Digital Inequality

Technology has a strong and ever increasing presence in our world and schools today. Many things have transitioned to a paperless and digital format such as books, media, library resources, and everything from store coupons to company work schedules.  People need to have the computer skills and access to the internet in order to attain the increasing amount of information that is online. Digital inequality is a term that describes the unequal access to and differentiated use of the internet by all people.

As someone who is dependent on technology in order to run my day to day life, it is difficult to imagine how a person can survive in the world today without having an email account or even a computer.  This substantial difference in skills and access to the internet is known as the ‘Digital Divide.’  The lack of digital resources can have a far reaching impact on an individual’s amount of social participation as well and limiting opportunities for economic mobility.

The issue of Digital Inequality is very relevant in our society because knowledge and access to computer technology has been shown to substantially impact how successful a person will be in a technology driven world. Studies by the National Center for Educational Statistics have shown that the lack of access to technology creates ‘opportunity gaps’ which indicates students have a lower rate of academic achievement.  The digital divide in education creates these ‘opportunity gaps’ which limit access to information and impact the students’ likely hood of continued and higher education.  The limited access impacts career opportunities as well social participation among community members.

In order to bridge this gap, there are several private and public initiatives to increase funding and provide better internet access in underserved communities.  Here are some of the options to consider:

1. Install computers in all public libraries in the state and expand the hours when the computers are available.
2. Expand staffing and other resources so that public schools can be open to the public after normal school hours, on weekends, and during the summer months.
3. Provide individuals in disadvantaged communities with computers.
4. Provide high-speed Internet and mobile access for all state residents.
5. Subsidize Internet Service Providers to provide low-cost Internet to all state residents.
6. Provide information literacy courses to enhance computer skills and enable knowledgeable use of digital technologies.
7. Develop free online educational content, giving first priority to content most relevant to lower socio-economic groups before content that is relevant to the rest of the public.

Each of these options will help to make technology available to all people; however, I feel  that there are a couple of options which should take the forefront.

The strongest option is 1 & 2: Expand staffing and other resources so that public schools can be open to the public after normal school hours, on weekends, and during the summer months.  Option 2 is again focused on enabling people to learn and access information on their own.  Starting with our students and their families, the school is often the center of the community and a place where people can come together and learn. A community centered school would create extended learning opportunities beyond the class time within a safe environment.  Option #1 would tie directly in with #2 in creating a location for free and public access to information and technology.

I believe that the next strongest option for providing people with access to the internet is educating them in how to use it. Simply put, if people don’t have the skills for how to use a computer and locate information online, they will not use it. For this reason, option 6 should be the first choice for increasing access.  I believe there is a large portion of the population who have the hardware available yet choose not to access the internet for things because they lack the skills.  Many people have missed out on the opportunity for training or lack prior computer use and feel discouraged or intimidated by technology.  Because knowledge is power, with option 6 we will provide information and courses designed to help people become familiar with programs and therefore enable them to connect to the digital world.

I believe that the next step and making technology accessible to all people would be a combination of option #4 and #5.  We must make sure all people have internet access at an affordable and appropriate cost. The internet is no longer a luxury for the few, but a necessity for success and we must work to make it available for all people.

I would vote against option #3 and #7 because I feel that providing personal computers and specific content is not a conducive step in our plan for digital accessibility.  With the first options we use people will have public access to these things and they can be shared among the community rather than by and individual.

References

Christman, E. (2010). DIGITAL DIVIDE. Billboard, 122(20), 9.

Hsieh, J. J. P.-A., Rai, A., & Keil, M. (March 01, 2008). Understanding digital inequality: Comparing continued use behavioral models of the socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged. Mis Quarterly: Management Information Systems, 32, 1, 97-126.

AECT Standards

Standards 1.2 and 1.3: At the beginning of the week, my group members and I discussed the the presentation’s design and the assigned the steps need to complete the project.

Standards 2.2, 2.3, and 2.4: An audio program was used to narrate the PowerPoint presentation and then the presentation was uploaded to authorSTREAM.

Standards 3.1,3.2, and 3.4: We demonstrated our technology skills and resources to create a presentation on how to integrate more technology in the state of Ohio.  with a $50 million budget.

Standards 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4: We demonstrated skills by organizing and coordinating instructional technology to design and develop a project through storing and transfer systems.

Standards 5.1 and 5.4: Problem analysis and long-range planning were used to evaluate and choose the best digital inequality solutions and offer alternatives.