/the-digital-divide-it-s-at-your-local-school-too )
- Recent BBC News article on number of pupils without internet An exploration of the links between poverty, lack of access to digital learning technologies, and poor performance at school. (Direct link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20899109 )
- IBM Predicts the End of the Digital Divide in 5 Years A provocative exploration on how the digital divide could be eliminated with cell phone access. (Direct link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/17/tech/mobile/ibm-digital-divide-gahran )
3. How do we go about bridging the divide?
- Bridging the New Digital Divide (Jan. 2013) (log in required) A current examination of digital divide issues related to how schools are funded for technology and the socio-economic division between schools. (Direct link: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/bridging-the-new-digital-divide-lori-day )
- Can Video Games Help Close the Digital Divide This article explores an unusual approach that uses video games to bridge the digital divide and learning gaps for African-American boys in the United States. (Direct link: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/03/can-video-games-help-close-the-digital-divide/ )
- Digital Literacy is the Bedrock for Lifelong Learning An exploration of the links between income, access, the knowledge gap, and how teachers approach the digital divide in the classroom. (Direct link: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/digital-divide-technology-internet-access-literacy-vanessa-vega )
- Calgary Herald: Group to Expand Low Cost Internet A Canadian perspective on how a charity is finding ways to provide access to low-income communities in Halifax and the impact on quality of life for community members. (Direct link: http://thechronicleherald.ca/hcw/490667-group-to-expand-low-cost-internet )
- Harper Government is Expanding Broadband Network in 68 First Nations Communities This announcement from the Federal Government website explores a partnership with Sasktel and Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) to enhance internet services in 68 communities, thereby helping bridge the digital divide by increasing connectivity for students in these communities. (Direct link: http://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1328879669831/1328879799768 )
- UNESCO article: Broadband “The Missing Link” in Global Access to Education This UNESCO report highlights global strategies for improving high-speed networks to promote the Education for All Millennium Development in order to fully benefit from ICTs. (Direct link: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/broadband_the_missing_link_in_global_access_to_education_new_report_from_the_broadband_commission_highlights_strategies_for_leveraging_high_speed_networks_to_realize_education_for_all/ )
4. What are the next steps and who should be taking them? The answer to this question is determined by what one views as the cause of digital inequities. We've provided some examples of some steps others are taking and recommending.
- Video - TED talk Sugata Mitra: Build a School in the Cloud In this TED Talk, researcher, Sugata Mitra, shares his vision for Self Organized Learning Environments (SOLE) and his goal to design the ‘School in the Cloud’ - a learning lab in India, where children can explore and learn from each other, using resources and mentoring "from the cloud." (Direct link: http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud.html )
- Video – TED talk Aleph Molinari: Let’s Bridge the Digital Divide In this TED Talk, Aleph Molinari shares how he empowers the “Digitally Excluded” through the creation of technology-focused community centers, providing access to internet and basic digital literacy programs. (Direct link: http://www.ted.com/talks/aleph_molinari_let_s_bridge_the_digital_divide.html )
- Article – Bridging the Digital Divide: Changing the Technological Landscape of Inner-City Catholic Schools (library login required) This article explores the Bridging the Digital Divide Program, a 1-year intervention program in five inner-city Chicago Catholic schools, which addressed technology installation and teacher technology skill development. (Direct link: http://uex.sagepub.com.libproxy.uregina.ca:2048/content/44/1/11.full.pdf+html%20%20 )
What brick would you place (which aspect of the divide) to assist in building a bridge to cross the digital divide?
5. Optional resources to explore:
- Digital Divide Resource Roundup through edutopia (Articles such as: Mending the Breach: Overcoming the Digital Divide and Crossing the Digital Divide: Bridges and Barriers to Digital Inclusion)
- Students Forced to go to McDonalds for wifi After Libraries Close
- Web-Deprived Study at McDonalds
- Eight Great TED Talks About the Future of Education and Technology
- Digital Literacy and Digital Divide
- Bridging the Divide Through Technology
- Current Stats on Digital Differences (American)
- Article: Young People’s Internet Use: Divided or Diversified? (library log in required)
- Website: Hole-in-the-Wall Project (Sugata Mitra)
- TED Talk: Sugata Mitra Shows How Kids Teach Themselves
- Article – Narrowing the Digital Divide: Head Start Teachers Develop Proficiency with Computers The article shares the benefits of teacher training through the implementation of the Head Start program to help conquer the digital divide through increased access to computers for children and the development of teacher technological skills
6. Article to critique: Digital Divide: Students’ Use of the Internet and Emerging Forms of Social Inequalities from Research on e-Learning and ICT in Education(2012) pp. 55-68. (Direct link: http://link.springer.com.libproxy.uregina.ca:2048/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4614-1083-6_5) library log in required.
Abstract: In this article the authors (Eleni Sianou-Kyrgiou and lakovos Tsiplakides) argue that the digital divide is a divide in Internet use rather than in Internet access, and that new social inequalities emerge which are reproduced in different ways than in the past. They conclude that any attempts to examine social inequalities in higher education need to focus on the issue of the digital divide in relation to Internet use, which impacts on academic knowledge, students’ performance and transition to the labor market.
Group 5: Jennifer Stewart-Mitchell, Ryan Hicks, and Shuana Niessen
