Download ppt - Digital Divide

the gap between those who benefit the gap between those who benefit from digital technology and those from digital technology and those

who do notwho do notImage: johncorney, Flickr CC

What is it?

• Not really about access to digital technology but about the benefits derived from the access.

• Upper-to-middle classes have high-quality access to digital technology.

• Lower classes are at a major disadvantage without access to technology.

The have and have-nots

• Low-speed connections :– Are usually attained by

people who can not afford computers or have access to them

– Uses:– email– word process etc.

• High-Speed connections:

– Are usually attained by people who can afford computers or have access to them

– Uses: –Social networking –Blogging– Online learning through online audio and video services

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Causes of Divide• High Price of Technology (Computers)

• Broadband Connectivity



Photo by Dominic Cambell (flickr)



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Who is falling behind?

"Our general finding is that there is no 'divide' between whitesand English-speaking Hispanics." "The gap has narrowed a bit for blacks compared with whites, but there is a continuing, persistent difference in Internet adoption between blacks and whites. The much bigger divides are between young and old and between the well-educated and less-well-educated.” http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/01/your-guide-to-the-digital-divide017.html



Image: aardbei2, Flickr CC



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Accessibility Concerns• In A Nation Online (2002), the National Telecommunications & Information

Administration (NTIA) declared the digital divide was closed.

Demographic DivideA 2006 survey by Pew

Internet Usage

80%

33%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

Ages 18-49 Ages 65+

Ages 18-49Ages 65+

72% 69%58%

0%20%40%60%80%

% of Individuals Using the Internet

Whites EnglishSpeakingHispanics

AfricanAmericans

Categories

Internet Usage

Internet Usage

59%

91%

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

High SchoolEducation

CollegeEducation

Internet Usage

Overall Findings:High Speed access leads to multimedia approach to using the Internet

Those without High Speed are left behind and use the Internet less

What would it take to switch to broadband?– This poll was taken by http://www.pewinternet.org using:

– 2,251 adults, age 18 and older • Interviewing dates: 04.08.08 – 05.11.08

– Based on those who have dial-up at home

% 35 The price has to come down/be more affordable/Cheaper

10 It would have to become available where I live

4 When my cable/telephone company offers it where I live

2 Someone else will pay for it

2 If it was free

0 When my children get older

11 Other

19 Nothing will convince me to get broadband

16 Don’t know

4 Refused to answer

Why is it a problem?

• According to Rasiej we will “leave behind a generation that is not able to participate in the 21st century global economy.”1

• Students with out access are:– falling behind in the development of digital literacy skills

(access, manipulation and evaluation of information)– Having less exposure to information

• The use of technology has become second nature for those with access– Students without access need to play catch up to learn the

technology together with the lesson.

1. Long, Mind the Gap

Distance Education

• Has the availability of technology-mediated distance learning increased participation in postsecondary education?

– In a series of case studies to evaluate the benefits and costs of distance education, evidence suggests that distance learning efforts can increase the number of people enrolling in postsecondary education (Jewett).

– Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was surveyed, 75 percent of the

respondents indicated that that they would not have been able to participate in a course if it had not been delivered to their workplace. (http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/2004831.pdf)

Why should we care?

• Economic Equality:– Access to essential information such as career,

civic life, safety, social services

• Social Mobility:– Role of technology in learning and career.– Divide creates unfairness to those of low SES.

• Democracy:– Increased public participation

• Economic Growth:– Shortcut to economic growth in developing nations– IT = productivity– Competitive advantage

Software Designers

PROBLEM: The “80/20 factor”:80% of profit is made by serving the most affluent 20%.

• Only the affluent can access the expensive products

• Those that cannot afford the product are ignored-- NOT PROFITABLE

RESULTS: Even if the poor have access to digital technology, it is indented for the rich.



Image: Steve Wampler, Flickr CC



What can software designers do?

Create products that are universally accessible

Usable by as many people as possible

Ensure that underserved individuals and communities can accesseducation and tools-- ex. Lowering price of software

Create content that is:Gender neutralCulturally unbiasedIn many languages

Create options:Low and high bandwidthEasy to useText sizeAuditory & Visual cuesLanguage options

http://www.captionmax.com/en/max-channel/logos-symbols

The Participation GapThe latest version of the digital divide

• Gap between students with constant access to high-speed internet and those that don’t.– This leads to a gap in skills and competencies.

• Gap between what students can and cannot do with the amount of access– The public library or a school computer lab often place time limits on

how long they can work– Filters are placed to block certain sites

– Limits on what can be stored, downloaded, and uploaded.



• According to PEW Research:– 30 million American households do not

have a computer (low-income/rural communities)

• Where can they get access?– School or library

% of students that rely on schools to use computers

39

45

11

15Hispanic

Black

Asian/PacificIslandersWhite

• Students have less opportunities to develop the digital literacy skills necessary for an increasingly technical world.– Students with access are able to be content

consumers and creators of content.– The more time they spend online, the more

comfort and experience is developed with the technology.

– Kids without access are living in the past.

• Their future will look different.– Innovators, increasingly integrate technology into

their lives.

Some popular solutions

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/top/

http://www.dsf-fsn.org/cms/component/option,com_magazine/func,show_magazine/id,11/Itemid,194/lang,en/

http://50x15.com/en-us/default.aspx?si=1

http://laptop.org/en/

What can Schools do?

• Cloud Computing:

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplXnFUlPmg

• Cloud computing cons:– has been criticized for limiting the freedom of users – dependency on provider

• (I.e. IBM, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplXnFUlPmg

Web 2.0 to the rescue?• WEB 2.0 BENEFITS:

– Applications are web-based• Users create,save, and retrieve files online.

– Are not confined to any particular operating system or hardware.– The applications are usually FREE!!!

» http://www.go2web20.net



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Hurdles for Web 2.0



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