November 20, 2008
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Digital Divide = Uneven Access to Internet & Information Inequity
By Elaine Larson, AIT’s Director of Education
The concept of a digital divide—a serious lack of equity in technology access and use across the nation and the world—is clearly not new. However, as new technologies are adopted, new digital “highways” opened, more teachers trained, and more kids using digital technologies than ever before, the issue of equity remains.
According to the Benton Foundation:
There has always been a gap between those people and communities who can make effective use of information technology and those who cannot. Now, more than ever, unequal adoption of technology excludes many from reaping the fruits of the economy.
(We) use the term “digital divide” to refer to this gap between those who can effectively use new information and communication tools, such as the Internet, and those who cannot. While a consensus does not exist on the extent of the divide (and whether the divide is growing or narrowing), researchers are nearly unanimous in acknowledging that some sort of divide exists.
The gap is furthered described in “The Digital Divide, ICT and the 50x15 Initiative”—an article on the Internet World Stats Web site:
The difference is not necessarily determined by the access to the Internet, but by access to ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) and to Media that the different segments of society can use. With regards to the Internet, the access is only one aspect; other factors such as the quality of connection and related services should be considered. Today the most discussed issue is the availability of the access at an affordable cost.
The digital divide is not indeed a clear single gap which divides a society into two groups. Researchers report that disadvantage can take such forms as lower-performance computers, lower-quality or high price connections (i.e., narrowband or dialup connection), difficulty of obtaining technical assistance, and lower access to subscription-based contents.
Statistics
The report, “Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994–2003”, published by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), tracks access to information technology in schools and classrooms since 1994.
Each year, NCES has conducted a new nationally representative survey of public schools to gauge the progress made in computer and Internet availability, based on measures such as student-to-computer ratio and the percentage of schools and classrooms with Internet connections. As computers and the Internet became increasingly available in schools, the surveys were modified to address new and continuing issues, such as the use of new types of Internet connections to enhance connectivity. Recent surveys on Internet access have been expanded to address other emerging issues. The 2002 survey, for instance, included items on the use of technologies or procedures to prevent student access to inappropriate material on the Internet, the availability of computers outside of regular school hours, and the availability of teacher professional development on technology use in the classroom.
This report presents key findings from the 2003 survey on Internet access in U.S. public schools and selected comparisons with data from previous Internet surveys. The 2003 survey was designed to update data on all of the questions asked in 2002. Selected findings are organized to address the following issues: school connectivity, student access to computers and the Internet, school Web sites, technologies and procedures to prevent student access to inappropriate material on the Internet, and teacher professional development on how to integrate the use of the Internet into the curriculum.
The “21st Century Skills: A Digital Divide” report on the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) enGauge Web site highlights advances made toward narrowing the equity gap. But it also states:
While this progress is certainly encouraging, access is just the first step. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce study, Falling Through the Net (National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 1999), the digital divide also represents differences in the capacity to use technology tools efficiently and effectively. True equity requires high levels of technology proficiency to ensure broader, more meaningful, and increasingly innovative uses of technology by all segments of the population. In turn, these heightened levels of technology proficiency—so critical in the Digital Age—require higher levels of 21st Century education.
The Web site includes a report, “Digital-Age Equity”, that provides insight into the issues plus definitions, indicators, and success stories in narrowing the gap.
Information
The Digital Equity Web site addresses inequitable access to learning technology resources for all learners. It lists “The Five Dimensions of Digital Equity”—dimensions that “have been chosen as fundamental categories by educators and professionals working in the field.” These categories are intended to provide help in addressing basic needs to those who are just beginning to learn about the field.
- Content creation
Opportunities for learners and educators to create their own content. - Effective use
Educators skilled in using these resources effectively for teaching and learning. - Quality content
Access to high-quality digital content. - Cultural relevance
Access to high-quality, culturally relevant content. - Technology resources
Access to learning technology resources (hardware, software, wiring, and connectivity).
The site is a project of the National Institute for Community Innovations and an offshoot of their Education Reform Network.
As stated on the front page of the Education Reform Network Web site, the “National Institute for Community Innovations, in collaboration with a growing number of internationally recognized expert communities in educational reform, has developed national networks of leaders skilled in assisting schools, districts, preparation programs, and large-scale educational systems to plan and undertake sustained educational reform efforts with regard to the reform dimensions below. Each of these networks has identified exemplary, free, and inexpensive professional development materials about proven and promising reform strategies and resources in a given reform dimension.”
The Web site also points to a Digital Equity Toolkit that provides some resources (organizations and agencies) that focus attention on “digital equity.” Resources include other tool kits, list-servs, and links to information.
The toolkit points educators to free and inexpensive, high-quality resources that help address the digital divide in the classroom and community. The toolkit, edited by Joy Wallace, senior associate at the National Institute for Community Innovations, is made possible in part through funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s PT3 (Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to use Technology) and Technology Innovation Challenge Grant programs.
Strides
As funding for school technology shrinks, school-community and school-corporation partnerships make strides to fill in the gaps.
Community Technology Centers continue to provide a wealth of technology resources, training, and funding opportunities for communities. The CTC Web site provides information about the CTC movement, news about grant opportunities, and links to stories about how the organization is working in communities around the nation.
In an example of school-corporation efforts, Detroit schools are partnering with Apple to create a Digital Learning Community High School.
Final Note
As with other equity dilemmas in education, the complex issues of the digital divide will remain a point of debate for years to come. A few things are clear, however.
- More research needs to be done to get a good picture of technology issues today. Most of the existing research is at least two years old—and two years is a long time when studying technology.
- Teachers need pre-service and in-service training to increase their skills in effectively using technology in the classroom—to increase their understanding of the technology their students are using, to take advantage of the powerful tools available, and to build their comfort level with new and emerging technologies.
- Decision makers need to realize that educational technology is more than having a computer in the classroom that’s connected to the Internet.