Digital Divide

The digital divide encompasses a number of inequities. Wikipedia defines the digital divide as “the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all.”(Wikipedia, 2009) It further specifies that this divide is not just related to physical access but also to the resources and skills that are required for digital citizenship.

Three factors which have been identified as relating to the digital divide are socio-economic status, rural-urban location, and gender. “Rural youths are less likely to have access to computers in the home; however, frequency of use and perceived competency levels are not compromised. Female youths and those from families with low levels of parental education are also less likely to have access to computers in their homes; they tend to spend less time on the computer and they tend to report lower levels of computer skills competency.” (Looker & Thiessen, 2003) The role of school libraries is one in which these factors are recognized and steps are taken to counter their effects. This is especially true when considering that “in every instance, those with less interest in, competence with, or experience with ICT (i.e. females, rural youth, youth from lower SES households) are more likely to have first learned to use a computer in school.” (Looker & Thiessen, 2003) Surveying my own class in a relatively rural community, I found that one-fifth of my students do not have a computer at home. Of these students, two-thirds are female and all, except one, are from a lower socio-economic family. I am cognizant of this “localized digital divide” when planning lessons to ensure that I provide opportunities to allow all students to explore the use of digital technology and to develop necessary ICT skills. As well, the computers in the school library are made available to students each lunch hour and are used to complete projects that students are unable to do at home due to lack of a home computer. The availability of computers at lunch also allows students to interact with their peers and to utilize various aspects of the web and its tools which aids in developing positive attitudes to digital technology and greater competency.

The implementation of Web 2.0 tools has been subject to “four levels of influence that take the form of ‘digital divides’ in schools.” (Mardis, 2008) These four levels are: access, skill, policy, and motivation. Within my school, access is the main cause of the digital divide. While teachers’ skill level and motivation are varied and do play a factor, the desire to implement Web 2.0 in individual classrooms has consistently met with difficulties due to access. One of the issues is the computer to student ratio. We have only one full computer lab and a partial lab in the library to meet the needs of 18 classes. It is quite challenging to develop ICT skills in students when they are not able to access the necessary technology. Teachers are also limited in their access to technology in the classrooms. We have one SmartBoard and four LCD projectors that are shared amongst the staff. It is difficult to implement technology through Web 2.0 when it is not readily available. The discrepancies between schools for this aspect of the digital divide are highlighted when comparisons are conducted between school districts not only on a provincial level but also a national level. Schools can be divided into the “haves” and “have-nots”. As well as access, the policy level demonstrates great variations between schools provincially and nationally. These have to do specifically with the types of filters in place and the Web 2.0 tools that are blocked. My school is fortunate in that the filters in place are not overly restrictive whereas other districts have filters that counteract the greater access they have to technology.

The digital divide is a relevant issue for teachers today because it affects us and our students. An awareness and understanding of the factors involved and the different levels of digital divide are necessary as we endeavor to minimize inequities and provide the greatest opportunities for our students to develop the skills and attitudes which will allow them to participate successfully in a digital world.